American History 1988
Chapter 48 - 45 Model Project

Chapter 48: Chapter 45 Model Project

"Professor Miller said you’re quite interested in the One Cleveland project?"

"Yes, I think I might give it a try. Mr. Clark, I’ve developed an office system for the local courts in Youngstown, which also sort of counts as a collaborative software."

In the office of the Dean of Academic Affairs, Dean was self-promoting to Clark. To strengthen his persuasiveness, he even brought out the proposal for the DCAP project he’d worked on before.

"Wow~" Clark flipped through the proposal and looked up at Dean in surprise. "They do look pretty legitimate, don’t they?"

"In fact, it has already been officially put to use." Dean shrugged.

"Alright, give me a few minutes." Clark put aside the planning book and picked up the telephone on the desk, dialing a number.

After a few words, he nodded and hung up the phone, "Dean, I must say, you’ve impressed me once again. They speak highly of you in Youngstown."

To verify whether what Dean had said was true was actually quite simple; he only needed to make a phone call.

"So, Mr. Clark, about One Cleveland..."

Clark rummaged through a folder on the desk and then handed him a document. "Originally, we had planned to hire outside help since there are no computer science majors in the college. But, since you, Dean, are interested in it and have proven yourself, it’s yours."

"Thank you, Mr. Clark." Having obtained a research work that could enhance his credentials, a smile appeared on Dean’s face.

"By the way, who should I contact for this project? I mean... who else here at the university is involved in this work." Since it was a collaborative development with other schools, there must be a working group of some sort.

"Nothing~" Clark pursed his lips and spread his hands.

"What?" Dean thought he had misheard.

"Just like I said, Cleveland State University doesn’t have a computer science department, let alone specialists in this area. One Cleveland is simply a project initiated within the college town alliance, and to create a little sense of participation, the university’s board thought Cleveland State University ought to do something. After all, you can’t expect the students from the art or music colleges to put down their paintbrushes and violins to start coding, can you?"

"Professor Miller said our school was given the task of developing an instant messaging tool?" Dean still didn’t understand how the school had taken on the task without a shred of computer technology expertise.

"Mm-hmm~" Clark nonchalantly nodded.

"Then if I hadn’t applied... what was the school planning to do?" Dean felt like the university’s administration might be a bit too laid-back.

"We had already contacted a software development company that would create a prototype for us. So go ahead, Dean, and don’t worry. Even if it fails, it doesn’t matter, we still have Plan B." Clark didn’t tell Dean that the school had even paid a deposit.

Of course, if Dean did well, then naturally, everyone would be happy. In any case, software companies didn’t have much of a presence these days, and hiring them didn’t cost much.

"Alright, Mr. Clark, how should I get in touch with Case Western Reserve University regarding this project? After all, this is a collaborative effort." Dean had given up getting hung up on this issue.

His minimum expectation now was to be able to add his name to the developers’ list when the project was completed. At the very least, he could then legitimately include this experience in his resume.

"OK~" When it came to this topic, Clark handed him another business card. "Miranda, in charge of the Student Activities Management Center. She handles all external communication—you can get in touch with her about anything."

Dean took a look at the business card; it wasn’t a name he was familiar with.

"Although Miranda just started working, she was a board member of the student council at Yale, so don’t be fooled by her age. She can handle any tricky problem with extracurricular activities with ease."

"Yale? How did the child of privilege from Yale end up at our school... I mean, how did she come to Cleveland?" Dean almost made an inappropriate comment about his own institution.

"It’s because her father, Mather, was recently transferred to work at the Bank of America in Cleveland." Clark wasn’t surprised by Dean’s question, and he generously provided an explanation. After all, these sorts of arrangements are mainstream in American society.

As an elite in the financial sector, they typically maintain good relationships with state legislators. Cleveland State University, being a public school, directly relies on state government for its funding. Therefore, arranging for a talented Yale student to come to a public university for a gold-plating experience was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, I’ll contact her." Dean pocketed the business card and bid farewell, leaving Clark’s office.

He would treat this project as his research topic, but to avoid interfering with his plans to transfer later, he needed to start some preparatory work as soon as possible.

When he returned to the dormitory, Dean planned to make a phone call to Ms. Miranda. But as soon as he opened the door, he saw Simon monopolizing his computer, tinkering with that Tetris game.

After Dean activated internet service for his dorm two days ago, Simon took advantage of his absence and secretly downloaded the game.

"Come on, Simon, my work isn’t done yet." Dean was still preparing the Cleveland section of Price’s List.

Although the general framework could be directly applied from the Youngstown model, some essential content still required his personal attention. For example, local news, services, and so on—something attractive was needed on the website before its official launch.

"OK~ Dean, I’ll be done in just a sec." Seeing the blocks had piled up to the top, Simon simply forced himself to quit the game. As long as I quit fast enough, it wouldn’t count as a loss.

Simon, rising from the computer, couldn’t help but take a curious look at the documents Dean was holding.

"Buddy, are you sure this isn’t a model project? They just handed it over to you like that?"

"In fact, they didn’t have much choice, oh no, they did have a Plan B. Anyway, you’re right about one thing, Simon, it is indeed a prestige project," Dean replied as he put down his stuff and picked up the dorm phone to dial the number on the business card.

"Hello~ This is the Student Activities Management Center." A sweet voice emerged from the receiver.

Ah-ha~ Perfect American girl accent. Dean raised an eyebrow and then asked, "Is this Miss Miranda? This is Dean Price speaking."

"Yes, I’m Miranda. What can I do for you, Mr. Price?"

"Mr. Clark mentioned that you are the contact person for the One Cleveland project developed jointly by our school and Case Western Reserve, so..."

"Great! You’re the representative from our school, right? That’s wonderful," The voice grew frantic on the other end, "ah... so should we meet in person?"

"What?" Dean was a bit lost by her train of thought, "Miss Miranda, I actually wanted to ask how to contact the team over at Case. After all, I need to coordinate some work with them before we start."

"Dean," Miranda’s voice became serious, "as the sole representative of our school, I think it’s necessary for us to meet in person. You know, this relates to the honor of our school."

Miranda, who had come to Cleveland State University nearly a month ago and finally found some work to do, was bursting with enthusiasm for her job.

"Uhmm... meet in person?" Dean asked uncertainly.

"Yes, that’s right, and the sooner, the better. We’re already behind schedule," Miranda was fully in work mode now.

"Okay, tomorrow," started Dean, but Simon interrupted, waving two tickets encouragingly at him.

"Uh... I mean the day after tomorrow, yes, I’m free the day after tomorrow," Dean nodded with certainty, "So we will meet at..."

"Come to the Student Management Center to find me, Dean, and don’t be late," Miranda noted down the date in her planner.

"Of course," Dean agreed and hung up the phone.

"Mother F*cker, Dean, you almost missed the show tomorrow," Simon complained. This was his most important event of the week.

"All right, Simon, I turned down a date with a Yale girl for you~" Dean shamelessly boasted.

"Yale girl?" As expected, Simon’s interest was piqued, "Come on, don’t joke around, how could they fall for a bunch of country bumpkins? But Dean, are you sure you want to transfer to Stanford? I heard the workload is heavy there and they’re very picky with students?"

Simon was a bit sad at the thought of Dean leaving, as Cleveland State University was already quite deserted. Without Dean, he would have to return to a boring existence.

"You know, Simon," Dean pointed at the computer, "Cleveland University doesn’t even have a computer science major."

"Well, Dean, you should pursue your dreams. Cleveland has lost its glory; it can’t keep a genius like you," Simon said.

As a local from Ohio, who lived not far from Cleveland in Akron, Simon felt both pessimistic and helpless about Cleveland’s decline.

"Simon, stop f*cking worrying about Cleveland’s future, that’s the politicians’ business. By the way, can you still get those discounted tickets for the performing arts centers, theaters, galleries, stadiums? I’m about to launch a website, and I think students around the university town would be interested in them."

"You mean the Price’s List you mentioned? Dean, that’s an interesting thing. But to make it popular, maybe you should talk to the fraternity guys," Simon offered an unexpected suggestion to Dean.

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