IBM bestows faculty award on Robert Morris professor

For the second year in a row, John Turchek, head of the computer and information systems department at Robert Morris University, has the pleasant problem of determining how to spend $40,000.

The money accompanies his IBM Faculty Award and must be used to enhance mainframe enterprise systems at the university in Moon. The honor is given to one full-time professor at an accredited university that offers degree programs in the nominee's field.

Mr. Turchek, professor of computer and information systems, used part of last year’s award to subsidize travel and registration expenses for faculty to attend conferences and to host events on campus that promote mainframe computer technology.

Although IBM professionals nominated Mr. Turchek because of his exceptional collaboration in research and teaching using IBM mainframe computers, he said he accepted the award on behalf of all faculty in his department.

“This award represents all of the hard work that our contributing faculty has been doing over the years,” he said. “They have the background and the expertise and without them, we can’t do this program."

Mr. Turchek, 68, of Freedom, often speaks on behalf of the company, including at the annual IBM SHARE Conference, a national meeting where more than 1,000 corporations discuss modern enterprise technologies.

In 2014, he was the faculty speaker at IBM’s 50th anniversary gala for mainframe technology and led the IBM Enterprise Educators Conference at the university. He also traveled to Europe for the 2014 Guide Share Europe Summit and presented to representatives of 12 European universities, intending to implement parts of the university’s Enterprise Systems Program curriculum into their programs.

In addition to these speaking engagements, Mr. Turchek often addresses the need for a mainframe workforce.

According to an IBM survey, it is projected that between 2017 and 2022, over half of the mainframe workforce will retire.

Mr. Turchek said this statistic, coupled with the low number of colleges and universities that offer courses on mainframe technology, poses a threat to the industry.

A study at the university revealed that only 37 universities in the world have at least one dedicated mainframe enterprise course in their curriculum.

Mr. Turchek said Robert Morris is the only program to offer five or more courses for both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The university phased out its enterprise systems programs in the mid-1990s when the rise of distributed computer systems threatened to overtake the mainframe. However, the program was revived in fall of 2012, when advancements in mainframe technology fueled the demand for enterprise systems professionals.

“We knew we had something here, so we made a conscious effort to bring back our other courses that we had,” he said. “We are very fortunate to have kept our faculty who are strong in this area.”

Mr. Turchek said most computing faculty members don’t have the training and expertise on mainframes because it is time-consuming and costly to learn.

His mainframe skills were self-taught. Upon graduating from Penn State University in 1968 where he learned on mainframes, Mr. Turchek taught at the former Connelly Skill Learning Center in Pittsburgh.

He also served as a consultant for U.S. Steel, where he said he learned mainframe skills.

In 1972, he joined Robert Morris University, where he said he has enjoyed the opportunity to learn and grow and help students become successful.