HOUSTON, Texas - HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced it was furthering its commitment to Houston by donating $5.1 million in support of local education and economic development initiatives. The contribution will come in the form of cash, technology and services over the next three years and focus on five recipients: Rice University, CyFair Community College, Yes College Preparatory School, KIPP Academy and development of an HP iCommunity.

The iCommunity is an innovative HP program with the goal to create self-sustaining solutions that address social and economic challenges. Working in partnership with Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and its NeighborWorks(R) network of local nonprofit organizations, HP will provide a select community with technology that will enhance their access to more learning opportunities, improved job skills, community-building and civic involvement.

"The merger of HP and Compaq has strengthened our commitment to Houston and our determination to invest in programs that will enhance economic opportunity and enrich the lives of people throughout this community," said Carly Fiorina, HP chairman and chief executive officer. "With the HP iCommunity, we will increase access to technology for a select Houston community that will further build the employment base and empower its people."

The plan is for the iCommunity to work with public and private partners to identify areas of need, then develop and deploy specific technology solutions that enable long-term economic development.

"Technology is a powerful tool, but it is only a tool," said Michael Capellas, HP president. "By combining technology with strong partnerships and dedicated local leadership, we hope to create sustainable programs that will serve the community for years to come. We are in this for the long-term in Houston and many other places around the world."

Higher Education

In addition to iCommunity, HP is reinforcing its commitment to education by providing students at two Houston-based institutions -- Rice University Jones Graduate School of Management and CyFair Community College -- with technology solutions that enable students to connect wirelessly to local networks and the Internet.

At the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Management, HP is providing wireless and other technology equipment and services that will create a more collaborative learning environment in graduate business classes.

"We are delighted to have this level of involvement from one of Houston's premier companies," said Gil Whitaker, Dean of the Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University. "Clearly, HP is passionate about education. They know the market and understand the needs of today's universities. We thank HP for generously helping us create a wireless learning environment that addresses the expectations of today's tech-savvy students."

At CyFair Community College, HP has agreed to build a state-of-the-art wireless campus that joins together the college's five buildings.

"Technology has been a driving force of change in the field of education -- both as a business and in the classroom. Successful educators must deal with this change in ways that support students with different learning styles while providing an affordable infrastructure capable of supporting a modern campus," said Diane Troyer, president, CyFair Community College. "HP is providing us with leading-edge solutions and solid support. Their guidance has been invaluable as we've worked to design a new campus and infrastructure for tomorrow's students."

HP $150,000 High-achieving School Grant Recipients

Two local institutions will receive this year's HP High-achieving Schools award. KIPP Academy and YES College Preparatory will receive grants of innovative HP mobile carts filled with 30 notebook PCs that transform traditional classrooms into wireless collaborative learning environments. They also will receive an all-in-one printer and a digital camera. The HP High-achieving Schools award program is highly competitive, and only nine schools are selected from among hundreds that target underserved students in the United States.

The KIPP Academy serves predominantly low-income, minority students in grades 5 through 9 and has been recognized by the Texas Education Agency as an Exemplary School every year since its inception in 1995.

The YES College Preparatory School draws its 450 students from around the city. It has 300 students in middle school and 150 in high school. Within three years, YES will reach its target population of 600 predominantly underserved minority students.

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its merger transaction involving Compaq Computer Corp. on May 3, 2002. The company would have had combined revenue on a pro forma basis with the Compaq transaction of approximately $81.1 billion in fiscal 2001 and has operations in more than 160 countries. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

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