Rell starts new education commission

OF NOTE

• Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced the establishment of the Connecticut Commission on Educational Achievement. The volunteer and privately funded commission, which is composed primarily of business leaders and includes several other professionals, will research why Connecticut has one of the largest achievement gaps between low-income students and their more affluent peers. The panel will make recommendations to the governor, lawmakers, state and local institutions and the public on how to close that gap. The governor has appointed Greenwich businessman Steven J. Simmons to serve as chairman of the 11-member commission. Greater Hartford business leaders appointed include: Ramani Ayer, retired chairman and CEO, The Hartford; Yvette Melendez, board member of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and former chief of staff, Connecticut State University System; Steve Preston, president and CEO of Oakleaf Waste; and John Rathgeber, president and CEO, Connecticut Business & Industry Association.

• Groundbreaking for an $8.3 million, federally funded military jet engine repair facility at the Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby took place on March 6. The new 36,000-square-foot Centralized Intermediate Repair Facility will handle tests and troubleshooting for jet engines from A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft. The A-10 — a durable twin-engine, straight-wing jet mounting a rapid-fire gun — has seen action in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The project will improve and expand an existing TF-34 engine repair facility in East Granby as part of decisions made under the 2005 base realignment and closure process.

• Saint Joseph College has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice. Saint Joseph College was also named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in 2008.

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