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I think you had it right the first time: http://college.usc.edu/anth/html/goodallcenter.html

Hmm. There is indeed a Jane Goodall Research Center at USC, but her papers are kept at Minnesota. As far as I can tell, it is the papers that are going to Duke and not the research center. See http://www.twincities.com/minnesota/ci_17640797. Even the AP article says that Duke will be getting “her vast collection of field data” and not an actual research center. Whoever said the center was moving seems to have been mistaken.

Perhaps this might prove “better evidence”: http://www.englishuk.com/en/english-uk/news-events?newsId=601

[citation needed] Also, huh?

Our nation’s community colleges are a great asset but they cannot possibly achieve what the President has in mind for them unless we find ways to accelerate structural reform.

Community colleges exist and the (recent) focus by this administration to highlight excellence at public community colleges,  and the Aspen Award, is commendable.  Where were community colleges when employer needs were unmet in the past two decades?  More agile, flexible, and mission-oriented schools (i.e. community-based career colleges) were able to research, develop and deploy career-oriented programs that provide basic skills and technical skills to achieve gainful employment (in a timely manner).  All the things that are wrong with community colleges are the hallmarks of successful career colleges. Any negative press or unethical behavior by individuals at career colleges can be countered by embarrassing, antiquated, or inefficient anecdotes seen at your local public community college.  When President Obama pledged to “give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers.” What I heard is that the challenge for each community is to find a solution that works – most states are strapped for funds and throwing cash at public community colleges won’t guarantee any results.  It is my hope that wise leaders in our community will use and partner with private career colleges to ensure each community builds a career center that engages the best of the best and uses these  education providers who are used to being measured by delivering results and developing partnerships with private industry.

 I’m sorry but I think the emphasis for a liberal arts education should NOT be a priority at community college.  Most students that attend community college just want to get their degree, so they can go on and get their jobs.  Do we really need a welder who is well-versed in Shakespeare or a licensed truck driver who can quote Satre? 

Every associates degree, just like a Bachelor’s, has a certain number of liberal art credits required.  I’m not denying the importance of a liberal arts background, but I believe it should be kept to a minimum.  Again, these are classes the students don’t want and aren’t immediately applicable to their goals.  Yes, we want a more educated populace, but we run the risk of turning people off to completing their degrees by adding more liberal arts requirements. 

YES, we DO.Maybe not Shakespeare or Sartre, but we do want as workers, as citizens and thus voters and taxpayers, people who can think clearly and logically, write and speak clearly and logically, and understand others who write and speak to them clearly and logically. We want workers and citizens who can accurately calculate a bill and make payments and figure out their taxes. We want workers and citizens who have at least a basic understanding of how government operates, how society functions, and are aware of the wider world that is full of a diversity of views that often differ from one’s own. We want everyone to have a basic knowledge of history, both of our country and of the world. Strictly limiting CCs only to job training implies we just want wage slaves.

“People who can think clearly and logically, write and speak clearly and logically, and understand others who write and speak to them clearly and logically… calculate a bill and make a payments and figure out their taxes… basic understanding of how the government operates…”

Are these not all things that someone SHOULD possess upon graduating high school?  We should take another look at why high school graduates can’t do these things and make more of an effort to fix it. 

You could argue by putting the emphasis at the community college level, a person has to pay for it; if their money is on the line, there is higher motivation to get something out of their education.  Or that we’re creating a safety net for those that the high schools couldn’t help.  But there are far too many who won’t attend community college or university.  If we really want ALL of our citizens to possess these traits, then their emphasis should be at the secondary school level, which ALL of them are required to attend.

Thank you for replying.

I agree. As a community college academic advisor, I see students with all types of goals, ranging from getting the piece of paper they need to advance/keep their jobs to a math and science loaded general studies AS degree as the first step toward becoming a doctor-and some students who just know they want to do something with their lives and this is where their friends got started. Having a core belief system that supports achievement is a top goal, whatever achievement looks like for that particular student. It’s also so important in my view that we have adequate resources for general education. Even if we can’t keep a student past the first semester or two, making sure they are competent in writing and basic math enriches their lives beyond what they usually had before. The longer we can keep them in school, the more organic the understanding becomes for students that learning for its own sake is of value. We can’t be ‘everything’ to everyone, but I believe (perhaps too optimistically, but that’s fine by me) that we can be ‘something’ to everyone.