The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has been designated Microsoft Corp.'s first-ever "Information Technology (IT) Showcase School," under a new Microsoft program that aims to highlight IT excellence in higher education.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer made the announcement at the university's W.E.B. Du Bois Library as UMass-Amherst officially opened its new technology center, the Learning Commons, in late October. The designation has earned UMass-Amherst not only continued funding and support from Microsoft, but also legitimacy as a leader in the field of IT--which could prove important for recruiting students and faculty and for funding new IT-related projects, school officials said.

Microsoft plans to name four additional universities as IT Showcase Schools. The company said it chose UMass-Amherst as its flagship school for the program based on a collection of university initiatives, including these:

• A minor degree program in IT, which allows students to pair their own areas of interest with an IT minor, acknowledging the importance of information technology for any field.

• Courses run through the Isenberg School of Management, which Microsoft intends to turn into case studies for the effective university-level use of its ConferenceXP videoconferencing and interactive Tablet PC applications.

• The new Learning Commons, which brings together technology, library, and student support services in a single building.

• The school's record of encouraging women to study mathematics, science, technology, and engineering.

• Its center for teaching, which sponsors Microsoft's Tablet PC Community of Practice.

"Over the past seven years, we have worked closely with UMass-Amherst's faculty and students, and we have been consistently impressed by their accomplishments," said Ballmer. "By recognizing UMass-Amherst as a Microsoft IT Showcase School, we see the university as a true pacesetter in higher education, committed to providing an array of additional learning resources tailored to students' specific needs. It is a privilege to help the university share its knowledge more broadly."

Philip DesAutels, Microsoft's representative to UMass, expanded on his company's decision.

"UMass is working to fill the [education] pipeline with professionals who have a solid IT background and are viable people in the marketplace," DesAutels said. "It's not enough to have a biology degree anymore. We might not be technologists, but we use technology all day long. The curriculum at UMass reflects the need for qualified IT workers in the marketplace."

DesAutels said Microsoft is working to get the same ethnically and culturally diverse mix of people into IT education nationwide as is found at UMass.

"For instance, if you look at the IT capstone course right now, there are 16 students enrolled; 10 are women and six are men," he said. "Usually, those numbers are weighted much more heavily to men."