TROY, N.Y. - James Q. Crowe '72, CEO of Level 3 Communications, was named the 2003 William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Crowe's company, based outside Denver, Colo., is an international communications and information services with revenues of almost $4 billion.

Crowe delivered a keynote address today to Rensselaer students, faculty, staff, and the community at the Heffner Alumni House. He was honored by the Paul J. '69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship in Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology at a celebratory dinner last evening. Crowe also participated in a roundtable discussion with undergraduate students during his two-day return visit to Rensselaer.

"We are proud to celebrate a man from the fast-paced worlds of technological entrepreneurship and telecommunications," said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. "James Crowe has been called a 'prophet of change' in the constantly-evolving telecommunications business by Wired magazine, and such long-distance vision has been acutely important as he as piloted his company through a truly revolutionary period in the communications industry. He is a superb exemplar of the entrepreneurial spirit, a man whose ingenious application of science to our shared purposes has tremendous impact worldwide."

Crowe assumed leadership of Level 3 in 1997 after selling his former company, MFS Communications, to WorldCom for $14.3 billion. During the next three years, he raised billions of dollars on Wall Street to fund the construction of an international fiber optic network to leverage the power of Internet technology.

Today, Level 3 operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world. The company is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to Internet service providers in North America, and is a primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers through its cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) partners. What's more, nine out of 10 of the world's largest telecom carriers and five of the top six U.S. Internet service providers use the company's services, according to the corporation's Web site.

Crowe graduated from Rensselaer in 1972 with a bachelor's of science degree in mechanical engineering and, he has said, with an appreciation of the operations research so important to his enterprise today. He went on to earn an MBA at Pepperdine University in 1982. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for Level 3, RCN Corporation, and Commonwealth Telephone.

Established in 1990, the William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year Award brings the world of entrepreneurship into Rensselaer classrooms by recognizing successful entrepreneurs and role models who share their wisdom and experiences with students. Past winners include John J. McDonnell '61, founder, chairman, and CEO of Transaction Network Services; Paul Severino '69, founder and chairman of Bay Networks; Mukesh Chatter '82, founder, president, and CEO of Axiowave Networks; and William Mow '59, founder of Bugle Boy Industries.

About the Severino Center
Established in 1988, the Paul J. '69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship helps foster a new generation of budding and successful entrepreneurs through outreach programs, education and research. Centered in Rensselaer's Kenneth T. and Thelma P. Lally School of Management and Technology, the mission of the Severino Center is to integrate the educational and research programs by exposing every Rensselaer student to the practice and principles of entrepreneurship; infuse the fundamentals of entrepreneurship throughout the Rensselaer curriculum; extend Rensselaer's leadership and national prominence in technological entrepreneurship; and enhance the synergy between entrepreneurship and information technology. For more information: http://scte.mgmt.rpi.edu/.

Statement of President Shirley Ann Jackson at the William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year Award http://www.rpi.edu/web/President/news/entrepreneur_statement.html

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A