Brian, most Exchange servers talk IMAP/SMTP in addition to Exchange's proprietary protocol. IMAP and SMTP are standard protocols, and Mail understands them. Your network admins don't need to know anything about Macs, but hopefully they know something about standard email protocols. If so, they should be able to give the information you need or even look over your shoulder as you set up a new Mail account and tell you the answers. If not, then find out what your mail server would be if you were using Outlook and try creating an IMAP account in mail to talk to the same server. If that works, you'll be able to receive mail. To send mail, try setting up an SMTP account to the same server.
The best thing would be for you to find a network admin who really understands email in general. The Mac Mail preferences interface is intuitive enough that such a person should be able to help you get set up.
