Just when you thought it was safe to assume that you had heard the last about votes and elections for a while, here comes a ballot and an exhortation to cast your vote. Indeed, enclosed with this month's issue of Prism is the national ballot for the ASEE 2001 national elections. This ballot and this election represent the opportunity for ASEE members to have a say in the future of their organization. I ask you to take a moment and consider your preferences for the future direction of ASEE. What is your vision of ASEE? How should your dues be spent, and who should lead? I urge you to review the enclosed ballot carefully, to read about the candidates, and to consider the qualifications and intentions they present to you. The ballot contains biographic information, photographs, and, for several offices, candidate statements. The statements let you know of the candidates' intentions if they are selected for leadership positions. If you have an opinion on where ASEE should be going, this election is your opportunity to express it. Speaking of elections and with the new U.S. Congress settling in, we thought it appropriate, in this month's Prism, to cover a topic of vital interest to educators—that of earmarking. Higher education “earmarks” have increased to more than $1 billion in 2000. Such direct appropriations are controversial because they often depend more on a school's connection to powerful members of Congress than the importance of the research being funded. “Playing the Game” looks at the growing practice of universities hiring lobbyists to help get a piece of the pie. Educators have worked
hard in recent years to bring more women into engineering, but the numbers
are still low. Some schools, however, seem to have found ways that apparently
work. In “Finding the Right Formula,” we talk to several schools
that are attracting a high percentage of women to their undergraduate
programs.
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