2008 Archived News
December 2008
In Memory of Jerry Murphy
Jerry Murphy, BHEF’s executive director from 2000 to 2004, died unexpectedly on December 4, 2008. At the time of his death, he was the director of public affairs and a professor of political science at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. He worked with students to develop their vision and capabilities as change agents, domestically and globally, and he was passionate about students’ preparedness for work and life after college. As director of public affairs at Wheaton, he collaborated with professional associations and other colleges to create meaningful partnerships between higher education and leading U.S. and global corporations. Read more about Jerry's contributions to BHEF and higher education.
November 2008
BHEF held the first official meeting of the STEM Research and Modeling Network (SRMN)
The meeting was hosted by the Kauffman Foundation and convened more than 40 researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders across K-12 and higher education. Learn more about the SRMN.
BHEF Chairman Calls for Higher Education to Become a National Asset
In an op-ed for The Chronicle of Higher Education, David Skorton, BHEF chairman and president of Cornell University, advocates for colleges and universities to play a stronger role in during uncertain economic times. He points to higher education’s ability to thoroughly examine problems and calls for “robust collaborations between higher education and the business community in every locale.” Read his op-ed online (subscription required).
BHEF Deputy Director, Report Data Cited in Education Week Article
The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative is the topic of the Education Week article, "Group Launches Push for More Math, Science Teachers" (subscription required). The article cites BHEF's work and BHEF Deputy Director Chris Roe: "university leaders have 'key leverage' in boosting the population of math and science teachers, because of the support they can direct to previously neglected teacher-education programs on their campuses. Mr. Roe’s organization this year set up a Web site aimed at giving business leaders information about effective K-12 and teacher-education programs they can support financially. Many university officials also crave that kind of information, he said. For campus administrators, like business leaders, Mr. Roe said, it 'does’t seem like there are enough mechanisms to find out what’s really working.'"
September 2008
Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education Awarded to BHEF Colleagues
BHEF member and Chancellor of the the California State University system Charles Reed was one of three individuals awarded the 2008 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education on September 23, 2008. Reed was recognized for launching an initiative throughout California to recruit and retain more minority students.
Richard Blais, vice president and co-founder of Project Lead the Way, was also awarded the prize for his project's work in increasing the number of students who are well-prepared to study engineering in college. Project Lead the Way is profiled on BHEF's Web site StrategicEdSolutions.org as a "Program that Works."
Read the press release from McGraw-Hill online or visit Project Lead the Way's page on StrategicEdSolutions.org.
BHEF Executive Director Brian Fitzgerald Quoted in Washington Post
"The kinds of skills that make people successful as employees are the same skills that make students successful in college . . . learning skills, the ability to think critically, abstract thinking," said Fitzgerald, commenting on the importance of Algebra II as preparation for other key skills in life. The article, "At Fairfax High, Another Approach As System Tries to Up Subject Appeal," is part of a series about math education running this school year in the Post.
BHEF Launches New Resource Center for More Effective Education Philanthropy
StrategicEdSolutions.org™ provides strategies, tools, and successful programs to help corporations and others make strategic investments in education. The site also provides an interactive forum for corporations and foundations to share best practices to maximize the impact of their education philanthropy. Part of BHEF’s College Readiness Initiative, the new site focuses initially on college readiness and access.
Visit the Web site or read the press release.
July 2008
BHEF to Build National Leadership Network to Improve College Readiness, Access, and Success
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invests $910,000 to support BHEF initiatives in college readiness, access, and success and STEM education. Read the press release.
BHEF Releases New Report on Corporate Giving in Education
The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), in partnership with the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), has released a new report on education philanthropy entitled, “Corporate Investments in College Readiness and Access.” The report, prepared by IHEP and produced with financial support from USA Funds, examines major corporations’ philanthropic support for “college readiness and access initiatives,” defined as efforts to increase the likelihood that students will graduate from high school fully prepared to enroll and succeed in college. The report supplements substantial research that highlights the importance of higher education to ensuring a U.S. workforce prepared to compete in a global economy.
Read report or the press release.
June 2008
BHEF Announces New Leadership
BHEF is pleased to announce its new leadership for 2008-2010. David J. Skorton, President of Cornell University, will lead the organization as its new chairman, and William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company, will serve as vice chairman.
Dr. Skorton succeeds former TIAA-CREF Chairman, President and CEO, Herbert M. Allison, Jr., who chaired BHEF from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Swanson succeeds Dr. Skorton as vice chairman. Skorton and Swanson are joined by several other newly elected members of BHEF’s executive committee: Warren Baker, President, California Polytechnic State University; Wes Bush, President & COO, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Christine DeVita, President, The Wallace Foundation; Richard Stephens, Senior Vice President, The Boeing Company; and former BHEF chair Mark Wrighton, Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis.
Read the press release on BHEF's new leadership here.
April 2008
Inaugural ISIE a Success
The Institute for Strategic Investment in Education (ISIE), sponsored by the Business-Higher Education Forum and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, convened over 45 corporate philanthropy and private foundation leaders and Harvard faculty to share ideas on improving the effectiveness of education investments. Held in Cambridge, Massachusetts April 3-5, 2008, the ISIE was supported by the Goldman Sachs Foundation. Key lessons and strategies emerged from the event, and are shared in BHEF's Lessons in Education Philanthropy: Proceedings from BHEF's Inaugural Institute for Strategic Investment in Education.
BHEF Executive Director Addresses International College Access Conference
Brian Fitzgerald, BHEF Executive Director, spoke at the April 6-8, 2008 International College Access Conference in Toronto. The conference, organized by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the European Access Network, brought together international experts in strategies designed to facilitate smooth transitions to post-secondary education for under-represented groups by broadening access to colleges, universities, and technical institutions. To read Fitzgerald's remarks, click here (pdf).
BHEF Announces On-the-Ground Commitment to Louisville, KY
As a key strategy in BHEF's College Readiness Initiative, BHEF is very pleased to announce their commitment to Louisville/Jefferson County, KY as the first on-the-ground site for collaboration in improving student achievement. The team in Louisville draws from both business and education, involving member David Jones, Chairman of Humana, Inc.; Joe Reagan, President and CEO of Greater Louisville, Inc.; Sheldon Berman, Superintendent of Jefferson County schools;
Lee Todd, the President of the University of Kentucky; and Michael McCall, President of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. This team will work with BHEF to determine and take action on areas of improvement in the education pipeline.
February 2008
Battelle and Ohio STEM Learning Network Receive Gates Grant
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $12 million grant in support of the Ohio Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Learning Network, managed by Battelle. This network will work with Ohio’s public schools to ensure that all students meet the STEM literacy challenge and are prepared to fill the high-quality jobs that will transform Ohio’s economy from an industrial economy to a “solutions” economy.
The network seeks to double the number of college graduates in Ohio by 2015 with degrees in the STEM disciplines, with a special emphasis on increasing the number of low income and minority graduates.
For more information, click here.
January 2008
BHEF Member Named St. Louis Citizen of the Year
Mark S. Wrighton, Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis and BHEF member and past Chair, was recently named Citizen of the Year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper's announcement of the award cited Wrighton's accomplishments at the school in his 13-year tenure, including more than doubling the number of applicants and both the physical and financial growth of the selective institution.
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