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Central Michigan University

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CMU assisted ESRI in establishing an ESRI ArcGIS statewide site license for higher education that initially involved 13 institutions of higher education. CMU continues to take a leadership role in Michigan by growing its GIS academic programs across many academic disciplines and in supporting other academic institutions in Michigan in their GIS programs. CMU seeks to build strategic alliances with state agencies, public schools, universities, and private sector companies to promote information technology.

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Business Problem

With the availability of unlimited ESRI software and online training, participating universities and colleges will be able to broaden the scope of GIS education and information they deliver to students, faculty, administrators and staff. One of the goals is to promote GIS awareness throughout Michigan. The statewide software license will facilitate the use of GIS technology for academic research, teaching and administrative tasks such as campus mapping, alumni tracking, facilities management and marketing activities.

Technology Implemented

CMU’s Geographic Information Systems Center, located in the department of geography in the College of Science and Technology, was established in 1994 to facilitate and handle the rapidly increasing amounts of spatially referenced data for central and northern Michigan. This data is being utilized for application projects, research, and teaching.

The GIS center acts as a repository for government data sets. U.S. Bureau of the Census TIGER/Line files, Digital Raster Graphics data, LandView III maps of selected Environmental Protection Agency regulated sites, and National Imagery and Mapping Agency digital maps are available for use to researchers and students. To facilitate accurate mapping in the field, the center has several Trimble global positioning system units capable of sub-meter accuracy.

A new master's degree in geographic information sciences has been added in CMU’s College of Science and Technology. Faculty and students who conduct research in remote sensing, GIS and cartography will be able to take advantage of the software under the new agreement between Environmental Systems Research Institute and CMU.

CMU also is a member of Improving Michigan's Access to Geographic Information Networks, and CMU geographer Bin Li serves on the Web site development task force. Members of the professional organization are committed to continually improving the quality and availability of digital geospatial data necessary for effective use of GIS.

The Central Michigan University Research Corporation’s business insight research activities utilize GIS technology to help research major corporate scientific at business problems, where massive data structures and intensive computing power are required. The CMU faculty and students conduct this applied research.

Development Team Biography

The Geography Department, College of Business Administration, College of Extended Learning, Office of Institutional Research, and Information Technology have been instrumental in developing GIS at Central Michigan University.

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