This January, I was one of a hundred college and university presidents invited by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to the State Department in Washington DC for the "University Presidents Summit on International Education." Joining the presidents at various times were President George Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Karen Hughes. Beltway insiders thought it remarkable that so many luminaries were part of the Summit and thought that it indicated a diplomatic shift toward higher education and toward recognition that U.S. interests in the future will be hampered by isolationism. The presidents were all surprised to hear Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat in constant usage.

The Summit was convened to "strengthen the collaboration between America's higher education institutions and the U.S. government" so that the U.S. continues to be the pre-eminent destination of foreign students, so that U.S. students are educated to succeed in a globally interconnected society, and in particular to boost the teaching of languages that are not presently a large part of most universities' curriculum yet vital to the national interest in the future-languages like Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, and other Central Asian languages.

In the weeks since the Summit, in an effort to make visa regulations less prohibitive for foreign students studying in the U.S., Secretaries Rice and Chertoff (Homeland Security) have announced policy changes that will extend the "length of time students will have to apply for visas and arrive in America in advance of their studies."

Actually, I had a personal revelation as I was going to the airport to go back to Florida (where I was to report on the meeting to the Council of Independent College presidents): my cab driver spoke Farsi. I realized that the U.S. has tremendous reserves of linguistic expertise in all those languages and that it would be far easier to bring a college education to the cab driver than it would to bring an extensive knowledge of Farsi and Persian culture to a twenty year old U.S. undergraduate. But then I have always had an interest in adult education. I hope to bring this perspective to our educational leaders and government as we wrestle with the necessity of entering the global community.

Ann Goes to Washington

Earlier this spring, I was given the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C to attend the White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives as a representative of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

AFP is a membership organization with 28,000 members that exists to foster the development and growth of fundraising professionals, and to promote high ethical standards in fundraising. As a new chair of a committee of the AFP Board of Directors, and as a long-time member of the Alaska Chapter, I was pleased to be invited to join the group of 30 other members from across the United States who were invited to attend the Conference.

The White House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives occurred on march 9th, 2006 and was a full-day conference with the purpose of providing faith-based organizations and other nonprofits with the tools and education they need in order to raise funds to support their missions. Throughout the day, several educational workshops focused on securing gifts from corporations and foundations. President George Bush delivered the conference's key-note address.

During his speech, President Bush spoke about his belief that faith-based organizations and secular nonprofits play an important role in fulfilling social needs of the country's citizens, and he mentioned the many efforts that have been implemented during his tenure to assist these organizations. One such effort has been the creation of the White House Office of Faith Based and community Initiatives which has in effect sought to level the playing field for faith-based non-profits by allowing them to compete with secular nonprofits for federal funds and grants. The President said "I believe all of us, no matter what level of government we're in -- federal, state, and local -- and I believe all of us, no matter if we're private or pubic, ought to allow religious organizations to compete for funding on an equal basis, not for the sake of faith, but for the sake of results." He also mentioned tax code changes that he hopes to see implemented which will make it easier for individuals of all income levels to contribute to charities of all kinds. The IRA rollover provision and a tax-deduction for non-itemizers who contribute are just two of these changes that might come to fruition with the President's support.

Air travel to these conferences was generously contributed to APU by Alaska Airlines.