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With more than 1,000 people
flowing through the meeting rooms, ballrooms, and
hallways of the San Diego Marriott Hotel and
Marina—including Jenzabar customers, employees,
partners, vendors, and higher education experts—the 2005
Jenzabar Annual Meeting (JAM) was a spirited place to be
for four days in mid-June. Educators and administrators
from across the nation and countries as distant as Egypt
came together to hear the latest product and corporate
news, network with one another, and learn new tips and
tricks to make the most of their integrated Jenzabar
systems.
The JAM program offered attendees
more than 300 sessions, organized by product line and
end-user tracks, including new product announcements and
demonstrations, hands-on training, lively discussion
forums, and a new Executive Program designed for
cabinet-level officials. The inaugural Executive Program
featured a keynote address by Eduventures, a noted
higher education industry analyst, and was described as
a success by the senior-level financial and technology
executives who participated.
Another first: Sold-out
pre-conference training sessions on such topics as JICS
6.0 (Jenzabar’s Internet Campus Solution), Jenzabar’s
LMS (Learning Management System), introduction to
Microsoft SQL Server language, and the use of Notepad
across all modules.
This year’s conference also saw a
higher level of Jenzabar partner participation than ever
before, with a record number of partner exhibits,
sponsorships, and presentations; IBM generously donated
more than 100 desktop and laptop computers for use
throughout the conference.
An expanded Universe Room was a
popular destination throughout the week, offering an
ideal setting for a welcome cocktail reception, e-mail
stations at the Cyber Cafe, one-on-one meetings with
Jenzabar staff, partner and vendor exhibits—and coffee
breaks.
"I found the Jenzabar Annual Meeting to be highly stimulating," commented Terry Dennis, Vice President of Finance for Florida Southern College. "It was a great opportunity to not only network and exchange information with our peers from around the country, but to also hear about Jenzabar's corporate and product visions.” Mr. Dennis took part in the new Executive Program as well, and found that the program “took the technology conversation to a new level, a strategic level, which allowed for direct interaction with senior level financial and technology executives."
Bernadette McMahon, Chief Information Officer for Columbia College Chicago, noted that because JAM 2005 provided “so many great sessions, we were able to collect a lot of valuable information on topics important for our college.” Moreover, the Columbia College Chicago contingent “really appreciated Jenzabar's client focus at this event,” Ms. McMahon added, “not only through interaction with the company's employees, but also through the forums that they provided with the opportunity to share and learn directly from other Jenzabar clients."
Customer Appreciation
Awards
For the first time this year,
Jenzabar recognized customers of 25 years or more,
originally customers of the predecessor companies
(Campus America, CMDS, CARS, and Quodata) that together
formed today’s Jenzabar, Inc. The customer appreciation
awards were presented during luncheon ceremonies by
Chairman and CEO Bob Maginn. The institutions receiving
special plaques and 25-year lapel pins
were:
Cedar Crest College (Pennsylvania)
Columbia College Chicago
(Illinois)
Eastern Mennonite University (Virginia)
Endicott College (Massachusetts)
Geneva College (Pennsylvania)
Goshen
College (Indiana)
Grove City College (Pennsylvania)
Indiana Institute of Technology (Indiana)
Northland Pioneer College
(Arizona)
Northwestern Oklahoma State
University
(Oklahoma)
Oakwood College
(Alabama)
Olivet College
(Michigan)
Palo Verde College (California)
Universidad del Sagrado Corazon
(Puerto Rico)
Westminster College (Missouri)
Westminster College (Pennsylvania)
Wilmington College
(Ohio)
Regional User Group
Kick-Off
A breezy rooftop patio overlooking
the marina provided the venue for kicking off the
creation of new Jenzabar Regional User Groups across the
country. During the informal reception, customers from
each region were able to identify one another and start
networking on the spot with the help of color-coded
baseball caps. Clusters of red-capped heads here and
blue-capped heads there (and yellow and green and khaki
and burnt orange . . . ) created a festive atmosphere as
customers from each region volunteered to play a role in
forming new Regional User Groups, and the sun set over
San Diego Bay.
At the Zoo
Gorillas and pandas and parrots—oh my! JAM went to the
world-famous San Diego Zoo for an afternoon of touring
the park, where fearsome gorillas, lovable pandas, and
sleepy koala bears were among the most irresistible
exhibits. After closing time, the Zoo staged a private
show in the Wegeforth Bowl just for Jenzabar, featuring
parrots swooping overhead in precision formation and a
limelight-loving sea lion. Then a buffet dinner was
served outdoors to the musical accompaniment of a roving
bush band. Overhead tram tours with spectacular views of
the park, a visit to the Reptile House, and a stop at
the gift shops capped off the day for JAM guests,
families and friends.
Thanks—and Here’s to JAM
2006
We’d like to thank the many
hundreds of customers who traveled to San Diego and
helped make JAM 2005 a valuable experience for all.
Jenzabar executives, product experts, Customer Care, and
Support staff enjoyed spending time with customers and
hearing your comments on our products and services. We
especially appreciated your feedback on the annual
meeting itself—and you can expect to see many of your
suggestions in action at JAM 2006. See you then!
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