A policy summit for presidents of EPSCoR universities and government officials concerned with directions in higher education networking
What: This one-and-a-half-day workshop was designed to give presidents of universities and colleges in the EPSCoR states an opportunity to provide guidance to national policy makers concerned with developing the information infrastructure to support higher education in the twenty-first century. It also provided information needed to make wise decisions in leading your institution into the twenty-first century.
Who: The policy summit brought together presidents of major universities and selected colleges in those states which participate in the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). They met with representatives of institutions which manage the development of the emerging information infrastructure which will support universities in the twenty-first century. Those organizations include: the National Science Foundation, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Next Generation Internet, the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, and the U.S. Congress.
Why: Universities and Colleges in the nineteen EPSCoR states have a different mix of needs and perspectives from those of the larger, more elite institutions which often frame the policy agenda. As a group, the EPSCoR states are more rural, their populations more dispersed, and their research capabilities less developed than the other states. Their economies are in need of science and technology-based development, but the business environment is often quite different from more developed states. Many of these needs can be positively addressed by new information technologies, if new knowledge and sufficient resources are made available to those ends. The purpose of this conference was to provide a forum for a dialogue between the presidents of EPSCoR institutions and national policy makers in this arena.
How: The program included presentations which relate the future of networking to the academic missions of teaching, research, and outreach and extension, followed by a discussion of cross-cutting policy issues. A working session then developed critical issues and priorities in the form of policy guidelines to the participating representatives of federal agencies.
Questions? Please contact the AAAS Research Competitiveness Program by phone at (202)326-6600, by fax at (202)289-4950 or by email at rcp@aaas.org.
Workshop participants contributed to the development of policy guidelines enclosed in the workshop report.
Joe Mambretti - International Center for Advanced Internet Research
Len Peters - Virginia Tech
Janet Poley - ADEC
James H. Ryan - Penn State University
The National Coordinating Office for Computing, Information and Communications
Return to AAAS Research Competitiveness Program Main Page