Saint Mary's Magazine Spring 2004 - Saint Mary's University of ...

SMU ON THE WWW
It is difficult for many of us to
imagine a world without the
World Wide Web. However, the
roots of the Web date back little
more than 10 years.
In 1990, physicist-turnedprogrammer
Tim Berners-Lee and
colleague Robert Cailliau at the
European
Laboratory for
Particle Physics
(CERN) in
Switzerland
began to
collaborate on
something that
eventually
opened the
floodgates to
A. Eric Heukeshoven
website manager
mass use by
turning the
Internet into an
ocean navigable by anyone able to
point and click a mouse.
On Dec. 12, 1991, the first
Web server in America was
installed on an IBM mainframe
computer at the Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center (SLAC).
The development of Saint
Mary’s website might best be
viewed by the contributions of each
of the “webmasters.”
Dr. Wes Miller
(1995-1996)
A brief history of the web
In spring of 1995, Dr. Wes Miller
(sociology department) was granted
a quarter-time release to bring the
first Saint Mary’s website into
existence with the assistance of
then public information director,
Bob Conover. (Fig. 1) Dr. Miller and
a student assistant loaded the
college catalog and fact sheet onto
a webserver. Later, admission
materials, a campus map, alumni
connections, athletic schedules and
college newsletters were added.
Brother Richard Lemberg,
FSC (1997-1998) and
Mike Campbell (1998-1999)
As the first website continued to
evolve, plans were outlined to
reflect the institution’s image,
philosophy, quality and some of the
atmosphere visitors might
experience if visiting the campus. In
the fall of 1998, the redesigned
website went “live” — offering
information on academic programs,
activities and athletics, facilities,
faculty and staff, admission, alumni
and general information. (Fig. 2)
Included in the new design was a
common graphic theme and a
greater use of photos. Visitors to the
new website could — for the first
time — apply for admission online
via an electronic form.
Brother Richard Lemberg, FSC,
who oversaw much of the
implementation of this new site,
became the director of SMU’s
Fitzgerald Library, and Mike
Campbell stepped into the
webmaster position. Under
Campbell’s direction the website
continued to grow, adding many
useful services such as an alumni
e-mail directory and many more
forms for applying to everything
from sports camps to alumni events.
(at SMU)
A. Eric Heukeshoven
(1999-present)
One of my first tasks as webmaster
was to figure out a way to represent
Saint Mary’s exploding growth in
the School of Graduate and Special
Programs at our Twin Cities campus
and Rochester Center. A look at the
SMU home page in 2002 (Fig. 3)
shows how the site was adapted to
include much more of the entire
SMU community. But the look and
structure were still based on the
1998 foundation.
I can recall discussing a third
redesign of the website as early as
2001. Over time and many
meetings later, a new site design
did emerge accommodating the
design wishes of many departments.
The current website celebrated its
first anniversary in February 2004.
(Fig. 4) Today’s website offers
options that were not possible with
its predecessors: the ability to pay
online (e-commerce); a much
greater use of graphics; and a
means for our faculty and staff to
easily update information using just
their Web browser.
The World Wide Web and
Saint Mary’s University have
changed and expanded dramatically
in the last decade. No one knows
what exactly is to come, but I for
one am excited to be a part of our
continuing history.≠
18 SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE SPRING 2004