Midwestern Higher Education Compact Receives Funding for Health Care and Energy Initiatives

Lumina Foundation for Education has awarded $800,000 to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact to implement regional initiatives to improve higher education productivity for colleges and universities that face increasing costs for energy and utilities as well as those for employee and student health care.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) November 17, 2008 -- Lumina Foundation for Education has awarded $800,000 to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact to implement regional initiatives to improve higher education productivity for colleges and universities that face increasing costs for energy and utilities as well as those for employee and student health care.

"Our goal is for institutions to realize financial savings in these two areas where costs continue to rise at a significant rate," said MHEC President Larry Isaak. "MHEC has been incredibly successful in other areas of cost savings through collaboration among its member states. We want to see these savings redirected towards programs and services that enhance student success."

The three-year initiative will convene experts with industry specific experience to assist in developing programs in energy and health care. Institutions and associations will be visited to garner support and participation. MHEC has hired Jim Sebesta as grant administrator to lead the efforts for MHEC as defined in the Lumina Foundation grant. Jim has over 25 years of senior leadership experience with consulting and project management and has a long history of working with colleges and universities. He has also excelled as a technical innovator and leader with an industry reputation for developing cost-saving solutions for higher education facilities.

"This initiative is critically important at a time when the costs of health benefits far exceed inflation, and the costs of heating, cooling and powering our campuses are also steadily rising," explained Sebesta. "By bringing together the resources of national higher education associations and MHEC we have tremendous opportunities to develop programs which, when initiated will bring additional savings to MHEC member institutions, and provide cost savings models for the benefit of all of higher education."

In the long term, the grant will provide opportunities for MHEC to 1) enter into agreements with health care and energy/utility vendors on behalf of institutions in the region; 2) develop training modules and tools to help institutions redirect savings to efforts designed specifically to promote student success; and 3) allow for MHEC to contract for technology services to develop sophisticated platforms needed for purchasing, program management, tracking of institutional savings, and monitoring how colleges and universities reinvest savings.

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), founded in 1991, consists of twelve states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. MHEC sponsors a variety of programs to reduce costs, to increase student access and to conduct policy research and analysis. The Compact is statutorily created and governed by a board comprised of five commissioners from each member state. Commissioners include legislators, governor's representatives and higher education leaders. For more information about the Compact, please visit www.mhec.org or call 612-626-8288.

Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in its people. For more details on the Foundation, visit is website at www.luminafoundation.org.

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