University Centre Named in Honour of Staff Personality

13th February, 2006

A decision to name the refurbished Data Centre at the University of Newcastle after a popular former member of staff, has been greeted with great pleasure by the University community.

The Centre will be officially named the Pam Collins Data Centre at an opening function to be held at 1pm in the University's Purdue Room (part of the Great Hall) on Tuesday, 14th February.

As the University's Switchboard Manager, Pam was well known and very popular amongst University staff, students and the wider community. Her sudden death in September, 2001 shocked and saddened all who knew her.

Manager of IT Facilities, Andrew Pollack, who has supervised the refurbishment project, said that Pam was an outstanding person who brought a special dimension to her work.

"There was very little that Pam didn't know about the University. She always joked that she was the Head of the 'First Impressions Department'. Pam knew every professor and lecturer, knew where each person was located and kept track of everything that was going on. She was a very special person," Andrew said.

"When the Data Centre Project was completed recently, it was a popular decision with University staff that the Centre be named after Pam. We are very proud of the new Centre and I am delighted that Pam will be remembered in this way," he said.

Andrew said that prior to this refurbishment, the Data Centre area in the McMullin Building had been overdue for an upgrade.

"The Pam Collins Data Centre will provide the University with a modern facility, capable of delivering increased IT system reliability and uptime to support teaching, learning and research, as well as all of its corporate applications. The refurbished Data Centre area will also have increased capacity for all of its supporting infrastructure such as electrical, mechanical and communications. The Pam Collins Data Centre has been carefully planned to allow for the future growth of the University's IT systems and services over the coming years," Andrew said.

The official opening on Tuesday will be attended by Pam's family, friends and former work colleagues as well as University IT Infrastructure staff and members of the University Executive.