National Football Foundation: News and Notes From Around The World of College Football

NFF Announces William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalists
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced on Thursday the 121 semifinalists for the 2010 William V. Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), endowed by HealthSouth, and the candidates for the 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

"This year's Campbell Trophy semifinalists embody the National Football Foundation's mission of building leaders through football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They are standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders in their respective communities. Each school should take great pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will undoubtedly go on to do great things in life."

Five World Congresses of Global Civilization

• 1st Congress : Sydney, Australia - 2001 - Theme: Theory
• 2nd Congress : New York, USA - 2005 - Theme: Politics
• 3rd Congress : Web conferencing - 2009 - Theme: Religion
• 4th Congress : Moscow, Russia - 2013 - Theme: Environment
• 5th Congress : Africa - 2017 - Theme:Culture

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The First Word Congress of Global Civilization
July 16-18, 2001 / Sydney, Australia
The First World Congress of Global Civilization was held from July 16 - 18, 2001 at Hilton Hotel Sydney, Australia. Fifty delegates and thirty invited guests from 37 countries attended the conference. These scientists, philosophers, scholars and government officials discussed and debated the necessity of a global civilization spirit, how to cultivate it and how to manage the relations between a global civilization, local cultures and regional civilizations. It was a conference of seeking an overall theoretical answer to where is humanity going in this global world. The Declaration of Global Civilization with the principles of “All matter in the universe shares one origin; all humankind shares one nature; all beliefs share one divinity; all share one essence” as its framework, was passed overwhelmingly and adopted in the conference as OPGC’s theory guidance.
The Declaration of Global Civilization
Welcome Speech for The First World Conference of Global Civilization
An Open Letter to the representatives of The First World Conference of Global Civilization

Jimmy Kennedy SCHOLARSHIP

James F. Kennedy is an American politician. A Democrat, Kennedy represented the Wabash Valley in the Senate for two two-year terms, and served as Governor of the Midwest for six years. He ran for Vice President in 2016, but his ticket was narrowly defeated. In 2021, he was elected to Congress as a write-in candidate, and was elected House Majority Leader. He resigned, however, after being diagnosed with cancer.
Since moving his official permanent residency to Little Falls, Minnesota in 2021, Kennedy has been a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party. From 2001 to 2021, he was a member of the Illinois Democratic Party, though he had been spending most of his free time at Minnesota since 2013.

Contents [hide] 1 Early Life 2 Political Beginnings 3 Illinois Legislator 4 Secretary of State 5 Return to the State Legislature: Speaker 6 Senator of the Wabash Valley 7 Governor of the Midwest 7.1 First Session (2013 - 2014) 7.2 Second Session (2015 - 2016) 8 Vice Presidential Candidate 9 Appointment to the U.S. Senate 10 Back to the Governor's Mansion 11 New Region's Conventions 12 Congress: House Majority Leader 13 Final Retirement 14 Personal Life 15 Election Results 16 Political Succession

Early Life

James Ferrer Kennedy was born in 1978 in New York City, New York, to Andrew Kennedy and Argentinian immigrant María Ferrer. The following year, the family moved to Ohio.
Coming from a family of lawyers, he was educated in a good public school of Cleveland. He'd become a very good student, getting a scholarship to study at Harvard University in 1996. In 2000, following the completetion of his Political Science degree, James moved to Chicago, Illinois, to teach History at the Illinois University.

Political Beginnings

In early 2000, James found himself having political aspirations, and decided to fill in the papers to run for Attorney General. Unknown among Illinois citizens, he began to campaign through every county to listen to voters and get his message through. However, this wasn't enough to win the nomination to the much more known Lisa Madigan. In his concession speech endorsing the future Attorney General, Kennedy was able to deliver a message that would gain him much support among the Chicago base, thus already preparing for his political future.

Illinois Legislator

In 2001 he'd run for IL House of Representatives, defeating popular two term-incumbent Tom Cross in a close recount in which Kennedy got just 19 votes more than his opponent. Despite being a freshman, he was already trusted many leadership duties and became a prominent member of the House Democratic Caucus. He was seen as a potential candidate for State House Majority Leader, Governor in 2003 and Senate in 2004, but declined to run every time. He continued pushing forward legislation which improved Illinois in many ways.

Secretary of State

In 2006, with the retirement of IL Secretary of State Jesse White, and former Republican Leader Tom Cross announcing his intentions to run for his seat, the Democratic Party found itself in need to find a candidate that would be able to succesfully challenge Cross. Despite his bad relations with Governor Blagojevich, the man who asked him to run, Kennedy accepted the rematch. He'd narrowly defeat Cross again by just 635 votes, and took oath of office as the 38th Secretary of State. His tenure in this office, however, wouldn't last for too long.

Return to the State Legislature: Speaker

Just 10 months later, Speaker Mike Madigan (D) announced his resignment and retirement from politics. Kennedy would have been interested to run for the leadership position had he been in the House, but denied intentions to run for Madigan's House seat (and later Speaker seat once in the House) due to his commitment to his recently elected office.
However, IL Democratic Party leaders, such as former Chicago Mayor George Jameson (who would later become his Junior Senate Partner) and Senator Barack Obama endorsed him to succeed Madigan, seeing him as the best possible replacement. After many drafts being launched, Kennedy accepted. He won in a landslide and was elected Speaker of the State Congress.
As Speaker, Kennedy fought for progressive agenda, most remarkably passing an outlaw of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and in the workplace and an environmental-friendly energy plan. He served from 2007 to 2011, when he succesfully ran for Senator.

Florida Board of Governors

The Florida Board of Governors was created in 2002 by the passage of a constitutional amendment, which went into effect in 2003. By an unprecedented vote, a 17-member board was established to serve as the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida. Members are appointed by the Governor. Its predecessor, the Florida Board of Regents, was abolished by an act of the Florida Legislature that was signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush on July 1, 2001. A statewide board of education, also appointed by the governor, oversaw kindergarten through higher education, but focused mostly on K-12 education and community colleges. Bob Graham, a United States Senator from Florida, objected to the abolition of the statewide higher education body (Board of Regents), and responded by leading a ballot initiative to restore it. This initiative succeeded in creating what is now called the Florida Board of Governors. The Board of Governors, as part of the Florida Constitution, cannot be abolished without another constitutional amendment.
The Florida Board of Governors has seventeen members, including fourteen voting members appointed by the governor, as well as, the Florida Commissioner of Education, the Chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates, and the President of the Florida Student Association.
During the Fall 2008 academic year the State University System enrolled 301,135 total students. In total 245,960 undergraduates, and 55,175 graduate and professional students.^[1]

Federal Financial Aid Changes 2009 - 2010

Editors note: This article covers changes for the 2009-2010 academic year. Please see Federal Financial Aid Changes 2010-2011 for more recent updates.
After years of watching how increasing tuition rates have been putting college out of reach for more and more students, President Obama and lawmakers have determined that the status-quo cannot continue. Obama has set a goal that by 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. To meet this goal, the federal government has made changes to the financial aid application process and to existing federal financial aid programs. These changes are focused on making it easier for low and middle-income students to get federal financial aid to help pay for college. Each recent change is discussed below.
Federal Student Loan Origination
As of July 2010, federal student loan programs will no longer be originated by private banks. Up until that time, schools could chose whether to have federal loans administered through the federal government directly, or through private banks. Students who already have federal loans originated by private banks will be able to consolidate these loans with direct loans to simplify the repayment process. The loans will be serviced by a small number of banks selected by the federal government. This change affects Stafford loans and PLUS loans.
Income Based Repayment Plan
Starting July 1, 2009, a new Income Based Repayment plan for federal loans was rolled out. This new repayment option caps monthly payments at 15 percent of gross income for the highest earners that qualify and a lower percentage as a person’s income is lower on the scale. Family size is also taken into consideration. The Department of Education provides a calculator for borrowers to determine if they are eligible and what their monthly repayment amount may be. This plan is available to student federal loan borrowers that are not in default but is not available to parent borrowers. After the borrower has been repaying the loan for 25 years, if certain other requirements are met, the remaining loan will be forgiven. Those who work in public service may have their loans forgiven after ten years. Federal loans originated by a private bank will need to be moved to the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) to be eligible for Income Based Repayment.
In the future, federal loan repayment terms will be further improved so that the amount any graduate has to repay is capped at 10 percent of disposable income. After 20 years, any remaining loan amount will be forgiven. These new repayment terms will only apply to loans signed after July 1, 2014.

The Luther Decade 2013 - 2017

Martin Luther in Heidelberg

With the Heidelberg Catechism, in 1563 the seat of power in the Palatinate became a German offshoot of Geneva, an outpost of Calvinistic reform theology. However, the starting point for the Palatine Reformation was a public forum led by Martin Luther in 1518. In April 1518 the General Chapter of the German Order of Augustinian Hermits met in Heidelberg. Since 1503 their Vicar-General had been Johann von Staupitz, one of the mentors of the Augustinian monk Martin Luther. In 1518 the General Chapter, which met every three years, was occupied with tensions arising from controversies within the Order. Led by the Wittenberg professor, the forum planned as part of the accompanying program, was expected give strong emphasis in favor of the Protestant reformation movement. The General Chapter did not meet in the monastery itself, but in the Artists’ Auditorium of on the east side of Augustinergasse. The Beadle was present and bore the University Scepter. This official setting underlined the significance of the forum, in which many scholars and student took part. Since the anniversary Luther Year in 1983, a stone panel in the paving of the University Square has marked this spot.

 

Luther’s appearance set off a movement

For Luther the journey to Heidelberg was his first public appearance as a theologian outside Wittenberg since his 95 Theses of 1517. Equipped with letters of recommendation from Prince-Elector Frederick the Wise – the journey was not without its dangers – he reached Heidelberg via Würzburg and took up residence in the Augustinian Monastery. Because Count Palatine Wolfgang, a younger brother of the Prince-Elector Ludwig V, had studied in Wittenberg in 1515, Luther was invited as a friend to dine in the castle.

Dharmasiswa Scholarship

DARMASISWA is a scholarship program offered to all foreign students from countries with which Indonesia has friendly relations, to study Indonesian language, arts, music and crafts as well as other courses at any universities in Indonesia.

The DARMASISWA program was started in 1974. until 1975, only students from ASEAN member countries were allowed to join the program. However, from 1976, students from other countries, such as Hungary, Norway, Mexico, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Japan, The Netherlands, Germany, Gambia, Senegal and USA, were also allowed to join the program The main purpose of the Darmasiswa program is to arouse and foster interest in the language and culture of Indonesia among citizens of friendly countries. It has also been designed to reciprocate scholarship programs provided by other countries for Indonesian citizens and provide stronger cultural links with these nations. Target of Darmasiswa RI Program will be increased each year as detailed as follows:

1. Year of 2007 = 500 students
2. Year of 2008 = 750 students
3. Year of 2009 = 1000 students
4. Year of 2010 = 2000 students
5. Year of 2011 = 3000 students
6. Year of 2012 = 4000 students
7. Year of 2013 = 5000 students
8. Year of 2014 = 7500 students
9. Year of 2015 = 10000 students