CHANTILLY , VA. - April 26, 2005 – Communication Technologies, Inc. (COMTek), a leading-edge telecommunications and information technology company, announced today that Dr. Joseph E. Fergus, its founder and CEO, received on Saturday the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).
The award recognizes outstanding accomplishments by graduates of historically black colleges and universities. Fergus received the recognition on Saturday at the Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon that concluded the NAFEO annual conference held in Washington, D.C. Other 2005 award winners include Jim Vance, NBC 4 television news anchor in Washington, DC, and Jack Johnson, county executive in Prince Georges County, MD.
In 1990, Fergus founded COMTek in Chantilly, Virginia. He has spearheaded the company’s phenomenal growth -- tripling the company’s revenues in 2003 and doubling the number of COMTek employees to more than 950. Today, COMTek is the first company in the United States to commercially deploy broadband over powerlines (BPL) technology on a fully city-wide basis, which is now taking place in Manassas, Va. In 2004, COMTek was named to the prestigious “Inc. 500” list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
Fergus, 49, achieved both his technical expertise and management experience during a nine-year tenure at the prestigious AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he led research and development efforts in several key technologies that have since emerged as industry standards and are now used in nearly every aspect of today’s telecommunications marketplace.
The COMTek founder and CEO grew up in modest circumstances on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He received his doctorate of humane letters from Norfolk State University (2004). He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois (1984) and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Norfolk State University (1982). Fergus is a Vietnam era veteran of the U.S. Navy.
NAFEO was founded in 1969 as the professional association of the presidents and chancellors of the United States’ historically and predominantly black colleges and universities. NAFEO represents approximately 400,000 students and their families and African Americans across the higher education spectrum. NAFEO member institutions are public and private, two- and four-year, community, regional, national and international comprehensive research institutions, located in 25 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Brazil
Contact:
Ailis Aaron
703-276-3265
aaaron@hastingsgroup.com
Scott Stapf
703-276-3252
sstapf@hastingsgroup.com
