At -3.6 percent, college endowments posted their biggest losses since 1984 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, according to the annual endowment survey conducted by the National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO). Fortunately, the decline in investment revenues follows a 13 percent return for FY2000.
With the latest National Conference of State Legislatures survey revealing 45 states are dealing with falling revenue projections and 37 already report budget gaps in next year's revenue forecasts (see http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2002/021502.htm), the number of states proposing or considering cuts to higher education for FY 2003 continues to grow.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:99), the third in a series, presents the results of a 1998 survey conducted of institutions' policies and practices affecting faculty. Among the findings -- a large proportion, about two-fifths, of all faculty worked part time.
With the release of the President's FY 2003 budget request, five of seven federal programs designed to help state universities in 21 states were slated for cuts or total elimination. Collectively known as the EPSCoR programs, short for Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the emphasis began in 1979, with an innovative National Science Foundation (NSF) program intended to improve the research competitiveness of those states that have received lesser amounts of federal R&D funding.
On March 1, the National Center for Educational Statistics released the 597-page Digest of Educational Statistics, 2001. Included in the tome are several hundred tables covering demographic data for all levels of education. Highlights of relevance to this special Higher Education issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest include:
In our occasional Useful Stats series in the SSTI Weekly Digest over the past few months, SSTI published online tables for three statistical measures that can be used as indicators of a state's relative position or, when collected over time, progress toward specific tech-based economic development goals involving academic performance or research. Links to the full reports from which the statistics are derived are provided on each table's web page.
Over the past few years, the SSTI Weekly Digest has covered several reports concerning universities, their economic impact and research and development issues. Some of these are highlighted below. In addition, on SSTI's Resources web page are links to several academic associations and organizations that follow the topics discussed in this special issue more closely.
Backed by a Technology Foresight Fund of more than $550 million annually, the Science Foundation Ireland has given the go-ahead to a new awards system designed to attract top researchers and support industry-university partnerships.
An historic, five-year reauthorization bill for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awaits only the President's signature after being approved Tuesday by Congress.
President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law, making the reauthorization of ARC the longest in its history and only the second congressional reauthorization of the agency since the Carter Administration.
The reauthorization bill contains several key provisions:
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has $335 million available for grants to support state, regional and community efforts to create wealth and minimize poverty by promoting a favorable business environment to attract private capital investment and high skill, high wage jobs through world-class capacity building, infrastructure, business assistance, research grants and strategic initiatives.
While some practitioners have centered themselves on running programs and shoring up budgets during the present fiscal crisis, other efforts are underway, including that of the Innovation Policy and the Economy (IPE) group of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
During the last eight weeks, communities across the U.S. have witnessed the rise or fall of small business incubators. Here are some of the developments:
In January, Phil Bond, the Undersecretary for Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, took on the additional responsibilities as Chief of Staff.
James Hayward, CEO of a biotech materials supply company, has been named the first chairman of the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative. Joseph Scaduto is serving part-time as the new executive director for the group.
In January, Phil Bond, the Undersecretary for Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, took on the additional responsibilities as Chief of Staff.
James Hayward, CEO of a biotech materials supply company, has been named the first chairman of the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative. Joseph Scaduto is serving part-time as the new executive director for the group.
John Hightower, executive director of the Baton Rouge Technology Council for the past seven months, has resigned to resume a career in public relations and lobbying. The Council has started a search for his replacement.
Don Smith has been appointed Vice President for Economic Development at the new Mellon Pitt Carnegie Corporation. MPC, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, is intended to coordinate the economic development and tech commercialization activities of both schools.
Jack Sommer is the new executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council. Sommer previously worked with Student Advantage in Boston.
The Indiana Technology Partnership named Jim Wheeler as its new president. A former partner with Andersen LLP, Wheeler takes the position vacated by Tom Miller last fall.
Gov. Rick Perry is asking the Texas Legislature to appropriate $300 million for a new program designed to foster emerging technologies, enhance university-industry collaboration, and promote technology commercialization. If approved, the multi-faceted effort would be the most aggressive tech-based economic development initiative in the state's history.
Money is following the jobs and excitement that represents China's economy these days according to an annual survey of equity investments in China mainland businesses. Compiled by Chinese venture capital (VC) research and consulting firm Zero2IPO, the fourth annual survey found 60 firms made 253 investments totalling $1.269 billion (US) in China mainland or mainland-related enterprises in 2004.
Four consecutive years of attempting to eliminate or minimize NASA's technology transfer activities are beginning to take a toll on the space agency's effectiveness at commercializing federally-supported technology, based on analysis from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated its online center of state science and engineering (S&E) profiles to include data from 2001-2003. The site provides convenient access to a PDF or downloadable Microsoft Excel Worksheet of 31 indicators for each state. A spreadsheet with summary statistics for the entire U.S. also is available.
During the 1970s, Canada routinely topped the U.S. in terms of real growth in gross domestic product per capita. As recently as 1990, Canada enjoyed the fourth highest standard of living in the world but slipped to seventh by 1999.