DC Digest - August 14, 2009

In Today's Issue:

  • Education Secretary Arne Duncan Discusses Administration's Higher Education Agenda During ACE Webinar 
  • Senate Confirms New Leaders of Arts and Humanities Endowments
  • Bill Clinton: Make College Campuses Greener
  • Former U.S. Senator Says Students are Poor Citizens

EDUCATION SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN DISCUSSES ADMINISTRATION'S HIGHER EDUCATION AGENDA DURING ACE WEBINAR 
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan participated in an American Council on Education (ACE) webinar on Friday, Aug. 7, during which he fielded questions about the Obama administration’s higher education agenda from more than 1,000 participants nationwide. Also participating were Under Secretary Martha J. Kanter, Deputy Under Secretary Robert Shireman, and ACE President Molly Corbett Broad.

ACE Senior Vice President Terry W. Hartle moderated the hour-long session, where the primary topics were the state of economic stimulus funding, along with the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221) and the steps that the Department of Education will take to implement the legislation once it is approved by Congress.

Read More:
Archived Webinar (ACE)
Assessing the Obama Agenda (2:31 audio clip from Chronicle of Higher Ed)


SENATE CONFIRMS NEW LEADERS OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES ENDOWMENTS
The U.S. Senate confirmed last Friday Jim Leach as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and Rocco Landesman as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Leach, a professor at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, is a former Republican congressman from Iowa. Mr. Landesman is a Broadway producer and president of New York's Jujamcyn Theatres.


BILL CLINTON: MAKE COLLEGE CAMPUSES GREENER
Former President Bill Clinton spoke about the environment Thursday in Chicago, offering his reputation, his folksy wit and his foundation's Rolodex to university and college presidents seeking green technologies to retrofit their campuses.

Read More:
Bill Clinton: Make College Campuses Greener (Chicago Breaking News Center)


FORMER U.S. SENATOR SAYS STUDENTS ARE POOR CITIZENS
Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham says colleges are failing to produce competent public citizens, and accreditors should pay more attention to their performance in that area. In his recent book, America, the Owner's Manual (CQ Press), written with Chris Hand, Mr. Graham calls on colleges to be much more explicit in teaching about what it means to be a citizen. He outlines some of his ideas on the subject in an interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Read More:
Students are Poor Citizens (Chronicle of Higher Ed)