News Release

UMSL scholar receives community outreach award

Vicki Sauter, professor of management science and information systems at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, works with UMSL student Garrett Jones.

Vicki Sauter, professor of management science and information systems at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, received a Gateway to Innovation Community Outreach Award, presented by Scottrade, Inc. The award, which is presented to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the St. Louis region, was given April 30 during the Gateway to Innovation Conference, hosted by the IT Coalition, Society for Information Management, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and Missouri Enterprise Technology Association.

Sauter, of Creve Coeur, Mo., received the award for her work with two outreach programs geared toward encouraging high school students to study in the field of information technology. The programs are Imagine IT! and Xtreme IT!

"I'm honored by this award, which I'm accepting on behalf of everyone involved," she said. "We have created some truly amazing programs for high school students, programs to peak their interest and get them excited and really thinking about information technology. Our hope is to show students that computers, programming and software design can be stimulating and fulfilling career choices."

Imagine IT! is a program for high school sophomores, giving them insight into the information systems profession. Participating students tour the UMSL campus, learn about the IS program and talk with faculty and students. In addition, they take part in company tours to area business such as IBM, Microsoft, Boeing and Monsanto.

Xtreme IT! is a weeklong program that exposes the students to a range of applications, as well as tours of both UMSL and local companies. The program allows students to step into the field of IT through conversations and interaction with faculty and business professionals, all culminating in the creation of the participant's own Web page.

In addition, Imagine IT Reunion!, spearhead by Sauter, brought students from the program back together a year later to discuss what they had learned since the program.
Sauter joined the UMSL faculty in 1979. She has expertise in decision support systems for business intelligence, system development and Web development. Her current research interest also includes women in computing.

She has written several journal articles on these topics, and is working on two books, "Decision Support Systems for Business Intelligence" and "You Are Never Too Old to Surf," which will serve as a user's guide to the Internet. In 2004, Sauter established the computer museum "Grace's Place" at UMSL. The museum, located in the Computer Center Building, houses a historical gallery of the development of computers and software, honoring computer pioneer Grace Murray Hopper, who was known for creating the computer language COBOL, which is still used today.

Visit http://mis.umsl.edu/imagine-it.html for more information about Imagine IT! Visit http://mis.umsl.edu/xtremeit.html for more information about Xtreme IT!

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