Eastern University Offering Google E-Mail, Collaboration Tools

St. Davids, PA, February 5, 2010 –Eastern University has partnered with Google to improve its technology infrastructure. The change has been described as a win for both students and university alike.

On February 1, 2010, Eastern University began its switch to offer Eaglemail, a set of hosted and customizable communications solutions, as part of the University’s core information technology service offerings. Through Eaglemail, students, faculty and staff will have access to tools including e-mail, shared calendars, instant messaging and word processing all at their @eastern.edu e-mail address. The transition from CommuniGate to Google Apps Education Edition will be finalized by the end of February.

“We are pleased to partner with Google to offer enhanced e-mail service and provide new applications for the University’s user groups,” said Diana Bacci, Vice President for Administration and University Registrar. Such partnerships can benefit all type of schools, including Christian colleges and universities. “This hosted solution achieves a strategic objective in our IT plan and frees up resources to be used for other technology projects.”

Through Google Apps Education Edition, Eaglemail will offer Eastern students, faculty and staff expanded email space (up to 7 GB). Additionally, other Google applications will be able to be used seamlessly, including: Google Calendar, which allows easy coordination of work or class schedules, meetings and events online; Google Talk, which supports free PC-to-PC voice calls and instant messaging; and Google Docs, which allows users to create and collaborate on documents and spreadsheets in real time. Moreover, every Eastern student will find the switch to Eaglemail useful, whether they are pursuing an Associates in Liberal Arts or a Master’s in Multicultural education.

Eastern University’s Administrative Computing Department will be conducting webinar trainings for users of Google Apps Education Edition. Furthermore, e-mail messages will be dual-delivered into both Eaglemail and CommuniGate accounts after the first several weeks of this Christian University’s Google launch to ensure that the transition will cause minimal disruption in user e-mail communication.

To learn more about Eastern University, visit:
www.eastern.edu

About Eastern University

Eastern is a Pennsylvania Christian University dedicated to the teaching, development and preparation of men and women for productive lives of Christian faith, leadership and service.