NCSU Receives $1 million, 5-Year Sas Grant

SAS Institute, a market leader in e-intelligence software and data warehousing software and services, announced a five-year, $1 million software grant to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., the campus where SAS software was developed more than a quarter-century ago.

The grant gives NCSU faculty, staff and students unlimited access to SAS software, including applications designed to streamline administrative tasks, help researchers compete for grants and improve the overall efficiency of other university operations. In addition, NCSU professors will work with SAS to create forums and teaching materials to showcase and publicize research conducted with SAS software.

"We wanted to extend our relationship and offer a partnership with tangible results," said Jeff Babcock, vice president of public sector sales and marketing for SAS North America. "The grant will not only provide software to help the university in operational efficiencies, but also gives personnel the ability to be competitive in faculty and student recruitment and retention."

"We have a long history of working with SAS and this grant is a reiteration of SAS' commitment to education in North Carolina," said Carl Malstrom, assistant vice provost of information technology at NCSU. "Not only are we are excited about the different campus-wide uses of the software and its research capabilities, but we are even more pleased about what this means for our students after graduation."

"With the access to SAS software and solutions, students are given the opportunity to hone the technology skills needed to compete and flourish in today's high-tech work force," added Babcock. "For SAS, the most important contribution is - giving students and educators the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in course work and beyond."

About NCSU

North Carolina State University is the largest of the 16 institutions in The University of North Carolina system, with about 28,000 students, and is the system's flagship campus for science and technology. A Research I, land-grant university, NCSU has traditional strengths in engineering, agriculture, forestry and textiles. With its continuing development of Centennial Campus, NCSU is emerging as a leader in biotechnology, advanced materials, environmental technology, pre-college education, international technology transfer and advanced communications technology.

About SAS

SAS is a world leader in e-intelligence software and services, enabling its customers to turn raw data - including the vast quantity generated by e-business - into usable knowledge. Software from SAS, the world's largest privately held software company, is used at more than 33,000 business, government and university sites in 110 countries. SAS' 1999 revenues totaled $1.02 billion. For more information, visit www.sas.com.

Contact SAS Institute Inc, Mary Ann Campbell-Hickland, 919-677-8000 x6997, MaryAnn.Hickland@sas.com.