Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP is pleased to announce a recent contribution and educational partnership with the McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology (“MCIT”) within the Lawrence Township School District in Indianapolis.

Following BGD’s recent upgrade to our own internal networking equipment, BGD’s Chief Information Officer Steven Novak began to search for avenues in which to donate the depreciated equipment. Upon learning of the need, BGD Partner Jan Keefer approached Novak and suggested the partnership with the MCIT Information Technology Pathway program as the possible solution. As a former Lawrence Township School Foundation board member and two-year board president, Keefer is well versed in the many different programs the school system offers and believed this to be the perfect fit.

Available to students from Lawrence North High School and Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, the MCIT houses state-of-the-art equipment and materials in the classrooms and labs. The Center embraces rigorous academic programs and diverse technological career courses, which prepare its college and career-bound students for post-secondary education at two and four-year colleges, military service, workplace entry, or advanced technical training in a variety of business, medical, and industrial fields.

Having worked with similar programs in the Chicago area that have been sponsored by other law firms and a corporate legal department, Novak is familiar with the STEM designation and the positive impact the Firm could provide to the students. “From my perspective, the MCIT program is focused on providing the students with hands on, technical training opportunities that deliver real world technical skills that are in high demand in the market today,” said Novak.

 “It is one thing to learn from a book, but to actually work with the equipment and build a working technical solution significantly improves the depth and richness of the experience and training curriculum,” Novak explained. “The equipment that the Firm donated will provide the tools for the students to build a modern data network that is utilized in all business today as well as overlay the data network solution with data security protection, which is foundational when implementing new technology and supporting a business.”

The Firm’s contribution includes 75 pieces of networking equipment consisting of: Cisco networking equipment, Cisco security appliances, Cisco VoIP telephone system, Avaya networking equipment, Juniper security appliances, Dell servers and Riverbed WAN acceleration equipment.

In 2018, the MCIT partnered with Vincennes University and started the Cisco Academy for students who have followed the MCIT’s Information Technology Pathway program through the CompTIA A+ (Information Technology Support) and CompTIA Network+ (Networking I) courses. MCIT currently has sophomores, juniors and seniors who have their CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications, and are currently learning how to setup and manage small networks with Cisco equipment.

“Our students will benefit so much by being able to setup networking equipment for various labs in our Networking and Cisco Academy classes,” said Kevin Kelly, an information technology instructor at MCIT. “This donation will allow our students to work hands-on with equipment that they have not been exposed to outside of the virtual environment. Our students will also be able to design labs with multiple objectives simulating the design and setup of a small business network. Our second year networking students will also be able to work one-to-one with the equipment, which will allow them to learn at a much faster pace.”

Bingham Greenebaum Doll is committed to the communities it serves. There is a belief that by helping our communities to thrive, clients prosper. This partnership should facilitate the growth of young community members. It should be exciting to see what these students will accomplish in the future through the support of their educational programing.  

For more information on the McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology or their Information Technology Pathway program, please visit their website or contact Dr. Dana Altemeyer, Director of Communications for the Lawrence Township School District at danaaltemeyer@msdlt.k12.in.us.

Bingham Greenebaum Doll is now part of Dentons. This release was published prior to the combination, which was effective in January of 2020. For more information, visit dentons.com or view our announcement.

About Dentons Bingham Greenebaum

Dentons Bingham Greenebaum is a premier regional business and tax law firm, based in the Midwest. The firm has helped its clients close deals, manage risks, and open doors to new opportunities for more than 100 years.  Dentons Bingham Greenebaum provides transactional, litigation, estate planning, tax and employee benefits, and economic development advice to clients across a variety of industries and business sectors. The firm’s client base is diverse and contains regional, national, and international engagements. The lawyers at Dentons Bingham Greenebaum serve clients in the communities where they live and work, with locations in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. For more information, visit www.dentons.com