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From: piner@pur-phy.UUCP (Richard Piner)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: unused gifts
Message-ID: <2238@pur-phy.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Aug-87 03:52:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: pur-phy.2238
Posted: Tue Aug 25 03:52:46 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Aug-87 07:28:28 EDT
References: <407@ndsuvax.UUCP> <500@rocky.STANFORD.EDU> <645@kaiser.UUCP>
Reply-To: piner@pur-phy.UUCP (Richard Piner)
Organization: Purdue Univ. Physics Dept., IN
Lines: 49

In article <645@kaiser.UUCP> tla@kaiser.UUCP (T Anderson) writes:
>A related issues is why so few computer companies donate to any
>colleges.  Instrument manufacturers such as Tektronix and HP have
>for many years had significant programs for donating oscilloscopes
>and other lab instruments to engineering and physics programs even
>in fairly small schools (although I don't think they do this as much
>today as 10-15 years ago).  They seemed to be convinced that the
>engineer when employed will tend to specify instruments that he is
>familiar with and trusts from his college experience, and I think
>that to a large extent this did pay off.  
>
  Well, I once tried to get HP to donate a computer for my teaching lab.
They give away enough equipment each year that they have a special
office in charge of donations. This is what they told me. They give
lots of equipment to Purdue, but ONLY to certain labs. Their question
was "How many of your students do we hire each year?" They look at
it this way. If they hire 10 students per year from Purdue, and they
all take a course using HP equipment, then HP does not have to teach
them how to use their equipment when they start work. In other words,
by having their equipment here at Purdue, their employees learn to
use the computer they are working with, without HP having to pay them
a salary. The students get what would be on-the-job training while
still students at Purdue. This saves HP a lot of salary money.
  Look at the math. Let's say you have a course and HP hires ten people
each year who have taken that course. Let's assume that it would
take each of those people 3 months to learn to use HP computers at
work. That saves 3/12 * 10 = 2.5 man years for HP. At $25,000/year
salary, HP would save $67,500 the first year. So, they could give you
a $67,500 computer system and break even the first year. Plus
they make you buy an expensive service contract, that's profit.
They get a tax write-off, that's profit. Plus people they don't hire
but who go to other jobs are more likely to buy HP equipment. That's
more profit. Well, it turns out, if HP chooses courses carefully,
they can make money by giving away equipment. Very clever.
  The upshot of this is, since HP does not hire N physics students
from Purdue each year, the physics department gets NOTHING. They
did say they might donate a $3000 plotter if we bought a $25,000
computer system. Such a deal I can do without. Now let me climb
up on my soap box for a minute. If we want an educational system
that works, then we the people will have to pay for it. There is
no free lunch! Corporate America will not donate equipment of
the right kind or sufficent quantity to do the job. Not even
close. We all know what I mean, it's time to raise taxes and
fund the schools. It's either that, or wave bye-bye to the Russians
and Japanese as they sail away to claim the solar system. End
of editoral. Anyway, I hope this explains why certain departments
within certain schools get all the donations.

                                        Richard Piner