Posts Categorized: Economy

In Central Maine, a Rambling Rose?

The Colby College Museum of Art now has surpassed the Portland Art Museum as Maine's largest art museum, thanks to a new $15 million Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion that holds nearly 300 of the 500 works given to Colby by Peter and Paula Lunder. Peter Lunder is a Colby alumn and former president of Dexter Shoe Company, which was founded by his uncle Harold Alfond. Lunder and his wife's collection...

NEBHE Co-organizes New England Campus Sustainability Forum

Wentworth Institute of Technology 550 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115 Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 8 a.m.  to 4:45 p.m.Early-bird registration will be available through Aug. 30. Please visit www.necsf.com to learn more. The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) invites you to attend the 2013 New England Campus Sustainability Forum (NECSF) co-organized by AASHE, Clean Air-Cool Planet, ...

DC Shuttle: SCOTUS Ruling Suggests Colleges Can Continue to Use Diversity as Admissions Tool for Now; Congress May Revisit Loan Rate Debate After Recess; US Spends Most on Ed

Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. On Monday, the Supreme Court released a ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The 7-1 decision was indecisive, remanding the case for reconsideration in the lower courts and directing lower courts to use "strict scrutiny" in affirmative action cases. The result of the ruling is that schools will continue to be able to use diversity ...

Lowell Team Wants to Spin Peels, Algae into “Surfactants”

A team of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will receive up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop nontoxic, biodegradable "surfactants" from fruit peels and algae and potentially bring the invention to market. Surfactants are cleaning agents used in soaps, inks and other products to help them apply more easily to surfaces. Many surfactants ar...

DC Shuttle: Harkin Proposes Student Accountability Systems

ESEA reauthorization approved by committee. At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) markup on Tuesday, lawmakers considered the Senate Democrats' proposal, the Strengthening America's Schools Act, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A bill (S. 1094) introduced by Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) advanced by a party-line vote of 12-10 des...

DC Shuttle: Still Wrestling with Student Loan Interest; No Child Left Behind

Student loan rates. The Senate rejected two proposals to extend low interest rates on student loans after they expire on July 1. Without legislation, interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the one-year fix put in place last summer. Movement to proceed with a Senate Democratic bill (S. 953) to extend the current 3.4% fixed interest rate for two additional years was reje...

Learning Channels: WGBH Creates a Higher Ed Desk

WGBH Boston is creating a Higher Ed Desk to help enrich its award-winning radio, television and online stories with angles from Boston and New England's famed postsecondary education. America’s largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, WGBH hired Vermont Public Radio's Kirk Carapezza as managing editor and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk. The desk is supported through m...

5/29 Is 529 Day

Wednesday is May 29 ... 5/29 ... and the folks behind 529 college savings plans are milking the connection for all it's worth. The College Savings Plans Network (CSPN) and various states have declared May 29 National “529 College Savings Day” in recognition of the the tax-advantaged investment plans named for Section 529 of the tax code and designed specifically to save for higher edu...

DC Shuttle: Grants Would Connect Schools, Employers, Colleges in STEM; U.S. Report Shows Degrees Rose

STEM education. On Thursday, Rep. Bill Foster (R-IL) introduced the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act, cosponsored by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). The bill would su...

DC Shuttle: Congress Scrutinizes Colleges’ Unrelated Biz Income; Takes Interest in Loan Rates

Rewriting K-12 law. On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on state and local accountability systems for education. Chair John Kline (R-MN) outlined four Republican priorities for rewriting the nation’s K-12 education law, known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or No Child Left Behind: restore local control, reduce the federal footpr...