Seton Hill University President JoAnne Boyle will speak about Seton Hill University’s Griffin Technology Advantage Program at Untethered 2010, the first conference dedicated to understanding how digital media is being redefined, in New York City, N.Y., on June 17. The conference will bring together business and technology leaders who are shaping this evolving market for an intense day of discussion and debate. Untethered 2010 is hosted by Washington Post's The Big Money, a website that focuses on business and finance.

“Given Seton Hill’s investment in iPads for students, we are anxious to have your views expressed at the conference about how these and similar devices will affect higher education, students and textbook publishers,” said John Eckhouse, vice president and editorial director, The Big Money, in an e-mail to the University.

Recently, Seton Hill University was recognized by IvyWise, a New York-based counseling company, in its “Top Five” list created to assist college applicants in choosing schools that leverage the power of mobile devices to store and deliver recorded lectures, syllabi, homework, tests and a host of other information that can be accessed anytime, anywhere on campus.

In addition to Seton Hill University, the “Top Five” list includes Stanford University, the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, and the University of Missouri.

Boyle will participate in a panel discussion titled “Beyond the Book,” which will examine how society uses electronic devices for more than reading and accessing books. The Big Money Deputy Editor Elinor Shields will moderate the panel that includes JoAnne Boyle, Christopher Schroeder, CEO, HealthCentral, and Dae Mellencamp, general manager, Vimeo, as they discuss how students will access information, how health care will be delivered, and how videos will be created and shared.

Seton Hill University attracted national, and international, attention in April when Boyle announced the University’s new technology initiative, the Griffin Technology Advantage Program.

Boyle commented, “In these challenging economic times, Seton Hill made strategic decisions to invest in technologies that optimize the students’ access to resources. The Griffin Technology Advantage Program provides an opportunity to transform the way faculty teach and the way students learn. In the past year, Seton Hill has invested more than $1.5 million in a premier technology infrastructure. The University provides fast, dependable, and comprehensive services that will assist our students in doing better-better in everything. Better at compiling and organizing data, better at researching, and better at publishing and presenting information-at accessing, judging, and making decisions.”

The Griffin Technology Advantage Program will provide incoming full-time students with an iPad and a MacBook Pro laptop, along with the technical support and robust, wireless infrastructure to support their use. The university’s recent investment in technology has included the creation of a completely wireless campus, quadrupled internet bandwidth, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and faculty trained in the use of advanced technologies inside and outside of the classroom. The MacBooks Pro laptops provided to students will be upgraded in the junior year, and the students will keep the new MacBook Pro laptops when they graduate.

“The Griffin Technology Advantage is Seton Hill’s commitment to provide students with the best in technology and collaborative learning tools and ensures the Seton Hill students will be uniquely suited to whatever careers they choose, even those that have not yet been created,” said Phil Komarny, Seton Hill’s executive director, computer and information technology.

Additionally in the fall of 2010, Seton Hill University is providing an iPad to every full-time existing undergraduate, graduate, and Adult Degree Program student.

“The iPad initiative complements a training program for Seton Hill University’s faculty so students will be able to use the iPad for learning,” said Mary Ann Gawelek, provost and dean of faculty, Seton Hill University. “The iPad was chosen by Seton Hill because of its mobility and the ease with which faculty and students, in the future, will have immediate access to e-textbooks and comprehensive and integrated learning.”

Untethered 2010 is the first large-scale forum to focus exclusively on profitable media in the tablet era and will feature discussions with leading business and technology leaders. Untethered 2010 is hosted by the Washington Post’s The Big Money, a website launched in 2008 which focuses on the intersection of business and disruptive technologies, particularly social media, streaming video and mobile computing.