Local farmers nominate school districts for America's Farmers Grow Rural Education?

DAVENPORT, IA. (August 1, 2012) - Winning a grant of $10,000 or $25,000 can enhance educational opportunities for a school district in a rural community. Davenport Community School District in Davenport was recently named as a finalist to receive consideration for an America's Farmers Grow Rural Education? grant. Davenport Community School District is one of 33 finalists in Iowa.

"We received so many outstanding applications from rural school districts across the county," said Deborah Patterson, President, Monsanto Fund. "The finalists truly went above and beyond what was expected and stand out as top tier choices."

More than 61,000 farmers shared their passion for rural education by nominating more than half the eligible school districts. Finalist schools were chosen for their program ideas and funding needs. Davenport Community School District also benefited from community support through numerous farmer nominations which strengthened the district's application.

The grant review process includes an online application scoring system based on merit, need and community support; a review by science and math teachers from ineligible school districts; and a farmer advisory council.

Now that the finalists have been chosen, the America's Farmers Grow Rural Education Advisory Council, a group of 26 farmer leaders from across the country, will select the winning grant applications. In 2012, the Monsanto Fund plans to award nearly $2.3 million to eligible school districts across the country. To see the full list of finalists please visit GrowRuralEducation.com

America's Farmers Grow Rural Education started with a successful pilot in Illinois and Minnesota, in which farmers were given the opportunity to nominate a public school district in 165 eligible counties in those two states. The Monsanto Fund awarded more than $266,000 to local schools in 16 CRDs. Now, the program has expanded to 1,245 eligible counties in 39 states.

America's Farmers Grow Rural Education is sponsored by the Monsanto Fund to help farmers positively impact their communities and support local rural school districts. This program is part of the Monsanto Fund's overall effort to support rural education and communities. Another program that is part of this effort is America's Farmers Grow Communities, giving farmers the opportunity to enter to win $2,500 to donate to their favorite community nonprofit organization in their county. You can participate in this program between Aug. 1 and Nov. 30 by visiting growcommunities.com.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the farm communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

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"These were waivers, not scholarships," Morthland said. "Estimates suggest this unfunded mandate placed a $12 to $14 million burden annually on Illinois universities while the state already owes them tens of millions in overdue bills. In 2011, 1,327 tuition waivers were awarded in Illinois, costing approximately $13.5 million which was then passed on to tuition paying students. In these tough economic times, students and universities cannot afford to absorb this cost."

Recent investigations have uncovered a number of instances where General Assembly scholarships went to ineligible family members, campaign contributors and students outside of the legislative district.

"There has been too much misuse and fraud tied to legislative scholarships. Reform attempts didn't work and we continued to see instances of abuse. Eliminating these scholarships was the right thing to do."

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Dubuque, Iowa -- Five-hundred-twelve undergraduate, graduate, and seminary students received their degrees during this year's University of Dubuque Commencement Ceremonies, held on Saturday, May 12, 2012.  Among those graduating were Keaton Frye of Davenport and Ryan Warner of Rock Island.

The University of Dubuque conferred degrees upon 390 undergraduate and 78 graduate students during its 160th College Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 12, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Grand River Center in the Port of Dubuque. Dr. Calvin Coquillette, assistant professor of history, emeritus, delivered the Commencement Address.

The University's Seminary conferred degrees upon 44 students - 39 master of divinity, 1 master of arts in religion, 2 master of missional Christianity, 2 doctor of ministry, and 1 certificate in theological studies - during the Seminary Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Barbara G. Wheeler, director of Auburn Theological Seminary's Center for the Study of Theological Education, delivered the Seminary's Commencement Address.

The University of Dubuque, founded in 1852, is a private, coeducational, professional University with a focus in the liberal arts.

DES MOINES, IA (07/26/2012)(readMedia)-- The following local residents graduated from Drake University at the conclusion of the 2012 spring semester:

Seth Kaufmann of Davenport, IA graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Law, Politics & Society and History.

Elizabeth Thoms of Rock Island, IL graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management and Marketing.

Drake is a private, independent university in Des Moines, Iowa, with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 full-time undergraduate students from 50 states and 50 countries. Drake University's mission is to provide an exceptional learning environment that prepares students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishments and responsible global citizenship. The Drake experience is distinguished by collaborative learning among students, faculty and staff and by the integration of the liberal arts and sciences with professional preparation.