Benedict College opens new ServiceNow Tech Center

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Benedict College’s new ServiceNow Tech Center, which celebrated its grand opening today, aims to broaden the scope of today’s tech workforce pipeline.

The center, located inside Benedict’s Business Development Center at 2601 Read St., is part of a $1 million multiyear strategic partnership between Benedict and ServiceNow, a California-based company that aims to equip traditionally underrepresented students with the digital skills needed in today’s workforce.

The partnership, formed in 2021, also includes five years of ServiceNow-awarded scholarships for Benedict students pursuing science, technology, engineering arts or math degrees as well as access to a ServiceNow HBCU Bootcamp program that uses customized, hands-on learning to help prepare students for tech careers.

ServiceNow offers a cloud-based workflow automation platform that helps businesses and organizations streamline work processes.

Roslyn Clark Artis, president and CEO of Benedict College, joined ServiceNow’s chairman and CEO Bill McDermott in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new center, and community members and Benedict students walked through the center’s brightly lit spaces decorated with minimalist, fashionable furnishings.

The center includes a state-of-the-art computer lab with a maker space, laptop stations, a pitch room, private study rooms and a student lounge, as well as updated network infrastructure and new devices to provide students with critical access to technology.

Karen Pavlin, chief equity and inclusion officer for ServiceNow, described how the strategic partnership is part of the company’s ongoing mission to bring more diversity to the tech industry as a whole.

“One of my best experiences was talking with a Benedict student who said she was excited to see someone who looked like her in a leadership position in the tech industry,” Pavlin said. “Serving underrepresented groups and getting them involved in the industry is what gets me up every morning.”

Artis said the center is part of Benedict’s ongoing commitment to preparing its students for the global workforce. In 2020, the school was named one of the Top 10 smaller HBCUs for STEM education by The Hundred-Seven, a national database of information about historically Black colleges and universities.

“Benedict always strives to produce human potential,” Artis told SC Biz News. “We know America has been rapidly diversifying, and this tech center allows us one more opportunity we can provide for our Black and brown students and also offers a chance for us to help diversify the tech industry.”