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Mark your calendars:
BHEF's Summer 2010 Member Meeting in Washington, DC
June 24 - 25, 2010
Register Online
More information about:
The CRI: An Agenda for Educational Success
The STEM Initiative
Questions or commentary?
info@bhef.com
(202) 367-1189
Newsletter editor
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April/May 2010
News from BHEF
Summer Meeting Update
BHEF's summer 2010 member meeting in Washington, DC, which will begin with a reception the evening of June 24 and end the afternoon of June 25, will occur in the midst of some of the most remarkable activity in federal education policy in decades. We hope you can join us! The meeting is designed to advance BHEF's action agenda (see March 19 memo) and to focus on two of its elements: strengthening preschool through high school education, and improving STEM education at all levels. The meeting will bring together White House and other senior administration officials and key members of Congress to discuss how proposed changes to federal legislation, programs, and funding priorities will advance education reform and increase U.S. competitiveness. After a rancorous debate over health care reform, education and competitiveness represent two areas of genuine bipartisan collaboration.
Under Secretary of Education Anthony Miller will discuss the impact of the first round of Race to the Top awards, as well as the Obama administration's blueprint for "fixing NCLB" in the impending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secretary Education Act (ESEA). A number of other senior administration officials and members of Congress have been invited to address other aspects of the program, including the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense William J. Lynn, III, U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Steven Koonin, Dr. Celia Rouse of the Council of Economic Advisors, and U.S. Senator Sherwood Brown of the Senate HELP Committee. Click here to view the preliminary meeting agenda in its entirety. Click here to register.
During the business meeting, we will elect a new BHEF vice chair and a slate of members for the Executive Committee Class of 2013. In addition, we will formally honor David Skorton for his service to BHEF. See you in June!
BHEF Welcomes New Members
BHEF welcomes new members Sean O'Keefe, Chief Executive Officer, EADS North America: Jack Wilson, President, University of Massachusetts: and Dennis Nally, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd.
Member News
Congratulations to long-time member, Brit Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, who has been recognized with the 2010 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence. TIAA-CREF Institute Vice President Madeleine d'Ambrosio presented the award March 8 at the American Council on Education's Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Read more by clicking here.
The Chronicle of Higher Education on April 18 featured new BHEF member, Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York, in an article, "Shaping SUNY Into a Whole Greater Than Its Parts".
Front Burner News
BHEF Receives $100,000 Grant from Northrop Grumman
BHEF has received a $100,000 grant from Northrop Grumman Corporation to help expand our U.S. STEM Education Model. The grant will support BHEF's further development of the model as it relates to STEM teachers. Additionally, the grant will support the modeling effort's open source community, the STEM Research and Modeling Network (SRMN), which brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and others who seek to use simulation modeling and similar tools to identify ways that student interest, participation and achievement in the STEM fields can be strengthened. Read more by clicking here.
BHEF Encourages Members to Participate in National Lab Day
National Lab Day (www.nationallabday.org), a key component of President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign to improve the performance of America's students in STEM, will take place the first week of May. Join BHEF "STEM ambassadors" around the country in providing high quality, hands-on, discovery-based lab experiences to middle and high-school students in your community. For information on how to participate in National Lab Day click here. Please let us know how you are contributing to National Lab Day so we can promote your efforts! Send an e-mail message to pamela.lessard@bhef.com.
BHEF Helps Establish Business and Industry STEM Education Coalition
BHEF recently joined industry partners for the launch of the Business and Industry STEM Education Coalition (BISEC), of which BHEF is a founding member. BISEC is a coalition of industries striving to align efforts that will improve STEM education and in turn help the nation's economic competitiveness, sustain national security, and develop future jobs and employment specialties. Read more by clicking here.
BHEF U.S. STEM Education Model
A lot of activity has been occurring to advance BHEF's U.S. STEM Education Model, developed by Raytheon Company and demonstrated before attendees of BHEF's winter meeting in El Segundo, CA.
- Executive Director Brian Fitzgerald recently briefed the National Academies' Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW) on BHEF's STEM Initiative and demonstrated the model. The audience was enthusiastic about the model's potential to shape how policymakers address the challenge of increasing the production of STEM graduates in the United States. Read more by clicking here.
- BHEF and The Ohio State University's (OSU) Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy jointly held a workshop on the OSU campus to introduce a new project that will develop powerful new analytic tools designed to help states strengthen STEM education across the pre-kindergarten through graduate-school pipeline. The goal of the STEManalytics Project is to help states develop and use modeling and other analytic tools such as BHEF's model to identify policies that can help achieve state goals for STEM education, workforce quality, and economic growth. The project is being funded by BHEF's recent grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Read more here.
- BHEF hosted a STEM Research and Modeling Network Webinar in March, which was attended by 25 modelers and researchers around the country. The Webinar focused on demonstrating the beta version user interface and providing an update on the Ohio STEManalytics work.
Advocacy
BHEF Members Testify in Support of K-12 STEM Education Reform
Four BHEF members recently testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee in support of K-12 STEM education reform, specifically as it relates to reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. Jim Simons, founder and chairman of Renaissance Technologies and Math for America (MfA); Gordon Gee, president, The Ohio State University; and Jeffrey Wadsworth, president and CEO, Battelle Memorial Institute all testified in support of the bill's reauthorization, as well as for strong partnerships involving business, K-12, and higher education that would bolster current programs and efforts, and lead to even more successful ones. Click here to view the testimony. Similarly, BHEF member Rick Stephens, senior vice president, human resources and administration, The Boeing Company, testified before the committee on strengthening STEM undergraduate education. Click here to view his testimony.
BHEF Supports Common Core State Standards
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Center has unveiled a set of college and career readiness standards, formally known as the Common Core State Standards Initiative. BHEF has established a strong working relationship with the NGA Center and the CCSSO and is pleased to support this state-led initiative to improve education. The NGA Web site includes an official BHEF statement of support of the standards. Stay tuned for more information about this issue, including grassroots efforts BHEF members can undertake in support of states adopting these common education standards.
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