CAMBRIDGE, MA–May 21, 2001 – At the time, John Koski did not realize it, but he had put into motion a plan that would establish a link with an 800-year-old precedent. Koski, CIO of Dominican College of Blauvelt in New York's Rockland County on the West Shore of the Hudson River, was trying to take the school out of the information processing Dark Ages. Tired of the travails of green-screen processing, Dominican-Blauvelt wanted to update its systems environment and hardware and enjoy an Information Processing Renaissance.

Koski could point not only to precedent, but also to a distinguished predecessor.

When Domingo de Guzman was born in 1170, the Dark Ages that had existed since the end of classical antiquity were in their death throes. The Middle Ages were upon the world, and Guzman would prove to be a motive force in mankind's drive for enlightenment, a drive that would result in 14^th-century Florence catapulting the world into the Renaissance. And what, exactly, did Guzman do? He founded the Dominican order. And advanced the cause of information processing in a big way.

Until 1216, when Guzman applied to Pope Honorius III for papal approval of his new order, only bishops were authorized to preach the Word of God. With the words, "...considering that the brethren of the Order will be the champions of the Faith and true lights of the world..." Honorius's papal bulls allowed for priests, and not just bishops, to be authorized to preach the Word of God. In the Roman Catholic Church, this was a groundbreaking event.

And, after 20 years of their current system, updating to Jenzabar's Elite Windows NT™ proved a groundbreaker for Koski and Dominican-Blauvelt, too. "We had a text-based system," Koski states, "and going from that to a Windows environment was literally a move out of the Dark Ages." Koski can hardly wait for the ease of training and improved productivity that the Jenzabar system provides. "We are looking to implement the Web-based ‘self-service' features that come with Jenzabar's Web products for student use," Koski adds. "That is why we chose to ‘stay in the family,' to get same level of support and avoid conversion problems."

For his part in spreading the Word of God, the Church made Domingo de Guzman a saint — Saint Dominic, to be exact.

As for Koski, well....

About Jenzabar, Inc.
By improving the exchange of information through powerful business intelligence applications and services, Jenzabar's Internet enterprise software, e-learning solutions, and services deliver a competitive edge to higher education institutions. Dedicated to supporting and enhancing the educational community, Jenzabar's business units serve 700 higher education institutions worldwide, including students, professors, and administrators from private liberal arts, medical, law, state, and community colleges. Institutions employing Jenzabar solutions include The Claremont Colleges, Colby College, Daytona Beach Community College, William Mitchell College of Law, Governors State University, Bluffton College, Florida Southern College, Bay de Noc Community College, Berry College, and Harvard Medical School.

Jenzabar's offerings include Web-based enterprise software with student, institutional advancement, human resources, and financial applications; e-learning solutions; and a higher education enterprise information portal (EIP). Founded in 1998, Jenzabar is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and currently employs more than 300 people in regional offices across the United States.

About Dominican College of Blauvelt
The aim of Dominican College is to promote educational excellence, leadership, and service, in an environment characterized by respect for the individual and concern for the community. The College, in the tradition of its Dominican founders, fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement.

Committed to building its programs upon a strong liberal arts foundation, the College maintains a student-centered climate and offers an array of degree opportunities in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business, and the professions. While the majority of its students are from its geographic region, to whose emerging educational needs it is particularly responsive, its diverse student body includes national and international representation.

Dominican College is dedicated to the principle that its educational programs and services must be both challenging and supportive, distinguished both by high standards and by attention to the needs and potential of the individual student.