RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – November 3, 2008: Lenovo today announced that Lyon College is planning to deploy more than 550 ThinkPad notebook PCs over the next three years. The College recently finished rolling out nearly 200 ThinkPad R61 notebooks to its freshman class and faculty for the 2008-2009 school year. Lyon College, a small, liberal arts school in Batesville, Arkansas, with a student population of nearly 500, is the first college in the state and one of about 200 nationally to provide all new students with notebook PCs. The rollout marks more than 300 Lenovo ThinkPad Universities.
“Part of providing students a top-notch education starts with leveling the playing field by giving them the technology tools they need to enrich their learning and to prepare for life beyond the classroom,” said Charles Neal, director, information services, Lyon College. “The Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks equip them with the latest technologies in wireless connectivity, processing performance and battery life while at the same time, the reliability and durability that are important in running a one-to-one college notebook program.”
Lyon College chose ThinkPad notebooks based on their reliability, innovation and total-solution approach. Built for the rigors of student computing, the ThinkPad R61 notebook features Lenovo’s Active Protection System that temporarily parks the hard drive when the notebook falls to help protect data as well as spill-resistant keyboards.
Students and faculty are using the notebook PCs to enrich their learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. On campus, students use their ThinkPad notebooks to wirelessly connect to the College’s WiFi network to do Internet research and assignments. The notebooks are also part of the Lyon Experience program, featuring college-supported overseas travel and an experiential transcript that documents accomplishments outside of the classroom. The College helps makes sure students have a convenient and worry-free computing experience by providing technical and hardware support and maintaining software updates.
“Through the ThinkPad University program, Lyon has transformed its campus into an advanced learning environment where students, faculty and staff can interact at any time and from any place,” said Michael Schmedlen, director of worldwide education, Lenovo. “Lenovo is committed to engineering complete learning solutions from innovative hardware, like our ThinkPad notebooks, to academic integration, assessment and professional development.”
Lyon College worked with CDW Government, Inc. of Vernon Hills, Ill., a leading source of Information Technology solutions to educators and governments, to lease and deploy the notebooks.
“CDW-G and Lenovo are longtime partners in delivering innovative technology solutions, like the ThinkPad notebooks, to the education market,” said Julie Smith, director, higher education, CDW-G. “PC technology is an essential tool for students and faculty. Lyon College’s forward thinking will ensure that its students are learning in a 21st century environment and that its graduates are ready for a competitive workforce.”
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
