News for and about the Internet2 community

[Todd Sedmak <>]

California’s Jim Dolgonas, President and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of 
CENIC, Awarded Internet2 2012 Richard Rose Award

Dolgonas recognized as a leader in extending the reach of advanced networking 
into the K-20 education community

Arlington, VA – April 24, 2012 – Internet2, the world’s most advanced 
networking consortium, today honored Jim Dolgonas, president and chief 
executive officer emeritus of CENIC, as this year's Richard Rose Award 
winner. This annual award recognizes extraordinary individual contributions 
that extend the reach of advanced networking into the K-20 education 
community.

"Jim has been a great contributor to fostering access to and the use of 
technology in all aspects of education in California,” said Dave Lambert, 
Internet2 chief executive officer and president. “He has been a strong 
advocate nationally for the most advanced and imaginative uses of the 
Internet to help our community and the people we serve.
"
Jim Dolgonas served as president and chief executive officer of the 
Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), from 
July 1, 2004, until he stepped down January 31, 2012. California’s education 
and research communities leverage their networking resources under CENIC to 
obtain cost-effective, high-bandwidth networking to support their missions 
and answer the needs of their faculty, staff, and students. CENIC's 
membership is drawn from California’s K-20 research and education 
institutions and includes nearly all of the state’s public education system 
and a significant number of private research and education institutions.

“Jim has worked tirelessly to include the K-20 community in all aspects of 
CENIC -- in shaping the budget, services and products, internal and public 
policy agendas, and governance,” said Louis Fox, current CENIC President and 
CEO. “Keeping in mind that nearly one in eight Americans lives in California 
and roughly one-quarter are part of the state’s research and education 
communities at any given time as faculty, staff, or students, Jim’s impact as 
a single individual over more than a decade of service becomes even more 
awesome.”

“It’s also stunning to see Jim’s hand in so many important projects that 
extend beyond the educational segments and, in fact, reach many underserved 
communities throughout California via anchor institutions,” Fox added. “His 
foresight in anticipating the importance of such institutions in expanding 
the reach of advanced broadband capabilities predated the development of 
current national and state-level efforts such as Internet2’s U.S. UCAN by at 
least a decade and was pivotal in their implementation.”

Most recently, Dolgonas worked with a consortium of small telecommunications 
carriers and community groups to win $46 million in federal stimulus funds to 
expand CENIC’s fiber path in the underserved areas of the Central Valley. The 
Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project will improve 
the availability of broadband networking infrastructure to schools, colleges, 
and universities in 18 counties, as well as to anchor institutions in those 
counties such as county and main libraries, public safety answering points, 
and healthcare providers.

As a leader and collaborator, Dolgonas also helped to reshape the public 
policy agenda for the California Public Utility Commission’s California 
Teleconnect Fund to provide additional support for K-12 and community 
colleges. “Jim’s relentless efforts to enhance broadband access for 
California’s K-20 education and research community has spanned more than a 
decade,” said Patrick Perry, Vice Chancellor of Technology, Research and 
Information Systems, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. “Jim 
has literally saved the State of California tens of millions of public 
dollars.”

“Jim has consistently demonstrated a vision for successful collaboration 
between all educational entities in California in order to efficiently serve 
all the needs of the public and maximize resources,” said Anne Mallory, 
Superintendent for Imperial County Office of Education. “Jim has a proven 
record of successful leadership in bringing in new resources, seeking and 
fostering collaboration between agencies, and proactively working to enhance 
broadband access for students across California.”

Further, Dolgonas has been a longtime supporter of content initiatives. A 
recent example is the provision of start-up and support to early phases of 
what is now a California-wide STEM initiative. The initiative has grown to 
become independent of CENIC and is now its own 501(c)(3) organization with 
its own funding and governance.

Prior to joining CENIC, Dolgonas served for 25 years in various technology 
leadership positions within the University of California system, including as 
system CIO. He has been active in EDUCAUSE, including service on the 
Administrative Systems Advisory committee, as well as in Internet2 as a 
member of the External Relations Advisory Council. Dolgonas has also served 
on various industry advisory committees, including those of IBM and Sun. He 
holds a Bachelors degree from the University of California, Davis and an MBA 
from UCLA.

The Richard Rose Award, presented by the Internet2 K20 Initiative, in which 
Richard Rose played an early and influential leadership role, focuses on 
efforts to extend advanced networking and applications from research 
universities to the broadest education community, including primary and 
secondary schools, community colleges, libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums, 
and performing arts and cultural centers, America's "anchor institutions." 
The Award celebrates educators or technologists who have had a demonstrable 
impact on the K-20 community. Mr. Rose was the executive director of the 
University of Maryland Academic Telecommunications System (UMATS) and USM 
Office IT, when he passed away in January 2007.

The award was presented on April 24, 2012, at the Spring 2012 Internet2 
Member Meeting held in Arlington, Virginia. For more information about the 
Richard Rose Award, visit http://www.internet2.edu/rose.

About Internet2

Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the 
nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a 
collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to 
solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in 
support of their educational, research, and community service missions. For 
more information, visit www.internet2.edu.


Visit our website: www.internet2.edu
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/internet2
Become a Fan on Facebook: www.internet2.edu/facebook