Improving Today's Public Education

Enhancing our education system is a constant source of debate for Americans. But what can be done? How can communities, businesses and universities work together to improve our schools and bring them up to speed with today's technology? Who is leading these efforts? A national education expert and the mayor of a major New Jersey city explore these questions and more on the next edition of Technogenesis.

Technogenesis is a weekly TV program produced by Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens), in cooperation with cn8, the Comcast Network. The program will feature the expertise of Dr. Gordon "Spud" Van de Water, a nationally known education consultant and program director for the P-16 partnership program of the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and the Honorable David Roberts, Mayor, the City of Hoboken. The guests analyze today's public education system and how it can be improved through public-private partnership programs, such as P-16 and the Hoboken-Stevens Partnership for Public Education.

The Technogenesis program, "Improving Today's Public Education System" airs at 7:00 p.m., on cn8, the Comcast Network, each of the following Sundays in New Jersey and parts of neighboring states, including the Philadelphia and Baltimore regions: March 3, March 17, March 31, April 14. The program will also appear at various times throughout the week on the local Comcast outlets in Prince William and Fairfax counties, Va., as well as Prince George's County, Md. Please check for local listings.

Dr. Spud Van de Water joined ECS in 1996 and was recently named as the program director for P-16 - an approach to education that aims to seamlessly link educational initiatives from pre-kindergarten through college. Prior to this appointment he managed a variety of higher education grants and state contracts for ECS including grants on transforming postsecondary education, the growth of for-profit institutions of higher education and P-16 approaches to public education.

David Roberts was elected the 37th Mayor of the City of Hoboken on May 8, 2001. Prior to his election, Mayor Roberts served as a Hoboken Councilman for 16 years, representing the City's 6th Ward. Mayor Roberts is widely known as a consensus builder dedicated to improving the quality of life for current and future Hoboken residents.

Co-produced by Stevens and Comcast, the half-hour Technogenesis programs feature government, research and industry leaders discussing some of the most challenging real-world issues facing science and technology today.

Hosted by Stevens President Harold J. Raveche and veteran TV journalist Steve Taylor, each program includes special guests from the areas of science, technology, government, education, business or industry.

The Comcast Network is one of the nation's largest regional cable networks reaching close to 4 million households in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

For the latest news about Stevens, please visit StevensNewsService.com.