FBI taps President Brody for national security higher ed board

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III has asked President William R. Brody and 15 other presidents and chancellors of prominent U.S. universities to sit on a newly created National Security Higher Education Advisory Board.

"As we do our work," Mueller said, "we wish to be sensitive to university concerns about international students, visas, technology export policy and the special culture of colleges and universities. We also want to foster exchanges between academia and the FBI in order to develop curricula which will aid in attracting the best and brightest students to careers in the law enforcement and intelligence communities."

According to the FBI, the board will provide advice on the culture of higher education, including the traditions of openness, academic freedom and international collaboration, and it will seek to establish lines of communication on national priorities pertaining to terrorism, counterintelligence and homeland security. It also will assist in the development of research, degree programs, course work, internships, opportunities for graduates and consulting opportunities for faculty relating to national security.

The board will convene collectively at least three times a year, while individual presidents will often be invited to meetings of relevant working groups.

 

Congressional Black Caucus honors JHU seminar participants

Baltimore City public school administrators who participated in Johns Hopkins' Principal Seminar on Data-Based Decision-Making were honored Sept. 23 in Washington, D.C., at the Congressional Black Caucus Braintrust Symposium, part of the 35th CBC legislative conference. The 21 recipients of the annual ET3 TEC Championship Leadership Award include district administrators, principals, assistant principals and other school-based personnel.

The award from the Education Technology Think Tank derives its name from Technology to Empower Community and honors individuals who demonstrate inspiring leadership, exemplary service to the nation's underserved youth and excellence in the fields of community, educational and economic empowerment.

According to Linda Tsantis of SPSBE's Department of Teacher Development and Leadership, which conducted the seminar in July, "This award provides an excellent opportunity to recognize the achievements of these leaders who are advancing the use of technology for educational decision-making to raise student achievement."

Rep. Major R. Owens (D-N.Y.), chair of the CBC Braintrust, said, "Each of the recipients of this year's TEC award has provided a key for young people to unlock the power of their imaginations, heighten their educational aspirations and foster lifelong civic engagement."

 

Grasmicks give second gift of $1 million to JH Heart Institute

Lou Grasmick, founder and CEO of Louis J. Grasmick Lumber Co., and his wife, Nancy Grasmick, Maryland state superintendent of schools, have made their second $1 million gift within two years to the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute.

"When you find something you really believe in, you want to do everything in your power to help it succeed," said Lou Grasmick. "The more involved we become with Johns Hopkins, the more impressed we become. This heart center continues to make strides in research and patient care that will give hope to people with heart disease, people who may not have had hope in the past. If our gifts can assist with this effort, then we are happy to provide them."

The Grasmicks have been faithful supporters of cardiovascular services at Johns Hopkins Medicine for many years. Last year, Lou Grasmick agreed to chair the capital campaign for the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute. He has served on the Cardiovascular Advisory Council, as chair of the Dana and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases and as president of the Johns Hopkins Cardiac Alumni Club.

 

Foreign minister Abdullah of Afghanistan to speak at SAIS

Abdullah Abdullah, foreign minister of Afghanistan, is scheduled to speak at the School of Advanced International Studies at 12:30 p.m. today.

His lecture topic will be "Afghanistan's Political Future: Challenges That Lie Ahead." Abdullah's Washington, D.C., visit comes a week after Afghanistan's historic parliamentary and local council elections.

Admittance to the lecture, hosted by the South Asia Studies Program, is by invitation only. However, audio of Abdullah's talk will be available on the SAIS Web site, www.sais.jhu.edu, following the event.

 

Baltimore Free University holds registration, 'meet the instructor'

Baltimore Free University, the noncredit course program run for the community by the Village Learning Place and the Johns Hopkins Center for Social Concern, will hold a "meet the instructor" and registration event for the fall semester from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the VLP, 2521 St. Paul St.

Courses are free with payment of a $10 registration fee per course.

Offerings run the gamut from recreational (Ballroom Dance Lessons, Beer History and Appreciation) to practical (Garden Lecture by Master Gardeners, Websites for Small Businesses, the No Baloney Guide to Buying Real Estate) to intellectual (A Jazz Study from Congo Square to Carnegie Hall, A Discussion on the Separation of Church and State). Registration for a package of six Financial Literacy Workshops is $40.

For more information, call the VLP at 410-235-2210.

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