CNU's Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center (VECTEC)
Awarded $25,000 Verizon Foundation e-Commerce Training Grant
News Release - May 01, 2008
Media Contact:
Emily L. Lucier
Press Secretary and Media Manager
emily.lucier@cnu.edu
(757) 594-8428
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - The Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center (VECTEC) at Christopher Newport University is pleased to announce the award of a $25,000 Verizon Foundation grant to provide funds for a series of e-commerce training classes for rural businesses located throughout Virginia.
The Verizon Series of e-Commerce Training Classes will help close the “digital divide” in rural areas of Virginia by educating small to mid-size businesses about e-commerce technologies that can be used to grow revenues and jobs through participation in the electronic marketplace. This public/private partnership is working to position Virginia as a model for economic development in rural communities throughout the country.
“It is gratifying to have the opportunity to provide funding to VECTEC so they can bring the most up to date technology curriculum to small businesses and individuals who are eager and anxious to learn, so they can prosper in the 21st century,” notes Laura Barnes, area manager for Verizon, one of the nation’s leading broadband technology providers.
The Verizon e-commerce training grant will be administered by the main VECTEC office at CNU as part of its educational outreach program. Regions, localities, businesses or individuals interested in receiving e-commerce training should contact VECTEC’s main office or visit the VECTEC website at www.vectec.org for specific information on the grant.
The Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center was established at Christopher Newport University in October 1994 and has a staff of 21 full and part time employees, and supports three Regional offices in Abingdon, Lebanon and South Boston, Virginia. VECTEC’s mission is to help keep the Virginia economy competitive in the world markets by fostering community education regarding an information technology based environment, promoting electronic commerce through education, regional offices, and business models and by being an advocate for the new electronic commerce paradigm throughout the Commonwealth. VECTEC is the economic development outreach program for the university.
For additional information regarding this grant please contact William Muir, Director of VECTEC at (757) 594-7092
Christopher Newport University is a four-year public university in Newport News, Virginia. CNU enrolls 5,000 students in rigorous academic programs through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Joseph W. Luter III College of Business and Leadership and offers great teaching, small classes and an emphasis on leadership, civic engagement and honor. Visit us at www.cnu.edu.