Spellings Tries to Transform Panel's Ideas Into Action

By KELLY FIELD

Participants at a summit wonder who will take charge of each recommendation

Nearly 300 leaders from the worlds of business, higher education, and philanthropy convened here last week to discuss how to carry out the recommendations of the U.S. secretary of education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

By the end of the day, they had produced a list of 25 "action items" but no plan for how to put them into practice. Education Department officials said they would work