When media representatives from across the country (and the world) descend on a small college town, there are bound to be questions. And the small college officials are supposed to have answers. Faced with a large influx of visiting reporters, the Centre College Communications Office wanted to stretch its resources. The solution: Technology.


The Database

Knowing that the full press of media representatives expected for the debate would want immediate responses to all sorts of queries about the college and the town, Centre decided to put together a knowledge database containing answers to frequently asked questions. In late winter, student workers and communications staff members began assembling a list of anticipated questions—ranging from generic information about the college and the local community to esoteric details like the meaning of “C6-HO,” a cryptic college slogan painted on the wall of a campus building. (Do you know what it means?)

View the web version of the database here.


The Answers

All answers have been researched and loaded into the FileMaker database, which runs on Macintosh computers loaned by Apple Computer especially for the event. The Ask A-Mac system allows reporters to instantly call up the answers with no chance of errors. Hundreds of questions, hundreds of answers—all available at the click of a mouse.


The Questions

Here are just a few of the questions you can ask the Macs in the Knowledge Center—

Who is president of Centre College?
Is Centre College really at the exact center of the state of Kentucky?
What landmark civil rights case has ties to Centre College?
For whom was Boyle County named?
How much does a movie cost in Danville?
What movies have been filmed in Boyle County?
What newspapers and other media serve the Danville area?
What’s the climate here?
When was Danville founded? For whom is it named?
Where are ATMs located in Danville?

Centre College expresses appreciation to the Apple computer corporation and the FileMaker software corporation for their support of this project.

Contact: Diane Johnson, 859-238-5717 or Patsi Trollinger 859-238-5719