ROCK ISLAND, IL (05/07/2010)(readMedia)-- More than 75 Augustana students, including several from the local area, will share their advanced research projects on Saturday, May 8 at Augustana's 14th annual Celebration of Learning. This unique on-campus research symposium gives students an opportunity to show off their academic accomplishments to their families and friends and members of the Augustana community.

Celebration participants can choose to present their research through a poster display or an oral presentation. Many students present the results of their senior inquiry project, a multiple-term research project required for most academic programs. Other students share Honors capstone projects or student-faculty research. Because of the advanced level of research involved, most of the presenters are upperclassmen.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Daniel Meden, a senior from Davenport, IA who is majoring in biology. Meden will be presenting his project " Which Birds Die from Striking Windows?" in the biology sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Sam Alvarado, a senior from Davenport, IA who is majoring in chemistry. Alvarado will be presenting her project " Synthesis of New Phosphine-Functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene Ligands" in the chemistry sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Michael Seevers, a senior from Cordova, IL who is majoring in geography. Seevers will be presenting his project " A Study to Determine the Highway Culverts in Upper Rock Island County, Illinois" in the geography sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Sara Michaletti, a senior from Rock Island, IL who is majoring in classics. Michaletti will be presenting her project " Latin Pedagogy" in the classics and theatre sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Luke Osborne, a senior from Moline, IL who is majoring in classics with a Latin emphasis. Osborne will be presenting his project " Plato's Republic and Symposium and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey" in the classics and theatre sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Steven Ash, a senior from Moline, IL who is majoring in physics. Ash will be presenting his project " A Study of Neutron-Rick Nuclei" in the poster sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Jacob McDowell, a senior from Rock Island, IL who is majoring in psychology. McDowell will be presenting his project " Morality and Patriotism: Predictors of Responses to Terrorism?" in the poster sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

James Sales, a junior from Rock Island, IL who is majoring in biology. Sales will be presenting his project " Differences in Health Perceptions of Students" in the poster sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Alex Sieg, a senior from Bettendorf, IA who is majoring in biochemistry. Sieg will be presenting his project " The Annotation of N-acetyl-ornithine/N-acetyl-lysine deacetylase, AbpE Family Lipoprotein and 4F-4S Iron Sulfur Binding Domain pProtein from Meiothermus ruber" in the poster sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Henry Stauffenberg, a senior from Bettendorf, IA who is majoring in geology. Stauffenberg will be presenting his project " Another Step toward Answering the Dolomite Question" in the poster sector of the symposium.

Students from the local area who are participating in Celebration of Learning include :

Sam Anderson, a junior from Rock Island, IL who is majoring in mathematics and computer science. Anderson will be presenting his project " Tournaments" in the mathematics sector of the symposium.

Anne Earel and Stefanie Bleumle, Augustana reference librarians and the event's co-directors, are glad that the Celebration of Learning provides an outlet for students to show off their accomplishments. "Not every student will be able to go to a conference somewhere off-campus," Earel said. "This provides an on-campus opportunity to be part of a professional scholarship community."

Leah Mortenson, a junior from Manhattan, KS, will present her analysis of the media used in a current environmental advocacy campaign. She believes the Celebration of Learning will give her the chance to show how she has grown, academically and personally, through her project. "Celebration of Learning opens up doors for sharing knowledge about various fields of study with peers who may have different perspectives and experiences than you," she said.

The event will begin with a keynote address by Caroline Skaggs Sallee '02. She double majored in economics and history at Augustana. Ms. Sallee is currently the director of Anderson Economic Group's Chicago Office, where she manages economic and public policy projects. Her address is entitled, "The Augustana Difference: How a Liberal Arts Education Prepared Me for the Real World."

For more information on the Celebration of Learning, please visit www.augustana.edu/celebration.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls nearly 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Supporters can vote online now through May 31, 2010 at www.refresheverything.com/missionmoneycontrol

Des Moines, IA., May, 4, 2010 - The Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) is in the running for a Pepsi Refresh Grant that would help fund an interactive, web-based financial literacy curriculum to empower teenagers and young adults with the knowledge to make smart financial decisions.

Iowa College Aid's financial literacy program, "Mission: Money Control", is just one of many projects in the running for a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant during the month of May. The 10 projects with the most votes in this category at the end of the month will receive funding.  If Iowa College Aid's project is funded, the grant will be used to expand the Mission Money Control program to include an online financial literacy resource. Over 150,000 students and families in Iowa would have free access to the program through the statewide community web portal, www.IHaveaPlanIowa.gov.

"Too many young adults graduate from high school and college unprepared to take control of their financial futures," stated Karen Misjak, executive director of Iowa College Aid. "We hope to change that  by incorporating an online financial literacy curriculum into the www.IHaveaPlanIowa.gov web portal," Misjak said.  "Students in Iowa middle and high schools already use the web portal to create high school course plans and explore career and college programs best suited to their interests, values and strengths.  Incorporating financial literacy curriculum into the web portal makes sense.  We can impact the future of nearly every Iowa student if we receive this grant, but we need to get the word out to make that happen."

The Pepsi Refresh Project is an open voting system, so public involvement is needed to receive the grant.

What you can do to help:

1. Register at www.refresheverything.com
2. Vote daily during May at: www.refresheverything.com/missionmoneycontrol
3. Spread the word to your family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, and, of course, your social networking groups.

For more information about the Mission: Money Control project, contact Iowa College Aid's Information Service Center at 877-272-4456.  More information about financial aid and products and services that help Iowa families plan, prepare and pay for college is available on Iowa College Aid's website at www.IowaCollegeAid.gov.

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April 30, 2010

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on a report he requested from the Congressional Budget Office on the practice of some college and universities' maintaining a large untaxed portfolio of assets while simultaneously borrowing with tax-exempt debt. The report came out today.  Grassley requested the report in 2007 as part of his broad look at the non-profit sector, aimed at making sure non-profit institutions provide public benefit in exchange for their tax-exempt status and are not misused for individual benefit at taxpayer expense.  Universities and hospitals have the vast majority of assets in the tax-exempt sector.  An earlier CBO report looked at non-profit hospitals and tax arbitrage.

"This report finds that the majority of tax-exempt bonds are held by schools that have large investment assets. These schools are using their tax exemption to amass investments, receive tax-deductible donations, and float tax-exempt bonds.  These benefits are unique to tax-exempt entities. The federal government forgoes the revenue from tax-exempt entities in exchange for the social benefit from these institutions.  This report raises questions for parents, students, and taxpayers about universities' issuing bonds and going into debt when they have money in the bank.  Issuing bonds costs money on interest and management fees.  Does the expense of debt service take money away from student aid or academic service? Do bond issuances occur even as universities raise tuition and build investment assets?  These are further questions to explore."

The report is available at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/112xx/doc11226/04-30-TaxArbitrage.pdf

ROCK ISLAND, IL (04/29/2010)(readMedia)-- The academic achievements of forty-one Augustana students earned them election into the Phi Beta Kappa society this spring. Only about one in every one hundred college students nationwide is selected as a member of the oldest and most prestigious honor society in the nation.

Augustana students are selected for Phi Beta Kappa based on their academic standing and recommendations from faculty members. Members must be senior students who exhibit strong intellect and integrity and are committed to freedom of thought and expression. Augustana emphasizes that election to Phi Beta Kappa is more than an honor of past academic success. It is also recognition of a student's outstanding potential for growth and achievement.

For Dr. Jeff Abernathy, dean of the college, Phi Beta Kappa scholars exemplify the goals of an Augustana education-creative, critical thinking and the willingness to question conventional wisdom. Their leadership and service is as important as their high academic standing. "Phi Beta Kappa students contribute greatly to our college and to the Quad Cities. Even as they serve Augustana in many ways, most are deeply involved in service to the broader community," said Abernathy.

Phi Beta Kappa was established in 1776 to celebrate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. A select 10% of the nation's leading colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and the chapters only elect about 10% of their most exceptional arts and sciences students for membership. Augustana's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Zeta of Illinois, was officially established in 1949 to recognize students of high academics, leadership and service.

From your area, the inductees include :

Nicholas Borchert from Rock Island,IL, who is majoring in English and philosophy.

Kevin Carton from Moline,IL, who is majoring in speech communication, French, and Africana studies.

Luke Osborne from Moline,IL, who is majoring in classics Latin emphasis.

Alex Sieg from Bettendorf,IA, who is majoring in biochemistry.

Bret VanDeWoestyne from Silvis,IL, who is majoring in biology.

Nicholas Wilczynski from Moline,IL, who is majoring in pre-medicine and biology.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls nearly 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it always has done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.