Merit Network's Donald Welch and several other distinguished attendees were honored on February 15, 2012,
at the White House in Washington, D.C. The Champions of Change ceremony recognized the honoree's work, leadership and innovation in infrastructure. Guests participated in panel discussions about their infrastructure projects. Lawrence E. Strickling, assistant secretary for communications and information and administrator for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) U.S. Department of Commerce, led a panel discussion with Don Welch and others.
Archived Video
Photos
Don Welch, Lawrence Strickling, and Joe Freddoso from MCNC
The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama's Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different issue is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community activists, are recognized for the work they are doing to better their communities. You can check out the previous champions, their blogs and video of past events at
www.whitehouse.gov/champions
Blog Entry
Donald J. Welch had the privilege of writing a Champions of Change blog entry for the White House.
Read Don's blog entry.
Background Information
Donald J. Welch, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of Merit Network. Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit corporation governed by Michigan's public universities, which owns and operates America's longest-running regional research and education network. Since its formation, Merit Network has remained on the forefront of research and education networking expertise and services. Merit provides high-performance networking solutions to Michigan's public universities, colleges, K-12 organizations, libraries, state government, healthcare, and other non-profit organizations.
Merit's REACH Michigan Middle Mile Collaborative (REACH-3MC) will build over 2,287 miles of open-access, advanced fiber-optic network through rural and underserved communities in Michigan. The network will also provide backhaul to key connection points in Wisconsin and Minnesota. It will connect over 120 community anchor institutions and improve the service to hundreds more.
Led by Merit Network, the project includes sub-recipients from the private sector to make broadband readily available to households and businesses that lack adequate service options in the 52 counties that make up the project service area. REACH-3MC is funded by a grant from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Don is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. He served in the Army for 25 years in both infantry and information technology assignments, achieving the rank of Colonel.
