Plants that bear less familiar names such as switch grass, "Miscanthus," and kenaf, are not much to look at, having weathered Iowa's winter snows. But Iowa State researchers see these crops as seeds of change in alternative fuels. Rows of experimental crops line the test plots at Iowa State University's research farm. Although corn is…

Interdisciplinarity has become the model of scholarly inquiry generally espoused by many who seek federal research funding. Interdisciplinary research centers pose challenges to academic settings and to investigators. In a conference of directors of diverse research centers at a single research university we found that the challenges facing…

Twenty five years ago, few community or technical colleges considered launching capital campaigns. They lacked community standing, professional fundraising staff, and the related institutional foundation structure to manage charitable efforts. Gradually, as public funding eroded, bond issues became harder to pass, and colleges recognized the need…

Franki Lodge and her coworkers help run Toronto's Inner City Outtripping Centre (ICOC), an outdoor education program aimed at innercity youth. Started in 1995 to reduce conflict between rival gangs in Christie Pits Park, the organization has since grown to include the Paddle and Picnic program (day camps where kids, teens and even seniors canoe up…

Successful fund-raising efforts are critical for public higher education institutions as they seek to offset uncertainty in government funding. This study evaluated the enhancement of fund-raising capacity through the maintenance of enduring donor relationships. Utilizing the Donor/Organization Integration Model, the study examined interactions…

Since funding is not always available for the basic instructional programs, let alone the special programs needed to ensure that every student will make adequate yearly progress (AYP), many campuses and school districts are turning to grants. In the short term, grants are wonderful things that enable educators to build programs to meet the…

The school system is a green pasture for inexhaustible investigations for the purpose of enhancing academic achievement. The reason is that factors and variables within the confines of educational activities appear also to be inexhaustible. One such factor that attracted an investigation is "administrative stress" as it affects secondary…

Over the past fifteen years in New Zealand, theology has come in from the tertiary educational cold in various ways. One of the results or reasons for this has been willingness on the part of the state to accredit and provide funding for theological education and research. This has taken place largely through a compliance system of accreditation…

When donating to charitable causes, people do not value lives consistently. Money is often concentrated on a single victim even though more people would be helped, if resources were dispersed or spent protecting future victims. We examine the impact of deliberating about donation decisions on generosity. In a series of field experiments, we show…

The 2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report recognises adult literacy as the most neglected of the EFA goals. It is neglected most obviously in respect of the financial allocations made by governments and donors. This shortage of financing creates a dangerous situation in which adult educators seek to convince politicians to invest, based on false…

As state and federal legislatures increase scrutiny and further constrain allocation of tax revenues for education, the need for educational institutions to generate money from other public and private sources becomes increasingly important. Educators from pre-kindergarten through college are now frequently asked to take active roles in generating…

Are we witnessing the privatization of public university research libraries? There is convincing evidence that, in an era of decreasing state support for public higher education, public universities have begun to resemble private universities, particularly in their sources of revenue. A number of indicators demonstrate that public universities,…

The government agency responsible for enforcing gender equity in college sports is falling down on the job, according to a report released by the National Women's Law Center. Over the past five years, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights -- the administrative guardian of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law that…

In 1991 three Christian students sued the University of Virginia after they were denied funds for their evangelical newspaper. The students said the case was about free speech; the university argued it was about separation of church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court found in favor of the students, a landmark ruling that guaranteed equal treatment…

The NewSchools Venture Fund is a non-profit organization with a mission to "transform public education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs", support education entrepreneurs who are working to better serve disadvantaged children, and provide "thought leadership" to help bring about "broad systematic…