Public colleges and universities today are more than institutions of academic study. They play a role in the economic and social life of their communities by engaging in partnerships aimed at enhancing their scope and brand image. This paper suggests these partnered activities do more than just manage costs and replace state support during…

This dissertation examines the process of desegregation on the campus of a Catholic university in the North. Focusing on Villanova University during the period from 1940-1985, the narrative explores the tension between the University's public commitment to desegregation and the difficulties of implementing integration on a predominately white…

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories…

Along with their students, faculty have become co-learners and pioneers in the classroom. With no models to work from, they have had to explore, practice, and discover the iPad's potential for expanding learning. Given the recent and rapidly growing access to a dazzling array of intellectual technologies, faculty and staff at Seton Hill, a liberal…

Using a conceptual framework constructed around self-efficacy, this study explores specific recruitment programs that may contribute to the development of self-efficacy for students of color in the geosciences. This mixed methods study of geoscience education includes quantitative analysis of the Summer Experience in Earth and Mineral Science…

This publication welcomes students attending one of the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) international fairs during Fall 2007 in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong and Macau, China; and Seoul, Korea. AACC holds these tours to acquaint international students in Asia with the benefits of…

This oral history study addressed the problem of under-representation of minority teachers through the voices and perspectives of five African American female paraprofessional teacher aides who entered the teaching profession through participation in the Career Opportunities Program in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1970 through 1974. Two theoretical…

The importance of college degree completion for U.S. society and economic competitiveness makes it imperative to improve educational outcomes for Latino students. Institutional leaders, educators, and policymakers who recognize this imperative are challenged to determine what they can do to improve educational outcomes for Latino students.…

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP), like many other urban school districts, struggles to increase its hiring and retention of experienced and highly qualified teachers in its low-performing/high-need schools. Toward the goal of improving teacher quality and the experience balance, particularly in hard-to-staff schools, the Philadelphia…

Context: An implicit objective of a state's investments in medical education is to promote in-state practice of state educated physicians. Purpose: To present a tool for evaluating this objective by analyzing the "pipeline" from medical education to patient care, primary care, rural areas, and underserved areas in Pennsylvania. Methods:…

Due to federal budget cuts in 2005-06, 11 family literacy programs in Pennsylvania switched from federal Even Start to state (Act 143) funding. Simultaneously, state welfare requirements stipulated that in most circumstances adult education is not an allowable work activity for welfare recipients over age 20. This study examined how these policy…

Context: Mid-level providers comprise an increasing proportion of the health care workforce and play a key role in providing health services in rural and underserved areas. Although women comprise the majority of mid-level providers, they are less likely to work in a rural area than men. Maldistribution of health providers between urban and rural…

A survey of 67 Pennsylvania extension professionals and on-site reviews found minority representation on extension boards and committees ranged from 17-50%. Recruitment and retention problems included time constraints, lack of familiarity, transportation problems, and discomfort. (SK)

In recent decades, federal, state, and local policies have demonstrated renewed efforts to address the concerns of both teacher quality and quantity, resulting in initiatives to attract, reward, and retain qualified people in the teacher profession. Initiatives to address the problems of teacher quality and quantity often take the form of…

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP), like many other urban school districts, struggles to increase its hiring and retention of experienced and highly qualified teachers in its low-performing/high-need schools. Excluding its charter schools, SDP serves approximately 165,000 students, largely from high-poverty (76%) and minority (85%)…