University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

As a campus resource for conference and event planning, as well as for continuing professional education programs, Conferences & Institutes (C&I) has developed successful partnerships with numerous campus units. In addition to our campus partners, C&I also works with other organizations to form unique, and perhaps, less well-known partnerships that, while still supporting the University’s mission of continuing education, stretch beyond the physical barriers of campus.

OCE and C&I recognized an opportunity to forge a partnership with CERL that would make a significant contribution to the University’s mission of continuing education and public service. The TAC, under the auspices of OCE’s division of Conferences & Institutes, was created to help CERL distribute software management packages. Since its inception almost 20 years ago, TAC has grown and the partnership with CERL has developed and changed. The center now distributes four sustained management systems (SMS) software programs that aid users in the management of infrastructure assets such as pavement and buildings. In addition, TAC provides user support via phone and email, and offers hands-on training courses at various locations throughout the United States and Europe.

The TAC supports the transfer of innovative ideas and research from CERL to the public. Together Director Scott McDonald, Technical Specialist Trachia Stolz, and Program Secretary Lynn Brownfield make up the staff of TAC. Scott and Trachia work with CERL staff to develop and test the software applications, which are constantly evolving to meet user needs. They have also developed courseware used in TAC’s specialized training courses. To conduct these intensive hands-on courses, the staff travels all over the US and Europe and sustains a vital flow of information between individual and corporate subscribers.

OCE’s division of Conferences & Institutes completes this remarkable partnership. The TAC fits seamlessly into C&I’s mission of providing professional development opportunities, not only to the faculty and staff of the University of Illinois, but to individuals and organizations around the globe. In addition to facilitating TAC courses in various locations, C&I also manages all of the software subscriptions, distributes updates, and provides invaluable support to users of all of TAC’s applications.

Conferences & Institutes
Office of Continuing Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign