The W.M. Keck Foundation, located in Los Angeles, California, offers two grant programs geared towards undergraduate institutions. According to their website <http://www.wmkeck.org/fund/index.html> , these two programs, liberal arts and science and engineering, "promote inventive approaches to instruction and effective involvement of students in research at colleges across the nation." Deadlines for both programs come twice a year, May 1 and November 1.

The Foundation strives to fund endeavors that are distinctive and novel in their approach. It encourages projects that are high-risk with the potential for transformative impact. "High-risk" comprises a number of factors, including questions that push the edge of the field, present unconventional approaches to intransient problems, or challenge the prevailing paradigm. "Transformative" may mean creation of a new field of research, development of new instrumentation enabling observations not previously possible, or discovery of knowledge that challenges prevailing perspectives. (CONTINUED) < http://www.aascu.org/grc/pubs/GW/G08/G02/04.htm>

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Is There Substance Behind Bush's Remarks on Earmarks?
President Bush, whose stated opposition to Congressional earmarks for academic research and other pet projects has grown throughout his presidency, used his final State of the Union address Monday night to take his strongest rhetorical stance yet.  But is there likely to be action as a result?  Go to the article on the subject in Inside Higher Education <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/29/bush>  to get a more detailed analysis.

Agency Briefings on the FY 09 Budget
Several Federal agencies and offices have set dates and times for briefings on the President's FY 09 budget development.  The Departments of Agriculture, Education and Energy, the White House Office of Science and Technology, NSF, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute Standards and Technology will hold briefings during the first three weeks of February.  GRC staff members have been assigned to attend these sessions and will report through GrantWeek or on request to any member seeking information.  Details on the location of the meetings and the staff assignments are included on the GRC Homepage <http://www.aascu.org/grc/>  in a new 'Hearings & Meetings' column and also in the website version of GrantWeek. (CONTINUED <http://www.aascu.org/grc/pubs/GW/G08/G02/04.htm> )

       
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Report on Broadband Funding for Underserved Regions/Populations
The Congressional Research Service has published an updated report entitled "Broadband Internet Access and the Digital Divide: Federal Assistance Programs."  The report details past efforts by the Federal government to support private and public extension of broadband networks and eliminate the "digital divide," a term that has been used to characterize a gap between information haves and have-nots. One important subset of the digital divide debate concerns high-speed Internet access, also known as broadband. Broadband is provided by a series of technologies (e.g., cable, telephone wire, fiber, satellite, wireless) that give users the ability to send and receive data at volumes and speeds far greater than "dial-up" Internet access over traditional telephone lines.  The full report also details funding opportunities.

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Congressional Budget Office releases cost estimates on College & School Safety Act
The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007 (S. 2084) would authorize the appropriation of about $1.5 billion over the 2008-2013 period, in addition to funding already provided or authorized under current law, for Department of Justice (DOJ) programs to improve safety at schools and college campuses, grants to states to improve systems for maintaining criminal records, and other crime-prevention programs.  The full report <http://www.aascu.org/ofpopen/GW/gwdojreport.pdf>  details program cost projections.

       
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GrantWeek is a weekly electronic publication for members of the Grants Resource Center.

Editors:
Rich Dunfee
Malcom Furgol

Contributors:
Jim Cummins

Send questions or comments to furgolm@aascu.org.


       
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