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"The purpose of education is lost to prestige in ranking recruitment wars."
 
 
 
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  Accomplishments & Media
Grants
  • Lumina Foundation for Education: March 2010
  • The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation: March 2005, June 2006, June 2007, April 2008, April 2009, March 2010
  • The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: September 2006
  • The Spencer Foundation: June 2006, September 2006, November 2008
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Research and Projects
  • The ideas and vision of the Beyond Ranking campaign are being incorporated into two exciting projects with the College Board and with Consumers Union.
  • EC conducted pivotal research regarding the impact of college admission processes on student attitudes and behaviors: "College Admissions: What are Students Learning?"
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Sponsored Events
  • Sponsored "In the Public Interest: Envisioning an Exemplary System of College Admissions in the United States," a meeting with philosophers, sociologists, economists, and leading educators working to identify and evaluate the necessary criteria that would define an exemplary admission system to serve higher education's public interest needs. Hosted by NYU's Steinhardt Institute on January 15, 2010 with funding from the Spencer Foundation.
  • Co-convened a pilot meeting of the Oregon Presidents Council, April 10, 2009. Sponsored by Willamette University.
  • Convened meetings of college counselors for the Beyond Ranking Project on March 31, 2008 at St. Mary's College of California and on April 14, 2008 at Harvard University.
  • Sponsored "Beyond Ranking: Responding to the Call for Useful Information," an invitational conference attended by more than one hundred education officials and experts. Hosted by Yale University, September 25, 2007.
  • Sponsored a research Planning meeting Oct. 13, 2006 at Drew University and a preliminary work meeting September 26, 2005 in D.C.
  • Sponsored College Admissions in the Public Interest, a meeting of college presidents, foundation leaders, and academics, June 15 & 16, 2006. Several president-directed projects emerged from this meeting and are being orchestrated by the EC's director.
  • Hosted "Summit on Admissions," a three-day work meeting attended by 30 senior college admission deans, vice-presidents, and college counselors June 15-17, 2005.
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Speeches / Presentations
  • The EC's director has delivered more than 100 speeches, including eight regional NACAC keynote addresses, presentations to organizations of college trustees, presidents, admission deans, high school admission directors, counselors, and groups of students and parents.
  • "A Student-Centered Website" panel presentation at the College Board New England Forum, February 9, 2010.
  • "College Admissions in the Public Interest" plenary presentation at Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers annual meeting, February 3, 2010.
  • "Envisioning an Exemplary Admission System" panel session at 2009 NACAC annual meeting, September 26, 2009.
  • "College Lists 2.0" panel session at 2009 NACAC annual meeting, September 25, 2009.
  • "The State of Higher Education" special guest presentation for the Western Association for College Admission Counseling's Northern California Summer Counselor College Tour at St. Mary's College of California, August 5, 2009.
  • "Access and Opportunity" plenary presentation for National Association of Fellowships Advisors annual meeting, July 17, 2009.
  • "Doing Well by Doing Good" keynote speech for Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling meeting, June 29, 2009.
  • "Exploring the Prototype Website from the Beyond Rankings Project" plenary presentation for ACCIS: the Association for College Counselors in Independent Schools Summer Institute, June 16, 2009.
  • "Cultivating Studenthood: Sending Signals, Influencing Behavior" panel presentation at Wake Forest University Rethinking Admissions conference, April 16-17, 2009.
  • "Strategic Enrollment Management: The Ethical Debate" plenary presentation for American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers' (AACRAO) Strategic Enrollment Management Conference, November 18, 2008.
  • "Public/private Collaboration in Sending Signals" plenary speech for Association of General Contractors Education Foundation celebratory dinner, October 30, 2008.
  • "Confidence Counts: Clearing the Path to College" presentation at Whitman High School, October 23, 2008.
  • "Beyond Ranking: Calming the School & College Admissions Frenzy" presentations for Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools, October 22, 2008.
  • "Confidence Counts: Clearing the Path to College" presentation at College Preparatory Center of Rhode Island, October 21, 2008.
  • "Building a National System of Guidance and Information" workshop and panel sessions at 2008 NACAC annual meeting, September 25-27, 2008.
  • "Confidence Counts: Clearing the Path to College" presentation at Trinity Preparatory School, September 17, 2008.
  • "Confidence Counts: Clearing the Path to College" presentation at Williston Northampton School Parent Weekend, April 26, 2008.
  • "The Meaning of Success" Cum Laude speech at McDonough School, April 17, 2008.
  • "Confidence Counts: Clearing the Path to College" presentation at The Bryn Mawr School, April 16, 2008.
  • "The Roles of College Rankings"panel presentation for National Conference on Trusteeship by the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, April 15, 2008.
  • "A College Admission Workshop" held at Guilford College April 7, 2008. Sponsored by Greensboro Day School, American Hebrew Academy, New Garden Friends School and Guilford College.
  • "The Rankings Challege" panel session at the annual conference of American Council on Education, February 11, 2008.
  • "Leadership Beyond Rankings: Value-Driven Admission Opportunities" panel presentation at the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidential Leadership Conference, January 6, 2008.
  • "Prospective Students: Who Are They? What Do They Expect From Us? Are We Ready to Serve Them Well?" panel workshop at the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) Presidential Leadership Conference, January 5, 2008.
  • "College Admissions: What are Students Learning?" research presentation at the 2007 National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) annual meeting, September 29, 2007.
  • "School Heads' Role in Admission Reform" presentation for the National Association of Independent Schools' 2007 Institute for Experienced Heads, July 25, 2007.
  • "College Admissions in the Public Interest" presentation for the 2007 Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions, Harvard University, June 24, 2007.
  • "Doing Well By Doing Good: The New Frontier of Law School Admissions" plenary speech for the 2007 Law School Admission Council annual meeting, June 1, 2007.
  • "The Admissions Frenzy: Does Where You Go Affect Your Future?" presentation for Asking the Right Questions, Dispelling the Myths, the 2007 Education Writers Association annual meeting, May 5, 2007.
  • "College Admissions: Out of Alignment?" panel session for The Future of Undergraduate Education: Who Goes? Who Pays? And What Should Students Learn? conference, Columbia University, April 13, 2007.
  • "An Invitation to Think" feature presentation and workshops for college counselors and high school administrators at St. Joseph's College, March 21, 2007.
  • "Mission-Driven Admissions: Doing Well By Doing Good" presentation at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Annual Meeting, February 4, 2007.
  • "Ranksteering: Driving Under the Influence" panel presentation at the Council of Independent Colleges Presidents Institute, January 6, 2007
  • College Admissions in the Public Trust: presentation at a meeting of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) deans, June 12 & 13, 2006.
  • Enrollment Management in the Public Interest: keynote address at the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education enrollment management conference, April 4 & 5, 2006.
  • Professional Imperatives...Doing Well By Doing Good: speech delivered at the Council for Independent Colleges Presidential Leadership Conference, January 5 & 6, 2006.
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Publications
  • "Ranksteering: Driving Under the Influence of College Rankings." The New England Journal of Higher Education, Winter 2008: 15-17.
  • "Confronting the Commercialization of College Admissions Leadership Opportunities." Key Issues in New Student Enrollment: New Directions for Student Services. Ed. Thomas Crady and James Sumner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007: 70-74.
  • The EC's director contracted to write articles for The Chronicle of Higher Education, The London Times, and Trusteeship
    September 15, 2006 - "A Question For...Lloyd Thacker" (pdf) in Trusteeship
    February 25, 2005 - "Confronting the Commercialization of Admissions", in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  • College Unranked has been republished by Harvard University Press, and has sold nearly 10,000 copies since its original publication in September, 2004; a second book is being discussed. College Unranked is being translated into Korean.
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Organizational Growth
  • The EC gained an administrative coordinator/project assistant in August 2006. Promising meetings with several foundations bode well for planned infrastructure growth and development.
  • Received donations from more than fifty colleges and universities. High schools, school districts, and individuals are also supporting the EC.
  • More than 250 colleges and high schools have linked to the EC website.
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  Press Releases  
  August 9, 2007 - Sixty-one College Presidents Withdraw from the College Rankings System — Yale to Host Conference on Developing Alternative Ways to Compare Colleges

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