PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

The operating agreement made between the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA and the INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION stipulated in paragraph 2 that:

"Other non-profit educational institutions including those operating schools of business administration accredited by National Association of Collegiate Schools of Business will be invited by University to participate in the program of the Western Data Processing Center without charge for use of the facilities therein. In general, those to be so invited will include all such non-profit institutions of higher learning in the Western States that have problems suitable for solution by machine methods of data processing within the limits of the available time. All arrangements for such participation by other educational institutions shall be made by the University through the Director of the Data Processing Center."

The Schools that used WDPC computing facilities were called Participating Institutions.

Each School had an official Representative with whom WDPC staff dealt. The functions of these representatives varied according to the interests of each and the particular requirments of the institution. In general, however, each Representative oversaw the work of the IBM Research Assistants on on their campus and were the source of information concerning WDPC.. They were cognizant of WDPC educational and research activities and were usually in touch with the data proccessing activites on their own campus.

The first recorded list of Participating Instiutions is in the Progress Report 1 published in July 1959 by WDPC. As of that date, forty eight (48) schools had become partcipating institutions. A map and a complete list of early participating schools and their representatives is shown here. They were represented by eight schools on the Advisory Committee to Director George Brown.

When WDPC closed down in June 1966, one hundred and three (103) schools had become PIs. They ranged from the University of Alaska to UC San Diego, from the Air Force Academy to the University of Hawaii in the Western United States and, by special arrangement, the National University of Mexico in Mexico City and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. This list was published in the WDPC Progress Report 8 published in June 1966.

Participating Institutions were represented in the administration of the Center through an Advisory Commitee that advised the Director on procedures and policies affecting education and research projects at these institutions and made recommendations for the selection of IBM Research Assistants and Associates from the Participating Institutions. The first and last Advisory Committees are shown here. Stanford, the University of Southern California, and the University of Washngton were represented on both the first and the last committee. As a group, the California State Colleges had one representative.

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