The Charles A. Dana Foundation is trying to bring attention to innovations that improve the quality of undergraduate education and those that prevent disease and promote health. It is especially interested in ideas that can be copied on other campuses or in other communities or medical institutes. (MLW)

The president of the Council on Foundations, James A. Joseph, urges educators to develop volunteers who can eliminate the causes of social problems. Colleges and universities are in a special position to instill a sense of social responsibility in students. (MLW)

Thirty-seven universities received half the money donated by foundations to higher education in 1989-90, and 40 institutions received half the corporate dollars donated, revealing the power of research universities to attract private monies. Some feel the concentration is neither rational nor fair. Tables present dollar and percentage figures for…

The politically conservative John M. Olin Foundation, which provides financial grants to individuals and groups on U.S. campuses, has become part of the debate over "political correctness" in academia. The foundation is accused of being linked with the Republican Party and of distorting intellectual debate. (DB)

At many colleges, contributions are up in nearly all categories including: alumni gifts, corporate and foundation grants, and planned giving. While the market crash delivered a strong jolt to donor confidence, the 1986 Tax Reform Act has had more impact on giving. (MLW)

Clare Boothe Luce left a special trust whose sole purpose is to "encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach" science. Fourteen institutions were designated by her to use money to support the advancement of female students and faculty members in science and engineering. (MLW)

The intertwined fortunes of the Danforth Foundation and Washington University are discussed. The foundation has phased out its regular programs in higher education in favor of secondary education and regional projects, leaving for higher education only the Dorothy Danforth Compton Minority program and support of Washington University. (MLW)

The Kresge Foundation is one of the few national foundations that give money only for construction and renovation at nonprofit organizations, a boon for colleges and universities with severe deferred maintenance problems. Recently, the foundation added a program to upgrade science equipment. Participating colleges must also raise funds. (MSE)

More than 90 percent of the American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation funds comes from the association's 150,000 members. Awards for graduate study, postdoctoral studies, and international fellowships are reported. (MLW)

Donations to education rose considerably higher than inflation last year, unlike giving in most other areas. Factors fueling a slowdown in giving include recession, a sluggish stock market, a slowed rate of increase in the population of Americans aged 35 to 64, and a declining rate in personal income growth. (MSE)

The charitable tax deduction has created a system in which the rich can choose to support institutions that perpetuate their own class, with little scrutiny by the general public or elected officials. Museums, libraries, orchestras, etc., receive more gifts than do programs that benefit the needy. (MLW)

Private contributions to colleges and universities appear to have rebounded from changes in the tax laws and the crash on Wall Street. Both private and public institutions recorded healthy increases in total support, but the share of contributions going to public universities expanded more rapidly than that going to private institutions. (MLW)

The Ford Foundation's Race Relations and Campus Diversity Program, responding to recent campus disruption over race, religion, gender, and ethnicity, helps campuses improve teaching and curricula to keep pace with changing populations on and off campus. Cultural diversity in all undergraduate courses is stressed. Program expansion is anticipated.…

Jo Anne Keyes, who has struggled to go to college as an adult, has established a one-person foundation and collected over $40,000 in cash and $75,000 worth of books to help other adult students get an education. (MSE)

The Ford Foundation's increase, by almost one-fourth, of support to higher education is intended to reinvigorate college teaching, especially in the social sciences, and to improve opportunities for minority group faculty. Other new foundation efforts include support of a program to assist victims of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).…