Commission to Study Future of Graduate Education in the United States

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Princeton, N.J. (June 9, 2009) —

A 19-member commission of corporate and university leaders has been formed to study how the graduate education community will meet the challenges of the 21st century. It will focus its attention on maintaining the preeminence of U.S. graduate schools in the face of rising global competitiveness.

The Commission on the Future of Graduate Education in the United States was formed with support from Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). The Commission seeks a greater understanding of the political, demographic, socioeconomic, educational and financial trends that impact participation in graduate education. A report on the status of graduate education in the United States will be released at the Council of Graduate Schools' annual legislative conference in April 2010.

Members of the commission are:

Corporate Leaders

  • Thomas Connelly, Jr., Executive Vice President and CIO, E.I. DuPont and Co.
  • Roger Ferguson, President and CEO, TIAA-CREF
  • Stanley S. Litow, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM
  • Richard J. Parsons, Executive Vice President, Global Staffing Executive, Bank of America
  • Ronald Townsend, Executive Vice President of Global Laboratory Operations, Battelle Memorial Institute
  • John Seely Brown, former Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation

University Leaders

  • Gene D. Block, Chancellor, UCLA
  • Ronald Mason, President, Jackson State University
  • John Wiley, former Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Scott Bass, Provost, American University
  • Suzanne Ortega, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of New Mexico [Vice Chair]
  • Karen DePauw, Vice President, Graduate Studies and Dean, Graduate School, Virginia Tech
  • Jeffrey Gibeling, Dean, Graduate Studies, University of California, Davis
  • Patrick Osmer, Vice Provost/Dean, Graduate School, The Ohio State University
  • Eva Pell, VP, Research/Dean, Graduate School, Penn State University
  • William Russel, Dean, Graduate School, Princeton University [Chair]
  • Liora Schmelkin, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies, Hofstra University
  • Susan Stites-Doe, Dean of Graduate Studies, The College at Brockport, SUNY
  • James Wimbush, Dean, University Graduate School, Indiana University

Ex Officio Members

  • Kurt Landgraf, President, ETS
  • Debra W. Stewart, President, Council of Graduate Schools

"President Obama has called upon Americans to become involved in addressing the pressing challenges facing the United States," says Commission Chair William Russel, Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University. "The responsibility for that lies in large part with our nation's graduate schools. Russel continues, "When completed, the commission's report will assess the present condition of graduate education, chart a course for the future, and create a national conversation on the benefits of increasing pursuit and completion of graduate degrees by all segments of the U.S. population."

"The assumption underlying this study is that U.S. competitiveness in the global economy hinges fundamentally on our capacity to produce appropriate numbers of graduate degree holders at the master's and doctoral levels,” adds Suzanne Ortega, Commission Vice Chair and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of New Mexico.

The commission plans to examine projections for degree recipients from both the domestic and international talent pools to address U.S. competitiveness. Other topics will include:

  • Graduate pathways
  • Demographic changes in the next 20 years
  • Workforce needs projections
  • International competition
  • Efforts of universities to increase graduate participation
  • The role of industry
  • The role of government
  • How graduate education is financed

About ETS

At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the GRE®, TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

About CGS

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is an organization of over 500 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education, research, and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. Among U.S. institutions, CGS members award 95% of the doctoral degrees and 84% of the master's degrees.* The organization's mission is to improve and advance graduate education, which it accomplishes through advocacy in the federal policy arena, research, and the development and dissemination of best practices. www.cgsnet.org

* Based on data from the 2007 CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees.