Friday, May 15, 1998
Community Briefs
National commission focuses on access
Twenty-seven current and former public university presidents are
establishing a framework that defines the direction public colleges
and universities should take in the future to increase access to
higher education, a multipart plan laid out in an open letter
titled, "Returning to Our Roots: Student Access."
The presidents’ letter, sent to the chief executives of the
nation’s state and land-grant colleges, is the second in a series
of reports authored by the Kellogg Commission. First convened in
January 1996, the 27-member Kellogg Commission was established by a
$1.2 million grant given to the National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges from the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation.
"There is still so much we can do to improve access to our
universities," said UC Davis chancellor Larry Vanderhoef in a
statement.
In order to increase access to both public higher education and
student success in public education institutions, the commission
report recommends building partnerships with public schools,
validating admissions requirements, transforming land-grant and
public universities and encouraging diversity.
The report also addresses three challenges that need to be
addressed before sufficient progress can be made. These
complications are price, the challenge of diversity and the
transition into a technologically advanced society.
As indicated in the report, the current cost of public higher
education also poses a challenge to increasing access. According to
Wall, UCD makes annual efforts to keep student fees at a minimum by
engaging in discussions with the governor and California state
Legislature to acquire additional funds.
"Freezing increases in student fees has been the immediate
response to ensure access," she said.
As UC and CSU applicants are no longer evaluated based on
affirmative action criteria, the report recognizes the issue of
diversity as an essential challenge facing access to higher
education institutions in California and across the nation.
The Kellogg report not only outlines the potential challenges in
the way of increased access to the nation’s public institutions of
higher education, but addresses the issue of maintaining a degree
of success throughout students’ careers. As a way to do this, the
commission calls on public institutions to change or re-examine
student support and financial aid programs.
UCSF doctor honored for work on asthma
Dr. Dean Sheppard, a pulmonary specialist and director of the
UCSF Lung Biology Center at San Francisco General Hospital, has
received the 1998 Scientific Accomplishment Award from the American
Thoracic Society. The top honor comes as recognition of Sheppard’s
work on the understanding and treatment of lung disease.
Sheppard’s work has focused on the connection between asthma and
the environment, the results of which have influenced the standards
for federal and state air pollution emissions.
His research centers on the role of epithelial cells, which line
the passages to the lungs. These cells serve as important repair
mechanisms following injury to the body’s airway. This process
appears to play a central role in the development of chronic
asthma, which affects an estimated 12 million Americans.
Studies performed in Sheppard’s laboratory have led to the
identification and cloning of receptors on the cells that function
in response to injury and inflammation in the lungs.
By understanding these mechanisms, doctors are able to work on
new treatments for asthma, and to help explain the increase and
severity of the disease, especially among underserved, urban
populations.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff and wire ports.