Daily Debriefing
By Caitlin Kennedy
Published on Monday, October 5, 2009
Students participated in a variety of outdoor activities — including mountain biking, organic farming and canoeing — during the annual Dartmouth Outing Club Fall Weekend this past Saturday and Sunday. After spending a day exploring the outdoors, participants traveled to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, where they enjoyed a chili dinner, dancing and a performance by the Upper Valley bluegrass band Reckless Breakfast. Planned climbing trips were canceled due to rain. The DOC’s “AT in a Day,” in which Dartmouth students and alumni will collectively work to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in a single day, will take place on Oct. 10. Later this fall, the U.S. House of Representatives will honor the DOC for its 100 years of commitment to New Hampshire’s environment and its work to promote environmental awareness throughout the United States.
Spending on science research and development by colleges and universities totalled $51.9 billion in the 2008 fiscal year, according to a study by the National Science Foundation released on Thursday. The federal government, which is traditionally the major financial contributor to research and development, provided about $31 billion in funding. Although the federal government provided the largest share of the total funding, its 2008 contribution was proportionally lower than in past years, Inside Higher Ed reported. In response to dropping federal contributions, states, industry and institutional organizations increased funding. Federal research funding is expected to rebound in 2009 due to the economic recovery package, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Some states may be taking undue advantage of President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan by reducing state support for public education and compensating with federal stimulus funding, according to an alert memorandum released by the Education Department’s inspector general on Wednesday. Although the states may not be violating federal laws, this manipulation of funds “could adversely impact the achievement of the education reform objectives” of the program, the inspector general reported. To combat these issues, the inspector general suggested that the Education Department “track state funding for public education” and work to ensure that states are following the rules of their application for federal education funding.