DC Digest - March 5, 2010
In Today's Issue:
- Duke Endorses Energy Science Coalition's FY2011 Funding Statement for DOE Office of Science
- AAU Provides New List of Major Federal Agency Fellowship and Traineeship Programs
- Department of Defense Official Visits Duke
- Higher Education and Library Groups Urge FCC to Adopt Net Neutrality Principles
- Secretary Duncan Testifies Before House Panel to Discuss President Obama's Education Agenda
- Humanities Indicators Project Releases Analysis of First Survey of Humanities Departments
DUKE ENDORSES ENERGY SCIENCE COALITION'S FY2011 FUNDING STATEMENT FOR DOE OFFICE OF SCIENCE
The Energy Science Coalition (ESC) has written a FY2011 funding statement that supports the Obama Administration's goal to double funding for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science between FY2007 and FY2017. To that end, the ESC supports funding of at least $5.121 billion for the Office of Science in FY 2011 – an amount equal to the level requested by the Administration for FY 2011 and a 4.4 percent increase over FY 2010.
Duke University has joined AAU, APLU, and numerous other organizations and universities in endorsing ESC's funding statement, which is scheduled to be sent to appropriators on Capitol Hill next week.
The Energy Sciences Coalition is a broad based coalition of organizations representing scientists, engineers and mathematicians in universities, industry and national laboratories who are committed to supporting and advancing the scientific research programs of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and in particular, the DOE Office of Science.
Read More:
ESC FY11 DOE Office of Science Funding Statement (pdf)
AAU PROVIDES NEW LIST OF MAJOR FEDERAL AGENCY FELLOWSHIP AND TRAINEESHIP PROGRAMS
AAU has published on its website a new list of major fellowship and traineeship programs at seven federal agencies, with a pie chart that shows the percentage distribution of program funding by agency. The list, which covers both graduate and postdoctoral opportunities, includes the name and a description of each program by agency, funding levels for FY09 and FY10, the number of annual student and institutional grants, and contacts for each program.
The agencies included are the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Departments of Education, Defense, Energy, and State.
Read More:
AAU Listing of Major Federal Agency Fellowhip and Traineeship Programs
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICIAL VISITS DUKE
Dr. Randy Avent, chief scientist in the Department of Defense's Office of Basic Science, visited Duke last Friday to meet with faculty and administrators around campus. Dr. Avent also used the opportunity to share the DOD's strategic plan for defense investments in computer science with researchers from the computer science and computer engineering departments.
HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIBRARY GROUPS URGE FCC TO ADOPT NET NEUTRALITY PRINCIPLES
Eleven higher education and library associations, including AAU, sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski on March 2, urging the FCC to “preserve the open Internet for our institutions, our users, and the public at large.”
The groups asked the FCC to protect the Internet from major threats such as broadband network operators degrading services for competitors and the over-consolidation of the market for Internet access. The letter calls for the FCC to do so by adopting net neutrality policies based on a series of seven principles, including non-discrimination for access to content and services, transparency of broadband network operators’ network management practices, and provision for service providers to engage in reasonable practices to manage technical issues, such as congestion, viruses, and spam.
Read More:
Letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski
SECRETARY DUNCAN TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE PANEL TO DISCUSS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S EDUCATION AGENDA
Education Secretary Arne Duncan appeared before the House Education and Labor Committee on March 3 to discuss the president's education agenda, including the administration's FY 2011 budget proposal. The hearing primarily focused on the future of No Child Left Behind, but committee members also questioned the secretary about the administration's plan to move all colleges to the Direct Loan Program.
Mr. Duncan dismissed concerns raised by Republican members that the switch to direct lending would be too difficult for colleges to accomplish quickly. "We understand this transition, and what a big deal it is, and we want to make sure we do this absolutely smoothly if possible," Mr. Duncan said.
Read More:
Duncan Defends Planned Switch to Direct Lending in Appearance Before House Panel (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
HUMANITIES INDICATORS PROJECT RELEASES ANALYSIS OF FIRST SURVEY OF HUMANITIES DEPARTMENTS
As part of its effort to begin charting trends in humanities research and education, the Humanities Indicators project on March 1 released its analysis of statistics gathered from humanities departments at some 1,400 colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Humanities Indicators, begun a year ago by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) with the assistance of several disciplinary societies, is aimed at developing the type of long-term data and trend analysis provided for scientific and engineering disciplines by the National Science Board’s publication, Science and Engineering Indicators. The goal is to fill large gaps in empirical data about the humanities and to establish baselines for charting trends.
The Obama Administration’s FY11 budget for the National Endowment for the Humanities says the Endowment plans to partner with AAAS “to sustain and extend AAAS’s developmental work on the Humanities Indicators project.”
Read More:
Humanities Indicators Receive Obama Administration Support (amacad.org)
Humanities Indicators Analysis (humanitiesindicators.org)