Colleges and universities in the USA and many other countries find themselves in a deepening financial challenge that is significantly influencing operating decisions as well as student access to higher education. These trends are attributed to the weakened finances of governments, competition from non-discretionary public spending, the nature of…

This paper reports the findings of a study of the role of sports in the lives of U.S. Congressmen and focuses attention on six gifted athletes for whom sports provided preparation for government service. The word "hero" as used in this paper refers to former members of Congress who were admired for their athletic prowess and for their…

A study was conducted of professional socialization, public service values, and political orientations of the state administrators in Kentucky. A sample of 3,000 Kentucky public managers was mailed a six-page self-administered questionnaire in three waves. A response rate of 49 percent generated 1,467 usable questionnaires. About 69 percent of the…

An approach to the problem of providing social awareness experiences to undergraduate engineering students is provided in this paper. Specifically, this report lists some of the developments surrounding the inception of a social fraternities and sororities program at the University of Missouri-Rolla and events leading to these organizations doing…

A model for undergraduate programs designed to integrate foreign language instruction with training for an international public service occupation is outlined. The language component and professional training, taught separately at first, are brought together at the end of the program in an internship in an international public service…

Several trends indicate that rural America can benefit from information-based and service sector job creation. Among the more significant trends are the movement of people from urban and suburban to rural areas, the decreasing importance of location due to communication technology, the growth of jobs in the service section, the growing…

This paper identifies and explores three major factors that affect the career choices of African Americans. First, the future of the American employment market is strongly based in technology, yet approximately two-thirds of the African American population reported their level of education at high school completion and lower. Second, African…

Reflections on the fundamental problems of teaching political science in community colleges are outlined. Facing the stark reality of a student population deficient in reading and writing skills, the teacher must make difficult concepts and material comprehensible in order to create a sense of attachment for the nation, its Constitution, laws, and…

Most discussions concerning whether literature should be taught in the composition classroom have concentrated on the pedagogical theories of learning how to write, instead of the economic and political reasons for the initial separation of the two disciplines. To help make people more employable in the rising service economy universities have…

The Public Service Research Program at the University of California at Davis is described. The goal of the program is to develop a systematic approach to an integrated community/university program. Requirements are that a public policy issue must be addressed, faculty and students must be involved, and collaboration with a government agency or a…

Renewing some previous considerations on the "manufactured" split between literature and composition instruction that is currently dividing many professionals in higher education today, this paper discusses the economic and political reasons for the initial separation of composition and literature in the classroom. The paper argues that…

Some possible new directions for the political science discipline are presented. Within the context of current, formal undergraduate education, political science has two major functions: (1) to provide part of the required general, social science education, and (2) to attract and prepare future recruits for the profession. These functions are…

We are becoming a service based society. Changes in our society all point to the move to a service based society which demands a new educational approach. In such a society human service professionals will be consumer-oriented, cooperators with the citizen, and judged by the citizens and consumers they serve. These workers will serve, advocate for…

This paper describes the development of an undergraduate certificate program for direct service workers employed in the field of aging. Currently there is a lack of such training programs because the field of educational gerontology is fairly new, most programs focus on graduate degrees, and there is a widespread misconception that employees…

Six independent study projects are offered to students in an introductory psychology course at the University of Houston. The projects include a term paper, book critique, independent research project, audio and/or visual demonstration, research assistance to a faculty member, and a community service option. The most popular of these projects is…