An investor group, led by Providence Equity Partners, bought the software company Blackboard on July 1.

Blackboard, which powers the Online@UT website at http://online.utk.edu, was acquired in a $1.64-billion all-cash transaction.

The deal gave Blackboard stockholders $45 per share, which is above the April 18 closing price of $37.16.

The purchase was the final note of a process that began in March 2011 when the Blackboard Board of Directors formed a Transaction Committee of independent directors.

Scott Studham, UT chief information officer, relayed Blackboard's message, in the wake of the purchase, about the future of its offerings.

"Blackboard has assured its customers that the purchase by Provident Equity Partners will not lead to any significant changes in the offing," Studham said. "Ray Henderson, the president of Blackboard Learn, says the company does not expect the change in ownership to affect pricing 'in the foreseeable future.'"

Moreover, Studham is optimistic about the future of Blackboard.

"We are very pleased with Blackboard on our campus, and the new ownership may lead to some new and interesting innovations, given that the new owners also own Sungard Higher Education," he said. "It will be interesting to see where that partnership goes."

Bill Hogue, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of South Carolina, echoes Studham's positive sentiments.

"I don't claim to have a crystal ball, but most people I've spoken to about the Blackboard acquisition consider it to be either neutral or good news," Hogue said. "We do not anticipate significant service changes or price fluctuations beyond what normally would be expected."

The transaction turns Blackboard from a publicly traded company to a privately held one, which raised concerns for another technology officer at another university.

According to the July 5 Inside Higher Ed article titled "Blackboard gets bought," Sam Segran, chief technology officer at Texas Tech University, is uneasy about the transition from public to private.

"Any time somebody goes into private equity," he said in the Inside Higher Ed article, "one of the concerns we have is profit motivation, and less motivation in terms of meeting educational needs."

Lane closures

Lanes on Lake Loudoun Boulevard, between Neyland Drive and Phillip Fulmer Way, closed July 12 and will be closed through Aug. 1.

Utility workers are upgrading street lights, so one lane northbound and one lane southbound on the boulevard are closed.

While the work is being done, the street lights will be inoperable, so the university advises motorists to proceed with caution.

The closed roads and traffic lanes due to utility work on the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center were scheduled to be reopened on Monday.

Those roads and lanes were closed since July 4.

One entrance to Volunteer Hall parking garage closed

The White Avenue entrance to the Volunteer Hall parking garage is closed temporarily because of 16th Street and White Avenue construction.

Vehicles may enter and exit through the Clinch Avenue entrance during the construction.

The construction will last through Friday at the latest.