The UA College of Agriculture has taken the lead in multi-media communication around campus with a CD-ROM brochure for the college that is receiving positive feedback from around the state.

"We have already had a tremendous response to this method of recruitment," said Paul Kohn, coordinator of Academic Programs in the College of Agriculture and the creator of the CD.

The software provides an informative brochure for students and faculty about the College of Agriculture, including its majors, instructors, programs, summer courses and career placement opportunities.

Kohn said it is the first of its kind to be used at the university, and as far as he knows this is the only agriculture college to use this kind of technology.

He also said that the total cost of producing the CD was cheaper than printing the same amount of colored paper brochures.

"It is very beneficial for our college," Kohn said, "when people think of agriculture they typically associate it with just farming, but we are very technologically advanced."

The CD was created in the basement of the Forbes Building and was funded by the Office of Academic Programs with the support of its Associate Dean, Dave Shoup.

The entire CD runs 20 to 25 minutes, but Kohn said people can navigate their own way through the program with a set of options.

In addition to video, which was recorded by media arts students hired by Kohn for independent study, the CD also contains music, narration, text and animation.

Kohn said the CD can be used on any IBM-compatible personal computer with a CD-ROM drive.

He said the idea for this CD came about two years ago when he created a brochure for a computer multi-media technology workshop he attended. It was ready for the public in September.

Kohn said he now teaches the faculty at the College of Agriculture how to use this kind of interactive technology