From the earliest days of the most recent presidential election, President Obama made it clear that one of his highest priorities if elected would be addressing climate change, energy consumption and the economy.  It seems that within the first several months of taking office, President Obama has remained dedicated to those priorities.  More recently, he maintains that he has found a single solution that will address all three problems: the development of a “green economy.” 

The green economy, according to the Administration, will “invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions [five million, to be exact] of new jobs.”  President Obama has stated his intention to invest $150 billion over the next ten years in efforts meant to encourage private efforts to establish and use clean energy.  Through this investment, the President expects to not only create jobs (developing, installing, and maintaining new green technologies) but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 through the use of clean and renewable energy sources.  Breaking the nation’s addiction to foreign oil is an obvious underpinning of the Obama plan. 

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Last year on Memorial Day, I posted an article providing some information on the history and significance of this holiday.  This year, I wanted to take an opportunity to recognize and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.  Though the statement, “Freedom is not free” is a bit of a cliché, it certainly contains much truth. 

This Memorial Day, I encourage you to take a moment to consider the sacrifices that have been made in the name of America’s freedom.  Since our nation’s inception, the men and women of our armed forces have been willing to lay down their lives so that we as individual citizens can continue to enjoy the many freedoms that are such a hallmark of American life.  Our nation is facing challenges that may seem unprecedented and overwhelming at times.  Despite the challenges, the freedoms enjoyed by every American citizen are steadfast and unwavering thanks to the valiant sacrifices of our nation’s military, past and present.

Take a moment today to pause and reflect on our freedoms.  And thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

I was pleased and proud to have been on hand last weekend in Chantilly, VA during our 2009 commencement ceremonies to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of more than 2,800 APUS graduates.  (To see a compilation video from the ceremonies, click here.)  American Public University System (APUS) granted 1,252 Graduate degrees, 1,318 Bachelor degrees, and 235 Associate degrees during the past year.  Reflecting the importance of education in today’s increasingly complex and technical world, the many demands on today’s professionals, and the quality of our programs, 26 percent of our Bachelor and Associate degree grantees have already enrolled with us to pursue another degree.

Few events generate as much excitement, pride or sense of accomplishment as a university graduation ceremony.  Our students hail from all 50 U.S. states and 135 countries worldwide.  They include active duty servicemen and servicewomen; dedicated public servants; and accomplished professionals engaged in a range of technical, analytic, and management positions.  They are also wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons.  Their accomplishments are outstanding!

As impressive as the graduating class of 2009’s numbers and statistics are, the stories, the accomplishments, the hopes and the dreams of individual American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU) graduates are equally as fascinating.  I appreciated having the opportunity to catch up with many of the graduates who attended our ceremonies.  What they said about their experience with APUS was certainly of interest to me and offers insight and inspiration to us all.  I have summarized a few of them.

Kim Beyers received a B.A. in Homeland Security from AMU last weekend, thrilled that her parents and family members could be on hand to help mark her accomplishment, and is looking forward to another AMU graduation ceremony in the not-so-distant future, when she earns her AMU Master’s degree in Homeland Security.  Ms. Beyers, an information systems specialist, is on active duty with the U.S. Army, and plans to retire in 2010 – but she has no plans to stop working.  She was posted in Turkey when the national tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred, and she vowed shortly thereafter that she would continue her public service beyond her military career by contributing to the nation’s security – which she hopes to do in an analyst position with the Department of Homeland Security or the Defense Intelligence Agency following her retirement.  

Charles Russo currently works as an analyst with a large defense contractor and received a B.A. in Intelligence Studies with AMU last year.  Charles plans to pursue an M.A. in Intelligence Studies with AMU beginning next year.  Mr. Russo attended the APUS graduation ceremonies as one of our alumni ambassadors, there to congratulate a new class of alumni.  He says his degree program with AMU has given him perspective and insight which complements his more than 14 years of intelligence experience.

Susan Wadehul received a Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in Emergency & Disaster Management from APU (as well as a stellar 4.0 GPA and “Outstanding Graduate Student Award” for the School of Public Safety and Health), in what was the culmination of a self-imposed challenge – and likely the start of an exciting new phase in her life and career.  In September, 2004, the registered nurse and emergency medical technician was diagnosed with viral meningitis, and told it could take up to three years to fully recover.   Unable to lift heavy objects or to work, but otherwise healthy, Susan decided to pursue a master’s degree in “something broader” than a traditional nursing program.  She found in APU what she calls “the perfect combination:” an online master’s degree program in public health, with a concentration in emergency management.  Now fully recovered and back at work full time at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA, Susan hopes her newly minted degree will allow her to realize another dream:  to teach other aspiring healthcare providers in nursing, public health and/or emergency management.

Clearly, these and all of our APUS graduates are already making their mark in a range of fields crucial to our nation’s military, government, social and economic success.  I believe their education and experience with AMU and APU will not only make them more successful in their individual careers – but that they will make life a little better for all of us in their ongoing service to our country.

Congratulations to the AMU and APU graduating classes of 2009, and all the best from the administration and faculty of APUS!

The Pell Grant, originally known as the Basic Education Opportunity Act, was created in 1972 to support the postsecondary educational needs of the country’s least advantaged students.  The original maximum amount for Pell Grant recipients was $452.  In 1980, the program was renamed the Pell Grant in honor of Senator Claiborne Pell and his initiatives in creating the program.  After periodic increases to meet the rising cost of college tuition, the Pell Grant remained stagnant at $4,050 for four years during the Bush Administration from 2003 until 2007.

By the time President Obama took office, the maximum Pell Grant was $4,731.  With the recent implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the maximum Pell Grant increased to $5,350.  Even with this increase, however, there are significant deficiencies with the Pell Grant system that must be addressed if the United States is to improve affordability and access to postsecondary educational opportunities.

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This week represents National Teacher Appreciation Week and if there was ever an appropriate time to applaud the efforts of our nation’s teachers, it is now.  Considering the well-publicized and overwhelming reality of our nation’s fiscal concerns, there can be little doubt that the nation’s leadership faces an arduous task.  The nation’s teachers, however, have arguably an even greater and more daunting task: preparing our youngest minds for the uncertain future that lies ahead of them. 

A 2006 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau states that there are 6.8 million teachers in the United States, approximately one-third of them teaching at the elementary, middle and high school levels (the other two-thirds teach at preschool, kindergarten or college levels).  According to the Census Bureau report, teachers in Connecticut enjoyed the largest salaries in the nation, an average of $57,300, while teachers in South Dakota earned only $33,200 per year, the lowest in the nation.  The national average teacher salary in 2006 was $46,800.  Considering the importance of the job the nation’s teachers perform, such striking salary discrepancies are disappointing.  The recent budget crises in most states don’t offer much hope that teacher salaries will improve in the near future.

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Ed Strong was one of my grad school professors at Tulane.  On one of my early postings on this blog, I mentioned his name with a list of professors who I found notable for their teaching abilities when I was in college.  Ed found that posting and sent me a note.  We have remained in touch off and on through email and Facebook.  A few months ago, Ed sent me a link to one of the postings on his blog, Cabbages and Kings, and stated that I was one of his few Facebook friends who might be interested in the post.

I clicked on the link and found an interesting post where Dr. Strong shares his teaching philosophy.  He originally wrote the piece for his application for a tenure-track position at the university where he works as a full-time visiting professor.  You can read his post yourself or my synopsis below.  Either way, I think it is worth sharing.

Dr. Strong has a unique and varied teaching background.  His first teaching opportunities were with the Army where the teaching philosophy focused on the notion that only three teaching points could be absorbed and retained by students in an hour-long class.  From the Army, Dr. Strong went to INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France which uses a teaching style similar to that found at the Harvard Business School:  individual instructors are required to undertake extensive preparation, often in conjunction with other professors teaching the same or similar classes.  His time at Tulane, as he explains, brought a very different teaching experience.  Dr. Strong writes, “…I spent 34 years at Tulane, a school whose culture held that the instructor was – once the classroom doors were closed – answerable to no one for what went on in the classroom.”  From these experiences, Dr. Strong’s teaching philosophy has settled into a somewhat eclectic and, by his own admission, ever-evolving one.

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