The College of Information Sciences and Technology, also known as IST, was opened in 1999 in response to the rapidly growing need in almost every field for leadership in information sciences and technology. The college was built to help develop a new generation of leaders that would meet the complex and compelling demands of the Digital Age. The College of Information Sciences and Technology was created in 1997. Dean of the Graduate School, Rod Erickson, was appointed by Penn State President Graham Spanier to lead a strategic planning group that produced plans for the school of information sciences and technology which admitted the first students into the IST program for the fall 1999 semester. In January 2006, Penn State Board of Trustee decided to rename the School of Information to College of Information Sciences and Technology – a designation that signified IST’s importance within both the Penn State system and the Commonwealth. The Information Sciences and Technology Building is located on the west campus of the Pennsylvania State University’s University Park campus.