DC Digest - April 12, 2010


In Today's Issue:

  • Duke Alum Appointed to Obama's Commission on Bioethics
  • AAU Provides Summary of Education Provisions in Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act
  • The White House and the National Economic Council Request Public Views on Ways to Increase Commercialization of Federally Funded University Research
  • AAU and COGR Comment on USCIS Proposal to Collect Export Control Information
  • HED and USAID Funding Opportunity for Higher Education Service Learning Partnership in Senegal


DUKE ALUM APPOINTED TO OBAMA'S COMMISSION ON BIOETHICS
Last week, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint a number of academics to his administration's Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. Included in this list is Duke alumna Nita A. Farahany, an associate professor of law and philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Her research focuses on the legal, philosophical, and social issues arising from developments in the biosciences, particularly behavioral genetics and neuroscience. Farahany earned her J.D., M.A., and Ph.D. in Philosophy of Biology and Jurisprudence at Duke University.

Read More:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts (WhiteHouse.gov)


AAU PROVIDES SUMMARY OF EDUCATION PROVISIONS IN HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION RECONCILIATION ACT
A summary and analysis of the education provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152) are now available from AAU. The AAU paper provides a short summary and analysis of the student aid provisions of particular interest to AAU universities.

Read More:
AAU Summary of the Education Provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (pdf)


WHITE HOUSE, NEC REQUEST PUBLIC VIEWS ON WAYS TO INCREASE COMMERCIALIZATION OF FEDERALLY FUNDED UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Economic Council (NEC) are soliciting ideas from the public on how to increase the economic impact of the federal investment in university R&D and of the “innovations being fostered in federal and private proof of concept centers (POCCs).”

The request for information (RFI) focuses on two questions: how best to encourage commercialization of university research and whether POCCs can be a means of stimulating the commercialization of early-stage technologies by bridging the “valley of death” between new technologies and product development  The RFI is viewed as part of an ongoing effort by the Administration to enhance the commercialization of new technologies and ideas generated from university-based research.

Read More:
RFI (pdf)


AAU AND COGR COMMENT ON USCIS PROPOSAL TO COLLECT EXPORT CONTROL INFORMATION
AAU and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) submitted comments last week to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on the agency’s proposal to add a question about deemed export control licenses to its Form I-129. This document is filled out by U.S. employers who wish to hire foreign workers temporarily, including universities that wish to bring foreign scholars and researchers to the U.S. under H-1B visas.

The AAU-COGR comment letter questions both the timing of the proposal—given that the Administration is now reviewing deemed export control policies—and the reasons why USCIS seeks to collect such information when it has no regulatory authority over export controls. The letter also notes that most university research is not subject to export control measures.

Read More:
AAU and COGR Comments (pdf)


HED AND USAID FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP IN SENEGAL
Higher Education for Development (HED), in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), anticipates making one award of up to $300,000 for three years for a higher education partnership with Collège Universitaire Régional de Bambey in Senegal.

This partnership will focus on developing and implementing community service education models and techniques that support student internships and partnerships with local middle school teachers.

Read More:
HED Funding Opportunity for Higher Education Partnership (ACE.edu)