By Joan Crigger
February 3, 2003

A part of the 71st Winter Meeting of the Conference of Mayors, Gwen McDonald, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at 3Com Corporation, announced the winners of the latest round of Urban Challenge Grant awards on January 23.

The winners are: West Palm Beach Mayor Joel T. Daves, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Mayor Don Wesely, Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim, and a joint award to Cupertino Mayor Michael Chang, Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy and Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan. With these awards, 3Com will have given 40 grants totaling $4 million over the past four years.

The Urban Challenge Award program was first announced in July 1999 as a partnership with the Conference of Mayors when Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino brought them to a Public Schools Task Force meeting in Chicago. In Boston, 3Com provided Boston public school students with the technology necessary to be successful in a high tech world.

In West Palm Beach, the city and the Children's Home Society (CHS) are building a state-of-the-art voice and data network at CHS's new South Coastal Division campus.

In Baltimore, the city and the City Public Schools will bridge the digital divide for city students and residents with new switches and wireless networks in seven new community centers and an existing center.

In Lincoln, the city will develop a city-wide Constituent Services Tracking System for residents.

In Norfolk, the city will bolster a multi-year effort for student safety and parent/teacher communications at City Public Schools by upgrading their telephone system to voice over technologies.

And, in Cupertino, Morgan Hill and Santa Clara, working with Santa Clara County Office of Education , they will build a powerful network infrastructure that will support its new Web-based student tracking database and software.