TBED Tidbits

More Funding Sought For Pell Grants

An educated workforce is one of the most important elements of any tech-based economic development strategy. The Association of American Universities (AAU) has alerted its members to a Dear Colleague letter being circulated in the Senate to encourage the strengthening and improvement of the Pell Grant program. Cosigners are sought by Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) to urge Senate appropriators to support a $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award for FY 2003 to $4,500 and to eliminate the current year's budget shortfall in the Pell Grant program. Pell Grants, which help to offset the financial burden of college for students from low and middle income families, have lost 20 percent of their value since 1975, because the award size has not kept pace with inflation. The AAU reports cosigners already include: Susan Collins (R-ME), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Gordon Smith (R-OR). More information is available from Tim Grace, in Senator Feingold's office, at 202-224-0398.



Basic Research = Technology Advances

Need anecdotal evidence of the technological, economic and social payoff of basic research? The Office on Public Understanding of Science within the National Academy of Sciences has relaunched its Beyond Discovery website to offer vivid examples for greater public understanding of the value of basic research. The office publishes articles, now indexed by subject, examining the crucial role played by basic research in the development of important technological and medical advances. The link is: http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/

Future on Hold in Indiana

To offset the $1.3 billion deficit not addressed by the state legislature before ending its session in mid-March, Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon has rescinded the unexpended monies from the Build Indiana Fund. The cuts include $50 million from the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which will bar any new projects from beginning before new appropriations are secured in the next biennial budget cycle that begins in July 2003. Other tech-based ED cuts include $74 million in education technology acquisitions and $5 million from Purdue University's nanotechnology program.