BOLIVAR, MO – Two local non-profit organizations and a crime-fighting lab that supports the FBI are the recipients of help from the senior students in the Southwest Baptist University Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) Department in 2009-2010. The three recipients are the Bolivar office of the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC), the Bolivar Area Ministerial Alliance (BAMA) working in cooperation with the Salvation Army, and the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics (HARCFL) Lab in Kansas City. These three organizations will each receive a critically important piece of custom designed and built software from the software engineering students in the SBU CIS Department by mid-April of 2010.
“We are frankly reorienting our focus a bit this year,” said Dr. Tim DeClue, chair of the CIS department. “Our students have produced some great software for some great companies over the years, but this year God opened some doors to allow our software engineering students to help those least able to help themselves—the hurting people who walk through the doors of the Salvation Army and the families who come to OACAC because they can’t afford basic school supplies for their children. And by helping HARCFL, we are indirectly joining in the fight against human trafficking, child pornography, and the worst kinds of crime. These projects are what we should be about as a department and university.
Two software companies have partnered with the SBU CIS Department in the projects this year and will play key roles as consultants. Duck Creek Technologies, a local insurance software company, and Cerner Corporation have each agreed to serve as professional consultants to the student teams. Cerner, located in Kansas City, is the second largest producer of hospital and other health-related software in the U.S.
Building the software solution on the BAMA project are Scott Mark (Eldorado Springs, Mo.), Thomas Wallen (Springfield, Mo.), Tyler Coppedge (Broken Arrow, Okla.), and Dr. DeClue (faculty mentor). Building the solution for OACAC are Nathan Mersch (Bolivar, Mo.), Andy Fulton (Salem, Mo.), Christopher Stuckey (Kansas City, Mo.) and Dr. Baochuan Lu (faculty mentor). Working with HARCFL are Nate Stukenborg (Fulton, Mo.), Jacob Williams (Hume, Mo.), Jeremy Ware (Bolivar, Mo.), and Jim Cain (faculty mentor).
Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 12 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 13 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
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