No description available.

No description available.

Institutions of higher education rely upon the support of their alumni to provide financial stability. This outward show of confidence by alumni is also an important indication for external constituents who rank colleges and universities based on funding sources such as corporations and foundations. Private universities, in particular, have been cultivating their alumni to support their alma maters through annual and endowed gifts to provide the financial support to continue educating future generations of students. This study surveyed undergraduate alumni from the University of the Pacific through a voluntary questionnaire that was made available to alumni through the alumni e-news letter, "What's Up, Pacific?" The purpose of the study was to analyze the factors that motivate undergraduate alumni at the University of the Pacific to make gifts to their alma mater and to examine if social exchange theory can be applied to the giving behaviors of these alumni. The research questions that were addressed were 1) to what extent were Pacific alumni satisfied with their University of the Pacific experiences as a student and as alumni, 2) what internal and external factors motivate these alumni to make a gift, regardless, of the amount to the university, and, 3) how does social exchange theory serve to explain, at least in part, the behavior underlying alumni giving patterns at the University of the Pacific? Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were developed to analyze the data which showed that the vast majority of alumni were overall satisfied with their experiences as students (95%) and as alumni (76%). The motivators that alumni sited as the most likely to compel them to make a gift included satisfaction with their Pacific experience, commitment to support future generations of Pacific students, wanting to further the cause of the university, the importance of giving back, and the fact that giving to their alma mater makes them feel good. There were many open ended comments that support the social exchange theory as it serves to explain donor behavior. Recommendations for further research were included in the dissertation.

Continuing dental education is a necessity for the dental professional. In dentistry, a profession described as a life-long learning endeavor, dental professionals are challenged with keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing scientific and technological advances of their profession. Continuing dental education plays an important role in providing dental practitioners with the opportunity to keep abreast of the latest advances in the dental industry. University-based continuing dental education programs, that provide the professional development needed by dental professionals to maintain and upgrade their skills and knowledge-base, have grown from their early origins as a primary service to dental school alumni members, to playing a pivotal role in regulating and professionalizing the dental industry as well as contributing to the financial well-being of their dental schools and universities. As educational funding continues to shrink while the cost of educating competent dental practitioners continues to rise, continuing dental education has developed revenue generating opportunities for their dental schools. This study was designed to analyze the current financial and revenue generating practices of continuing dental education units within both public and private dental schools, with a goal of providing a conceptual framework to develop a standardized financial model for determining the profitability of programs. Employing a cross-sectional survey method approach, this study obtained quantitative and qualitative data through the use of an electronic survey that was sent to both private and public dental school members of the Association for Continuing Dental Education (ACDE). The results of the findings of this study summarized data into several categories and compared the data between public versus private dental schools including the CDE unit's size, programs, revenue generation, program and unit expenses, corporate funding, net income, institutional overhead fees, gifts-in-kind, surplus revenue, and other factors considered when calculating profitability of CDE programs. These findings helped to create a framework for the development of a financial model, the Comprehensive Program Budget that may be used to more accurately project program profitability, thereby insuring that CDE units are self-sufficient and positive contributors to the financial well-being of their institutions.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers have long been active in lobbying the federal and state governments in support of CTE through their professional organizations, but these are not traditionally considered interest groups. This study sought to determine if the formal relationships—dues agreements—between the two largest national professional organizations, and their state affiliates had an impact on state funding for CTE. The impacts of professional organization unity, membership rates, and lobbying expenses on state-level CTE funding were analyzed through the lens of interest group theory, a subfield of political science. Within this population (N = 13), 1) a link was found between dues agreement type and funding; 2) Agricultural educators joined their professional organization(s) at higher rates than other CTE teachers; 3) a low relationship was discovered between professional organization membership percentages and funding; and 4) a high degree of relationship was found between lobbying expenses and funding.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.