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 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research.  The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts.  Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world.  Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.