UB ROCS (University at Buffalo Recycles Old Computers), a program coordinated by Mike Rott and Frank Bartscheck of Computing and Information Technology and staffed mostly by students, has to date been responsible for rehabilitating 369 computers, printers and related equipment. Most of the old machines came from offices on campus that were upgrading equipment.

This semester, the program has expanded its efforts to accept donated computer components from off-campus and Rich Products Corp., the family-owned, Buffalo-based frozen food company, has stepped up as the first participant, donating more than 100 used computers to the university.

Rich Product's donation is a response to the announcement last spring of UB's new student access initiative, which requires that, starting next fall, all incoming freshmen have access to a computer.

UB President William R. Greiner said "the depth of Rich Product's commitment to the growth and development of our students is outstanding.

"This innovative alliance between UB and Rich Products will have a lasting and important impact on our students," he added. "UB is very grateful to Rich Products for the leadership role it has taken with this project and for its continued support of the university."

"President Greiner has created a vision for all students at UB to have access to a computer for their course work, beginning in 1999," said Robert E. Rich, Sr., chairman of Rich Products Corp. "As Rich's moves forward in expanding its own technology, we felt that by donating our used but fully upgradeable equipment, we could make our computers available for those students in need."

According to Hinrich R. Martens, associate vice president for computing and information technology, making computers available to students who cannot afford them is part of the student access initiative.

But with new machines running at least $1,000 each, the university is simply unable to provide needy students with new ones.

"Instead, we will be relying on generous gifts like this one from Rich Products, as well as on our own ability to recycle and refurbish machines," he said.

In addition to UB ROCS, the repair facility at CIT headed by Ron Cichocki will participate in rehabilitating old computer components for students to be made available through UBMicro, the on-campus computer store.

Rich said he hopes his company has begun a new trend in Western New York.

"We hope that other companies in the Buffalo area will consider donating their used computer systems as they continue their technological advancements in their own organizations," he said. "Technology that is no longer being used by a company still has considerable value to a young person at the university."

Rich Product's computers, which are IBM 486s, will receive memory upgrades and expanded disk drives, as well as monitors that have been recycled through the UB ROCS program.

The four- and five-year-old machines easily will satisfy the needs of UB students who will require basic spreadsheet and word-processing capabilities, as well as Internet access and email.

UB officials are developing criteria to determine which students will be eligible to receive a refurbished computer; all such students will need to demonstrate a "clear and convincing need," said Martens.

It is hoped that by the end of the semester, the refurbished computers from Rich Products will be made available to needy students through a pilot program.

Staff and students at UB ROCS and CIT Repair are well into the process of upgrading and testing the computers, giving the students an "up-close-and-personal" opportunity to learn about electronics.

"These student workers get to learn about working on computers with none of the downsides, because they're not working on new machines," said Rott.

The jobs are in high-demand, with a waiting list of applicants.

And, Rott noted, there's another payoff: "Every computer we recycle is one less in the landfills."