Journal Volume Index

2010

Volume 9 (Spring)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker Keith R. McCall
Building for the Future – Strengthening Pennsylvania’s Critical Infrastructures
In the ninth volume of the Speaker’s Journal on Pennsylvania... (More) Policy, we will: • examine the current status, issues and needs of specific critical infrastructures in Pennsylvania together with comparisons of other states. • discuss the interrelationships among critical infrastructures and how the creation,operation, maintenance and protection of one infrastructure relies upon the sounddevelopment of others. • hear from experts who will suggest needed changes and improvements in municipal, county and state policies and practices and the adoption of technologies that would enhance the capacity of Pennsylvania’s public and private sectors to build, operate, maintain and protect our critical infrastructures. • learn new and innovative ways of funding infrastructures.

2008

Volume 8 (Fall)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien
Autism in Pennsylvania: What Lies Ahead?
In the pages that follow, we hope the readers will... (More) find answers to pertinent policy issues related to Autism. The terms Autism, Autistic Disorders, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and Autism Spectrum Disorders are all terms that are used with increasing frequency in day-to-day conversations. The growing interest in the topic coinsides with a rising incidence of individuals identified with the disorder and an escalating demand for services. Policy makers at all levels of government will be required to respond to the demands of this important constituency.
Volume 7 (Summer)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien
The First Pennsylvania Geospatial Policy Symposium: Past, Present and Future
The First Pennsylvania Geospatial Policy Symposium, held on October 4,... (More) 2007, informed the public about public policy issues involving geospatial technology in Pennsylvania. The technology deals with issues where geographic boundaries or the location of people, places or things is crucial. Geospatial technology consists of many hardware and software tools like Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These tools are used to create, analyze, integrate and display this very important geographic or locational information through mapping and spatial media.

2007

Volume 6 (Spring)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien
Essays on the Role of Libraries in Education
Throughout our history, Pennsylvania's libraries have served as hallmarks of... (More) knowledge, laboratories for intellectual curiosity, and touchstones of our treasured past. Collectively, our libraries represent an educational resource that is vast in scope yet nearby, accessible, and, best of all, free to everyone. With more than 620 locations across all 67 counties, our public libraries work daily to improve the lives and learning opportunities for Pennsylvanians of all ages, just as it has been for more than 200 years. In the pages that follow you will read the stories of lifelong learning in Pennsylvania's public libraries, and how librarians touch the lives of thousands of people each and every day. You'll read about story hours for pre-schoolers, homework help for teens, nutrition classes for new parents, technology training for career changers, marketing advice for budding entrepreneurs, English language lessons for new Americans, and travel and health information for retirees.

2006

Volume 5 (Fall)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker John M. Perzel
Beyond Financial Aid: Funding Strategies for College Costs
Beyond Financial Aid: Funding Strategies for College Costs describes 10... (More) funding strategies. Dr. James B. Johnston explains that paying for college is time sensitive, as it requires multi-disciplinary financial information. Investment, tax and financial aid knowledge are all required. This essay includes a "True Cost" worksheet that effectively demonstrates that consideration of need or non-need based scholarships, and on average, the shorter time required to graduate from private colleges and unjversities, the cost differences between public and private higher education shrinks or disappears. Johnston writes that he was surprised to find how few people. including educators, are aware of the time difference between public and private colleges that is required to graduate. Recognizing that fact should encourage families to make college selection decisions based upon their values and aspirations rather than three potentially expensive cost assumptions, which he describes in this work.
Volume 4 (Spring)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker John M. Perzel
Early Childhood Education: Universal Pre-K and Other Alternatives
In this volume, each of the presentations is showcased at... (More) the workshop. In the first chapter, Dr. Marsha Weinraub presents an overview of services currently available to Pennsylvania children. Her presentation provides a backdrop for legislators to view what has been accomplished in the Commonwealth. In Chapter 2, there is a reprint of an article by Dr. William Gormley that appeared in the Phi Delta Kappan. In the article, Dr. Gormley presents the arguments for and against Universal Pre-K, and recounts the experience of several states as they moved toward UPK. As he did in greater detail at the Policy Workshop, in this reprinted article Dr. Gormley summarizes the findings from research concerning the effects of universal Pre-K on children. Dr. Gormley's research in the State of Oklahoma shows that quality early education can have tremendous effects on children's readiness to learn. With the recognition that enacting and implementing publicly funded Universal Pre-K is a controversial and difficult, yet not impossible process, David Lawrence recounts in Chapter 3 how the state of Florida passed their Universal PreK program in 2004. His description of what's happening with universal preschool in Florida nearly one year later is especially enlightening. In Chapter 4, Dr. Richard Fiene describes early childhood initiatives in other states that may be relevant to Pennsylvania. Finally, in Chapter 5, Drs. Anne Shlay and Marsha Weinraub sum up the discussion among the legislators and workshop attendees that followed these stimulating presentations.

2005

Volume 3 (Winter)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker John M. Perzel
Essays on Access from Pennsylvania's Independent Colleges and Universities
Ten powerful essays provided by college/universities presidents through the efforts... (More) of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP). The works ranges from describing an effective on-campus residency program for single mothers with children at Wilson College, to offering solutions for accessibility, to a description of a program that brings the natural sciences and women together with exceptional results.

2004

Volume 2 (Fall)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker John M. Perzel
"The Challenges of Pennsylvania Demography for Higher Education" "The Privatization of American Public Higher Education"
Two essays that tackle higher education concerns on a statewide... (More) perspective, by Dr. Graham B. Spanier, the 16th president of one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive universities, Pennsylvania State University. The first essay entitled, "The Challenges of Pennsylvania Demography for Higher Education" focuses on the changing demography in Pennsylvania and its consequences for higher education. Dr. Spanier's second essay, "The Privatization of American Public Higher Education," focuses on the shifting landscape in funding of the nation's top public research universities.
Volume 1 (Winter)	Show Individual Articles
Speaker John M. Perzel
Toward Universal Access to Higher Education - The American Experience
Although directed primarily to Greek and European Union audiences, his description... (More) and analysis of America's system of higher education will be of interest to Americans in public and private life. Americans have a penchant for self-criticism, and we often tak our institutions for granted. Chancellor Liacouras offers commentaries on such practical and controversial topics as: academic preparedness of Americans for college; affirmative action; at-risk children and non-traditional students; soaring tuition and the shifting of the burden of college costs to the student; financial aid and tuition discounting; family income leading to social stratification in both access and college demography; resistance of universities to increase their innovation and new systems accessing and delivering education; the "commodity" feature of college courses and transferability of credits; linkages between community colleges and four-year institutions; the "for-profit" universities' response to marketplace demands; graduation rates linked to government financing; accountability and accreditation of colleges and universities; limited but vital roles of government in policy initiatives and funding; the critical function in America's system of independent governing boards with final decision-making authority; political interference in administering colleges; constant competition among colleges in all their activities; and the critical and pervasive role of the "markets."