Gov. Mitch Daniels failed to get the legislature to bite on his plan to lease out the Hoosier
Lottery in order to pay for two-year college scholarships. So he’s now he’s using $31 million in federal stimulus funds
to create a similar program for about 9,000 Hoosiers.
A growing number of Indianapolis residents are making the most of their public library system. The Indianapolis-Marion
County Public Library system says it’s on pace for a record year in terms of use by patrons and items circulated.
Indiana-based Franklin College and Ohio-based Franklin University resolved their legal case last night, with Franklin University
agreeing to take specific steps in its advertisements to distinguish itself from Franklin College.
Hoosier Academies is the leading candidate to operate a controversial virtual charter school pilot program authorized last
month by the Legislature.
A state law that went into effect July 1 attempts to attract young physicians and mental health practitioners to underserved
areas by forgiving part of their student loans. But Indiana’s budget woes prevented lawmakers from allocating funds
to support the program.
A state budget was passed June 30, but it’s balanced on the backs of poor children. Legislators
deserve praise for at least slightly increasing overall education funding, but because of a flawed funding
formula, urban districts such as Indianapolis Public Schools actually will lose money in the next two
years.
Ivy Tech Community College President Tom Snyder is one of 13 candidates being considered for the position of chancellor of
the State University System of Florida.
The challenges facing Indianapolis Public Schools are daunting. The socioeconomic level of its students and their families,
fiscal constraints, and a necessary heightened focus on security issues are just a few, but all contribute to high dropout
rates, low academic achievement, achievement gaps between middle-class and low-income children and declining enrollment.
Franklin College filed a lawsuit today alleging trademark infringement against Ohio-based Franklin
University, which will open a campus in Castleton this fall. The liberal arts college south of Indianapolis
said the newcomer’s marketing blitz has been too close to Franklin College’s own branding.
Fledgling attorneys face a legal industry in defensive mode, resulting in drooping employment figures.
Only North and South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin have smaller proportions of lawyers within their working populations.
Experts point to the state’s shrinking base of corporate HQs, the exodus of law school graduates, and a less litigious climate
overall.
Students going into and out of Indiana’s teacher education programs tend to score below average on standardized test scores.
And national data indicate the gap is entirely attributable to those headed into elementary education.
There’s reason to believe serious progress is coming, due to the people in leadership positions for the state in three key
areas: the Department of Education, the Commission for Higher Education and Ivy Tech Community College.
Educators widely support a new state law that gives teachers immunity from civil lawsuits for trying to discipline students.
But opponents of corporal punishment are giving it a frosty reception, fearing Indiana students could be subjected to more
paddling without legal recourse.
A little-known federal program provides support for retraining to workers whose employers were hurt by foreign trade. The
Trade Adjustment Assistance Act also offers income replacement and health insurance benefits.
Most fund-raisers stumble into the profession, but within a decade the field could be populated by recent college graduates
who hold degrees in philanthropic studies.The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University soon will roll out a bachelor’s
degree that would be among the first of its kind. If all goes as planned, IUPUI would begin marketing the degree, granted
by the School of Liberal Arts, for the fall of 2010.
Folks from all sorts of professions are trying on teaching, to survive the recession or to give back to the community. Or
both.
Ohio-based Franklin University’s move into the Indianapolis market sets up the potential for significant name confusion with
Franklin College, the liberal arts school 30 minutes south of Indianapolis.
The people overseeing the Indiana State Teachers Association Insurance Trust had no background in investments or insurance, likely leaving them ill-equipped to grasp the ever-larger amounts of complicated investments the trust was buying.
Incentives have long been used as an effective tool in business to improve employee performance. But can a concept that helps
companies motivate workers also work in public education?
