TO CLIPS INDEX Clips for February 27, 2009

Editorial: Speed up fast track to get teachers in
Arizona classrooms
The Arizona Republic 2/27/09
One of the fastest-evolving professions in the world
is among the historically oldest . . . that of teacher.
Once, the pathway to the front of the classroom was
formalized and inflexible. A prospective teacher
would spend many months - or, more often, years -
preparing for the classroom. What worked then
doesn't work now. Arizona, among other fast-growing
states, needs hundreds more new teachers than are
coming our way. Especially teachers of sciences and
math. So alternatives are evolving. The universities
and community colleges offer fast-track programs
for preparing degree-holding candidates in the best
practices of the teaching profession. Now, the fast-
tracking may get faster still.

Immigrant college grads in legal limbo can't
get jobs
The Arizona Republic 2/27/09
In December, 11 undocumented-immigrant students
who had been given private grants graduated from
Arizona State University, some with honors. In May,
nearly 40 more are expected to graduate, some with
engineering degrees. But in the middle of a recession
and with immigration reform not a priority now in
Congress, the future of these young people, many
of whom were brought to the United States illegally
as children, is bleaker than ever. Even as
immigration enforcement has escalated across
the country, hundreds of undocumented immigrants
continue to graduate with associate, bachelor's and
even master's degrees. But most remain stuck in
professional purgatory. Undocumented, they are
unable to legally land a job in their chosen career.

New dean appointed to UA medical school
The Arizona Republic 2/26/09 4:36 PM
Dr. Stuart Flynn has been appointed dean of the
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
in partnership with Arizona State University. Flynn
has served as interim dean of the downtown
Phoenix medical school since last May, following
the resignation of Edward "Ted" Shortliffe. His
appointment to the position became permanent
this week.

Brewer: State is 'teetering on edge' of crisis
The Arizona Republic 2/27/09
Amid growing deficits and a slowing economy,
Gov. Jan Brewer said Thursday that state
government is "teetering on the edge of financial
catastrophe." Addressing a gathering of West
Valley elected officials and community leaders,
Brewer's stark warning comes as the state faces
a budget shortfall as large as $3.5 billion for fiscal
2010. Spending cuts in addition to the $600 million
approved last month are a certainty, she said, and
the state may look to sell certain state assets. She
didn't elaborate during the 13-minute address to
Westmarc members, though it's known that officials
are considering sale-leaseback arrangements with
state facilities such as prisons and office buildings.

State budget crisis hits science research
East Valley Tribune 2/26/09 3:00PM
The state’s budget crisis is putting pressure on
Science Foundation Arizona to find other sources
of funding for its research programs. State bud-
get cuts approved in late January removed $22.5
million from the state’s 21st Century Fund, which
supplies a portion of the foundation’s budget.
That fund pays for half of the foundation’s
research efforts, with the other half coming from
private sources. Private sources also fund all of
the foundation’s operations budget. SFAz Chief
Executive Bill Harris said he hopes at least some
state funding can be restored in the current fiscal
year, saying university-industry research projects
fostered by the foundation are important for the
future of Arizona’s economy.

Hazing, alcohol behind ASU lacrosse suspension
East Valley Tribune 2/26/09 4:04PM
Arizona State's suspension of the men's lacrosse
program stemmed from underage drinking and
hazing, according to e-mails from Mistalene
Calleroz White, the University's dean of student
affairs. The lacrosse team, a club program
independent of ASU's athletic department, was
temporarily suspended in early February following
allegations of inappropriate conduct. A university
investigation which concluded last week found
alcohol-related improprieties that occurred in the
past two months. The team won't play or practice
in spring or summer, and will resume this fall if it
maintains "good standing" within the university. The
program will face a two-year, university-administered
probation, which includes community service, risk
management meetings and decision-making
classes.

Arizona loses more jobs than any other year
Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
2/26/09 10:51AM
Arizona lost more jobs in the last 12 months than
at any time in the state's history. Dennis Doby, the
state Department of Commerce's senior director
of research administration, said that the state lost
155,400 jobs from January 2008 to January 2009.
While the absolute loss of jobs is a record, Doby
said it is not the sharpest in terms of percentage.
It translates to 5.9 percent fewer people working;
Doby said the state saw 8 percent year-over-year
losses in the 1940s. The bottom line is that
Arizona posted a 7.0 percent seasonally adjusted
jobless rate for January. That is up four-tenths of
a point from the revised figures for December; the
unemployment rate in Arizona a year ago was 4.4
percent. By comparison, the current national job-
less rate in January was 7.6 percent, compared
with 4.9 percent in January 2008.

Herpes articles include fake Crow quote
East Valley Tribune 2/2709 10:04AM
The drinking game “beer pong” might be spreading
oral herpes on university campuses nationwide,
but you didn’t hear that from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. And Arizona State University
President Michael Crow isn’t distributing virus-free
plastic cups to assist underage drinking in the dorms,
contrary to online news reports this week. Those two
details were reported in an error-riddled article
published Wednesday on the web site of NBC’s Los
Angeles affiliate, KNBC. The station removed the
article from its site, as well as that of MSNBC.com,
and posted a correction after the Tribune inquired
about its reporting. The article — headlined,
“Unprotected Beer Pong May Give You More Than a
Buzz” — announced that the federal government had
found a massive increase in college student cold
sores. It quoted Crow as saying that ASU is
instituting a program to halt the spread of herpes
akin to giving intravenous drug users clean needles.

UA plans to trim offerings from Education College
Arizona Daily Star 2/27/09
Tucson, Arizona - The UA's College of Education
plans to stop training undergraduates to be high
school English, history and physical education
teachers in a budget cut that some worry may
exacerbate a shortage of qualified educators in
Arizona. The decision to eliminate the bachelor's-
degree programs — also including secondary
education training in social studies and foreign
languages — comes after the University of
Arizona lost roughly $76 million in state support
this year. Students were notified of the decision
by e-mail earlier this week. The closures have
not been finalized, though the programs' end
seems all but certain as official plan to admit
the last group of students next fall. Those
students would finish their degrees over the
next couple of years.

Senate to consult lawyers in executive session
regarding stimulus
azcapitoltimes.com 2/25/09
Senate Republicans will hold their caucus be-
hind closed doors today to consult with lawyers
regarding the federal economic recovery plan.
There are few details as to what sort of legal
advice lawmakers are hoping to receive. "Our
attorneys say that we need to look at the possible
legal ramifications of whatever the provisions
might be that they've isolated," said Senate
President Bob Burns. Sen. Jim Waring, a
Republican from Phoenix, welcomed the idea.
"At this point there is lots of debate about what
we can do with the money or what we can't,"
Waring said. "We can't have debate. We have
to have definitive opinion." Waring said he is
unsure whether lawmakers will get definitive
answers. "What I'm hoping for is the broadest
possible discretion (in how to use the money)
and that they didn't tie our hands as much as
I'm afraid they might have," he said.

State could qualify for $1.5 billion for education,
some strings attached
azcapitoltimes.com 2/27/09
Out of $4.2 billion available to Arizona from the
federal economic recovery package, more than
a third — about $1.5 billion — can be used for
education. The money will come from two main
sources in the stimulus package — about $1
billion from a stabilization fund and nearly half
a billion in secondary assistance. On the sur-
face, the requirements to qualify for the money
seem clear enough, but then it gets murky. Of
the $1 billion in stabilization money intended
to provide direct relief to the state, $832 million
is dedicated to education. That is, the money
can be used only for k-12 and higher education.
To get that money, Arizona’s budget for
education must not fall below its 2006
funding levels. The money can be used to
backfill earlier cuts to education. The intent is
to achieve a level of funding for education that
is equal to fiscal 2008 or fiscal 2009.

Spat brewing over how much federal money
to accept
azcapitoltimes.com 2/27/09
Gov. Jan Brewer is looking at how Arizona can
qualify to receive all of the $4.2 billion in federal
stimulus aid, a move that may set her at odds
with some Republican lawmakers. Fiscally
conservative legislators view the one-time
stimulus money as an obstacle that prevents
the Legislature from cutting government
spending to match expected revenues, which
have dropped off precipitously in the last 18
months. Relying on the federal aid to balance
budgets now means the state will still be
facing deficits two or three years down the
road when that funding dries up. And while
there doesn’t seem to be any push for
rejecting all of the money, there are concerns
about qualifying for the whole package. And
while there doesn’t seem to be any push for
rejecting all of the money, there are concerns
about qualifying for the whole package. “I
think there are probably parts of it we
shouldn’t accept,” said Rep. Sam Crump,
a Republican from Anthem. “I do sense
there’s a thought of inevitability that we’re
going to take every dollar. I do know that
there’s not unanimous support for that.”

Science Foundation expects continued partner-
ship with state
azcapitoltimes.com 2/27/09
Science Foundation Arizona expressed confidence
that the state will continue its partnership with the
group, even though lawmakers swept millions of
dollars from one of the group’s primary funding
sources last month in order to plug holes in the
fiscal 2009 state budget. At a Feb. 25 presentation
where the foundation touted the benefits of its
public-private partnership with the state during the
past two years, SFA Chairman Don Budinger spoke
optimistically about the $22.5 million 21st Century
Fund Competitive Initiative Fund, the bulk of which
was swept into Arizona’s general fund as the
Legislature sought to close a $1.6 billion budget
gap. The Legislature adopted an amendment to
the budget adjustment that said the money should
be swept into the general fund regardless of
whether it was encumbered, though Senate
President Bob Burns afterward said he would
seek an opinion from the Attorney General’s
Office on whether the Legislature was allowed
to do so

Regents to mull ASU plan to cut AIMS awards
East Valley Tribune/msnbc.com
2/27/09 12:15 a.m. MT
Mesa, Arizona - Arizona State University has
proposed suspending its scholarship program
for high school students who pass the state
AIMS test because of severe budget cuts. The
proposal would require the approval of state
regents and affect hundreds of students
entering the university next fall. Neither
University of Arizona nor Northern Arizona
University officials have formally broached the
idea, but they will be watching with interest as
a regents' committee discusses the future of
AIMS scholarships at a mid-March meeting
and the full regents' board takes up the matter
at its April meeting.

ASA forms lobby group
ASU Web Devil 2/27/09
Arizona Students' Association held an
informational program, Thursday, in the
Catalina room of the Student Union
Memorial Center for their newest
endeavor, Lobby Corps. "The Lobby
Corps is a strategic way to mobilize
students to have one-on-one interaction
with their legislators," said ASA Vice
Chair Kendal Nystedt said. "So opposed
to a big rally or protest that ASA also does,
this is a more intimate environment where
you actually get to have your individual
voice heard." ASA interns Brandon Bymers,
a political science freshman, and Nicole
Pasteur, a sociology junior, said the goal
of the Lobby Corps is to educate a group
of dedicated students who are always
ready and willing to lobby for student's
rights.

Officials: Teachers face an unstable workforce
ASU Web Devil 2/27/09
Arizona continues to face educational challenges
on two fronts: a lack of resources to hire new
teachers and the inability to keep teachers in the
classroom. George Hynd, dean of the Mary Lou
Fulton College of Education, said education is
traditionally a stable profession, but now may
not be the ideal economic climate for graduates
to go straight into the workforce. “I think it’s a
great time for those [with educational back-
grounds] to think seriously about continuing their
education at the graduate level,” Hynd said. “It’s
very clear there will likely be fewer jobs for them
this year.” But Tom Horne, superintendent for
the Arizona Department of Education, said he
believes being a teacher offers more job security
right now than other types of careers.
“Companies expand and contract with much
more volatility than schools,” Horne said.

Bill would protect ASU from fund sweeping
by legislature
ASU Web Devil 2/27/09
A bill in the state House of Representatives would
protect the University from the Legislature using
student tuition money to cover the state’s projected
$3 billion deficit. House Bill 2521 would keep the
Legislature from channeling tuition money into the
state budget, a measure known as “fund sweeping.”
Fund sweeping occurs when the Legislature
transfers a portion of the money meant to support
certain state agencies, such as the University’s
tuition revenue, to its general fund. This means,
under current state law, tuition paid by students
could be used to cover the state budget deficit,
rather than funding ASU. Rep. Rae Waters, D-
Phoenix, said lawmakers briefly considered the
option of sweeping a portion of University tuition
into the state budget when the Legislature was
trying to balance the 2009 budget.

West campus keeps name, grad programs
ASU Web Devil 2/27/09
The West campus will no longer change its name
or lose its graduate programs, after University
officials revised the list of changes late to the
campus late last week. Virgil Renzulli, vice
president of public affairs, said Tuesday that
administrators took a step back to reconsider
what changes were needed for the West campus
to meet mid-year budget cuts. “Things are moving
very quickly. Budgets are being cut,” he said. “[But]
you need to sometimes rethink.” Changing West’s
name to New College, as proposed, would not
have affected the budget, he said, so the University
decided to keep the original name.

AIMS waiver's future unsure
UA Daily Wildcat 2/27/09
In order to comply with recent budget cuts, Arizona
State University has proposed a suspension on
the AIMS scholarship, which would effect thousands
of in-state students, and it has been "hinted" that the
UA may soon follow suit. The Arizona Instrument to
Measure Standards (AIMS) scholarship is in its third
year, and is awarded to any in-state student who
achieves set academic criteria in high school. The
scholarship covers tuition set at the students first
year, and the student will receive the same amount
for their remaining three years of college. Regent
Ernest Calderon said that during a luncheon earlier
this week, President Robert Shelton "hinted" that
the suspension of the AIMS scholarship for UA
students might be an option in the future.

Teaching majors take cuts
UA Daily Wildcat 2/27/09
In the face of budget cuts, the UA College
of Education has proposed cutting two
bachelor's degrees and hopes to re-route
students to a master's degree program.
The bachelor of arts in secondary education
and the bachelor of science in physical
education have been put up for elimination,
said Bruce Johnson, associate professor
of teaching and teaching education. A one-
year masters program, "Teach Arizona,"
will be the new option recommended to
students interested in secondary education
after next fall, Johnson said.

President’s Budget Would End Bank-Based
Student Lending and Significantly Expand
Pell Grants
The Chronicle of Higher Education
2/27/09
Washington - To the dismay of lenders and the
delight of students, President Obama on Thurs-
day unveiled a budget blueprint that would
abolish the bank-based student-loan program
and use the savings to raise the maximum Pell
Grant and make it an entitlement. The preliminary
budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which
administration officials say they will flesh out in
April, would also provide a $5-billion increase for
Perkins Loans, making an estimated 2.7 million
more students eligible for the aid and reducing
borrowers' reliance on private loans. The plan
would make permanent a pair of tuition and
research tax credits and create a $2.5-billion
grant program aimed at helping states improve
college-completion rates.

Obama's Budget Proposes Big Increases for
Science
The Chronicle of Higher Education
2/27/09
Washington - Even at a time of economic stress,
the Obama administration has proposed a bud-
get for the 2010 fiscal year that would appear to
keep the country on track to meet the president's
goal of doubling federal funds for basic scientific
research over the next decade. The research bud-
get places heavy emphasis on financing work in
such areas as cancer and renewable energy.
The plan would provide the National Science
Foundation with $7-billion, 16 percent more
than in the 2008 fiscal year. Congress still
hasn't completed its budget for the current,
2009 fiscal year, which began in October. The
House of Representatives approved a plan for
2009 on Wednesday that contains about $6.5-
billion for the science foundation, but the Senate
has not yet acted on the measure (The Chronicle,
February 26). Under President Obama's plan for
next year, the budgets for several agencies that
finance university-based research are also
expected to grow substantially, although many
details weren't released Thursday as part of the
administration's general outline.

Educating 'Middle-Skill' Workers
Inside Higher Education 2/27/09
WASHINGTON – To the chagrin of many in
technical education, the bachelor’s degree
still hogs the spotlight in the minds of most
students. Now, days after President Obama
challenged the government to assist every-
one in attending at least one year of college,
many scholars and business leaders are
hoping to make a strong public case for the
value of the associate degree and work
skills credentials. The Brookings Institution
on Thursday held a panel discussion to
coincide with the release of a policy brief
from its Center on Children and Families
on “The Future of Middle-Skill Jobs” – or
those that do not require a bachelor’s
degree, but do require some education
or training following high school. Many in
attendance bemoaned the promulgation
of the “hourglass economy” image, which
argues that there is a growing gap between
highly skilled workers and unskilled workers.

Arizona Merges Fine Arts Into Already Huge
New College
U.S. News & World Report 2/27/09 3:50 PM ET
Much like the Arizona State system, the University
of Arizona is trimming its budget. Arizona likely
will merge the College of Fine Arts into the newly
combined Colleges of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
(formerly four separate colleges, until
restructuring plans were announced in December)
and eliminate several College of Education
degrees. With the addition of the fifth school, the
Colleges of Letters, Arts and Sciences will now
house more than half of the undergraduate
students at the University of Arizona. Officials
estimate the entire consolidation process will
save the university about $2 million, which will
barely put a dent in the $76 million in state cuts
the school faces.