2013 Best Graduate Schools

13 Mar 2012 14:00 Africa/Lagos

U.S.News & World Report Announces the 2013 Best Graduate Schools
- 23rd annual edition is most extensive consumer guide to date with premium research and comparison tools -

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S.News & World Report today released the 2013 Best Graduate Schools rankings online at www.usnews.com/grad. Highlights of the rankings will be published in the 2013 Best Graduate Schools book, on sale April 3, 2012. The most comprehensive version of the upcoming Best Graduate Schools, including all the extended rankings and complete data, will be available online only through the U.S. News Graduate School Compass.

The 2013 Best Graduate Schools includes essential, detailed statistical information on more than 1,200 programs nationwide. In addition to featuring new rankings in five of the largest professional graduate school disciplines (business, law, education, engineering, and medicine), the 2013 rankings also include updated peer-assessment-only rankings for audiology, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, social work, speech-language pathology, fine arts, and public affairs.

"Many students are unsure as to what they should be looking for in a potential graduate program," said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. "The new, 2013 graduate school rankings will help any prospective student better navigate the graduate school selection process."

U.S. News made almost no changes to the 2013 Best Graduate Schools ranking methodology and presentation. U.S. News made one change to the 2013 Best Business Schools ranking and methodology. The change was made in how the part-time M.B.A. rankings were computed. For the first time, U.S. News included the percentage of a graduate business school's part-time enrollment, the mean undergraduate GPA of entering part-time students, the mean GMAT of entering part-time students, and the average months of experience of entering part-time students, in addition to the peer assessment score as ranking factors. For more details on these changes, go to www.usnews.com/gradmeth.

To learn more about the U.S. News Graduate School Compass or to order a copy of the 2013 Best Graduate Schools book, visit the online U.S. News Store. For more information about Best Graduate Schools, visit www.usnews.com/grad or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

2013 Best Graduate School Rankings

*For full list of rankings, visit www.usnews.com/grad

Best Business Schools	Best Law Schools
1. Harvard University (MA)	1. Yale University (CT)
1. Stanford University (CA)	2. Stanford University (CA)
3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)	3. Harvard University (MA)
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)	4. Columbia University (NY)
4. Northwestern University (Kellogg) (IL)	5. University of Chicago
4. University of Chicago (Booth)

Best Medical Schools: Research	Best Medical Schools: Primary Care
1. Harvard University (MA)	1. University of Washington
2. Johns Hopkins University (MD)	2. University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
2. University of Pennsylvania	3. Oregon Health and Science University
4. Stanford University (CA)	3. University of California–San Francisco
5. University of California–San Francisco	5. University of Colorado–Denver

About U.S.News & World Report
U.S.News & World Report is a multi-platform, digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S.News & World Report's signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report

CONTACT: Alexi Turbow, +1-202-955-2155, aturbow@usnews.com

Web Site: http://www.usnews.com/grad


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US News & World Report Announces 2013 Best Graduate Schools

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14:00	U.S.News & World Report Announces the 2013 Best Law Schools

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Modern PR: The Art and Science of Integrated Media

PR Newswire’s New White Paper, Modern PR: the art and science of integrated media influence, explores how a synergy among channels breeds greater impact
Learn how to steer the intersecting spheres of media to maximize influence

NEW YORK, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Orchestrating a communications program with careful consideration of the multiple layers of media influence takes time, creativity and keen attention to the circular flow of information among all audiences.

The new white paper from PR Newswire, Modern PR: the art and science of integrated media influence, reiterates the importance of strategic coordination between new, owned, social and traditional media, but takes a deep dive into the social sphere and its unstoppable impact on PR and the consumption of information. More specifically, Modern PR focuses on locating, identifying, understanding and measuring influence — and influencers, providing tips for socializing content, engaging audiences and utilizing new social analytics to incite smarter decisions.

To read the complete white paper, click here.

As an industry thought leader, PR Newswire regularly produces original, relevant content aimed at offering public relations, investor relations and marketing professionals advice and strategies necessary to reach their communications goals. To access additional information and content, visit PR Newswire’s Knowledge Center.

About PR Newswire
PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 57 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content — from rich media to online video to multimedia — and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world’s largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world’s enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company.

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Ambitious Women Entrepreneurs Sought for 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women(TM) Program

Ambitious women entrepreneurs sought for 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Program


Lisa

Newly released impact study from Babson College based on the program reveals winners have created significant job and revenue growth during the worst years of the recession

NEW YORK, MARCH 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Ernst & Young LLP is calling for applications for its fifth annual Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program, a national competition and leadership program that identifies a select group of women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale – and then helps them do it.


Talia

In conjunction with the call for applications, the firm also released a new independent impact study, “Thinking big: how to accelerate the growth of women-owned companies,” based on Babson College Center for Women’s Leadership research. The study revealed that four years into the Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program, it is a model that can spur dramatic growth. Program participants’ companies have grown almost 50 percent each year on average, with a corresponding average annual job growth rate of more than 25 percent.

The study also speaks to the importance of bridging the “missing middle” – or lack of resources and advice available to second-stage women business owners whose companies have emerged from the start-up phase but are not yet large enough for the public markets.


Amy

“Women employ 16 percent of the US workforce and climbing – starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Yet they start with less capital and don’t grow as large,” noted Herb Engert, Americas Strategic Growth Markets Leader for Ernst & Young. “Our program helps successful women entrepreneurs propel their company’s growth, which benefits their businesses, creates jobs, and helps to boost the economy.”

In becoming part of Entrepreneurial Winning Women, women entrepreneurs join a long-term leadership development program that coaches the five crucial actions needed to scale their companies and introduces them to accomplished entrepreneurs, investors and advisors who can help them prepare for significant growth by:

Thinking big and being bold
Building a public profile
Working on the business, rather than in it
Establishing key advisory networks
Evaluating financing for expansion

“The Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program has totally changed my definition of ‘big’ and opened my eyes to the growth potential for our company,” said Amy Buckner Chowdhry, CEO, AnswerLab and a 2011 Entrepreneurial Winning Woman. “I’m thinking entirely differently about how we measure being the market leader.”

Each winner will also receive an all-expense paid trip to the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum® 2012, which takes place November 14-18, 2012 in Palm Springs, California. The Strategic Growth Forum, dubbed by Forbes.com as one of the “Seven Get-Ahead Executive Retreats,” is an invitation-only gathering of high-growth, market-leading company CEOs. The Forum presents a one-of-a-kind platform for Entrepreneurial Winning Women to introduce their companies and share their corporate and personal brands with a community of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners, top executives, prospective investors and business advisors. All Entrepreneurial Winning Women will be recognized at a special celebratory event during the Forum. For more information on the Forum, visit: www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthforum.

Competition Criteria and Selection:

To apply for the program, applicants must fit the following criteria:

Founding woman CEO of a privately held US company
Company must have reported at least $1 million in sales within each of the last 2 years
Venture must be less than 10 years old
Entrepreneur must be able to attend an orientation and coaching session at Ernst & Young LLP’s headquarters in New York City on October 10-11, 2012, and the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, November 14-18, 2012, in Palm Springs, CA.

“Because of Entrepreneurial Winning Women, I have completely revised my business plan in order to reach my new goal of hundreds of millions in sales,” said Lisa Bair, CEO, Hobart Group Holdings, and a 2010 Entrepreneurial Winning Woman. “I am now focused on a three-to-five- year vision that includes building out our expertise, the possible acquisition of complementary companies and investment capital to allow us to scale.”

The 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women panel of independent judges – representing successful entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders – will select 10 Entrepreneurial Winning Women. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate qualities needed to take full advantage of the program, including successes to date that exhibit the creativity, tenacity and plan necessary to realize their companies’ full potential and the confidence and conviction to drive toward market leadership. In addition, Entrepreneurial Winning Women should have the maturity and level of business sophistication needed to interact effectively with potential investors, high-level business advisors and top executives.

To obtain an application form, or to nominate a deserving woman entrepreneur, visit: www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen. The application deadline is April 30, 2012.

To learn more about, and get a copy of the Ernst & Young case study, Thinking big: how to accelerate the growth of women-owned companies, visit: www.ey.com/us/thinkingbig

Collaborating organizations:
The program is conducted in collaboration with Babson College, Kauffman Foundation, National Association of Women Business Owners, the Committee of 200, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and Women Presidents’ Organization.


About Ernst & Young’s Strategic Growth Markets Practice
Through our Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice, Ernst & Young guides high-growth companies to market leadership worldwide. Our multidisciplinary teams of dedicated professionals provide perspective, advice, and insights to help our clients accelerate their growth. Ernst & Young is the undisputed leader in guiding Russell 2000® companies, IPO-bound companies and Forbes’ largest private companies. We deliver assurance, advisory, tax and transaction advisory services to thousands of companies in numerous, selected industries.


About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.


For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the US.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Compton
Ernst & Young LLP
201-872-1294
Jennifer.compton@ey.com

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Singer Wins Big On 'The Celebrity Apprentice' To Help Poor Children

Singer wins big on “The Celebrity Apprentice” to help poor children
Debbie Gibson will donate her winnings to Children International



Singer Debbie Gibson donates her winnings to Children International.

NEW YORK, NY (March 12, 2012) /PRNewswire/ —

Singer Debbie Gibson, a contestant on this season’s The Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, won $50,000 during last night’s episode on behalf of her charity of choice, Children International, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization.

Children International president and CEO Jim Cook said, “Children International is ecstatic about Debbie Gibson’s big win! Her donation will help us bring lasting hope to children in India living in dire poverty.”

Gibson’s winnings didn’t come easy. She volunteered as project manager to lead her team in creating a live launch event for the new Buick Verano. A heated boardroom concluded with Gibson’s team winning the task and the prize money for charity.

“We won! It was intense. But throughout the difficult moments of the challenge I kept connecting with the poor mothers and the children I met in the Philippines. If the mothers can live in the level of poverty they live in, then I can make through the stress of the show in order to help them,” said Gibson.

The Celebrity Apprentice is a reality television show where the celebrity contestants work in two teams, each under the guidance of a designated project manager, to compete in business-driven tasks around New York City, using their fame, along with their proven business acumen, to win challenges.

With her winnings, Gibson will help Children International build a community center to serve 5,000 poor children in New Delhi, India. The community center will include a medical and dental clinic, pharmacy, library, computer lab and playground. The center will allow impoverished children to receive much-needed health care and educational support they would not otherwise have.

Gibson, who is the youngest artist ever to write, produce and perform a number one hit, has been a supporter of the U.S.-based humanitarian organization since 1990. Currently, she helps support 7-year-old Helen, her mother and five siblings living in a cemetery in Manila, Philippines. Helen and her family guard a cemetery crypt, and live on less than $11 a month. With Gibson’s help, Helen and her siblings now receive medical and dental care and attend school.

Children International’s programs provide medical and dental care, educational support and health education to impoverished children and youth, some whose families live on less than $1.25 a day.

About Children International:
Established in 1936, Children International is an award-winning humanitarian organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization has been recognized by the Philippine and Colombian governments for its humanitarian and disaster relief work. Children International’s programs help more than 340,000 children and their families in 11 countries around the world including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Zambia, Honduras, India, the Philippines and the United States. For more information about Children International or to sponsor a child, visit www.children.org. Follow Children International on Facebook and Twitter.

###

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dolores Quinn Kitchin
Public Relations
Children International
Direct: (816) 943-3730
Cell: (816) 718-0711
Email: dkitchin@children.org
https://twitter.com/ci_doloresk

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Princess Grace Foundation-USA Announces New Film Initiative with the Ford Foundation's JustFilms Program

12 Mar 2012 17:00 Africa/Lagos

Princess Grace Foundation-USA Announces New Film Initiative with the Ford Foundation's JustFilms Program

NEW YORK, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) is proud to announce a new initiative for film grants: the Princess Grace JustFilms Documentary Awards, made possible by the Ford Foundation's JustFilms program. These funds will be awarded to help support social justice documentary thesis projects of students in undergraduate/graduate programs and final projects of individuals participating in production programs at media arts centers. In this inaugural year of the grant, an emphasis is placed on filmmakers and films that focus on South Asian and Southeast Asian communities.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity, was formed after the death of Princess Grace (Kelly) in 1982. They present scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships to assist artists in the early stages of their careers. The Foundation has cultivated a diverse group of nearly 600 artists who continue to advance the spectrum of performing arts with innovative, cutting-edge, and vibrant theater, dance, choreography, film, playwriting and design. Since the Foundation's inception, more than 700 Awards have been given to recipients, totaling more than $8.5 million.

PGF-USA Executive Director Toby E. Boshak notes, "PGF-USA is excited to expand our already diverse community of documentary filmmakers by funding their unique stories and thanks the Ford Foundation for the opportunity to achieve this goal."

PGF-USA will identify and support voices that tell authentic and powerful stories from or about underrepresented communities, through the Princess Grace JustFilms Documentary Film Awards. Grants will be made in accordance with the applicants' thesis/final project budgets. Nominations for film grants are submitted by Deans/Department Chairs in conjunction with the faculty of established U.S. colleges and universities, or directors of non-profit media arts organizations with structured film production programs that the Foundation has invited to apply.

"Acknowledging the vision and creativity of promising new filmmakers with an award of this kind, can be a critical moment of affirmation that we hope will fuel their determination to pursue their talents," said JustFilms' Director Orlando Bagwell. "This partnership, and these awards, will help identify and support new voices in under-represented communities who bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the field of social justice documentaries."

Choosing Awardees:

In evaluating an application, primary consideration will be given to the talent and potential of the filmmaker as demonstrated by the sample work submitted with each application. The panel will also consider the quality, originality and mastery of the subject and approach of the proposed project, as well as the potential impact the work will have on viewers, the community and the film's subject(s). An advisory panel, independent of the PGF-USA staff and Trustees, reviews every application on its merits in competition with other applicants in the same category and awards the scholarships for the next school year.

A current list of accepted schools can be found in the FAQ of the Grants Program section at www.pgfusa.org. Additional schools/media arts centers who would like to be considered may contact Program Manager Diana Kemppainen at grants@pgfusa.org. The postmark deadline for applications is June 1, 2012 .

ABOUT THE PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION - USA

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a not-for-profit, publicly-supported foundation, headquartered in New York City and founded 30 years ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess Grace [Kelly]. The Foundation's mission, that mirrors Princess Grace's in Her lifetime, is to support emerging artists in theater, dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. Some notable Princess Grace Awards recipients in Film include: Cary Joji Fukunaga, director of Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre; Andrew Okpeaha MacLean , writer/director of On the Ice and Sikumi; and Ham Tran, writer/director of Journey from the Fall.

For more information about the Princess Grace Awards program, please visit www.pgfusa.org; visit our Facebook page for "Princess Grace Awards" and follow us on Twitter @PrincessGraceUS.

ABOUT THE FORD FOUNDATION/JUSTFILMS PROGRAM

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization with its headquarters in New York. For 75 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. The foundation's JustFilms initiative, launched in 2011, builds on Ford's longtime support for documentaries and acknowledges the importance of visual narratives in creating social change. Leveraging the foundation's global network of regional offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, JustFilms seeks to identify new talent from around the world and to strengthen emerging communities of documentary filmmakers.

For more information about the Ford Foundation/JustFilms program, please visit www.fordfoundation.org

SOURCE The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA)

CONTACT: Media, Chris Kite, Communications Manager, +1-212-317-1470, ckite@pgfusa.org, or Grants, Diana Kemppainen, Program Manager, +1-212-317-1470, dkemppainen@pgfusa.org

Web Site: http://www.pgfusa.org

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France Speaks On Two Europeans Killed in Nigeria

Christopher McManus, the British hostage killed in Nigeria. The photograph has been chosen by the family for use by the media. Photograph: handout
Photo Credit: The Guardian of UK.


Franco Lamolinara and his British colleague Chris McManus were found dead on Thursday. Photograph: laprovinciadisondrio.it
Photo Credit: The Guardian of UK.


Nigeria - Death of a British and an Italian national (12 March 2012)

PARIS, March 12 2012/African Press Organization (APO) / - Alain Juppé, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, expressed in two letters addressed today to the British and Italian counterparts, the emotion of France following the murder of two of their nationals in Nigeria Thursday, March 8.

He urged them to pass the victims' families his condolences on behalf of France.

This drama illustrates again the need for collective action and determined to fight against terrorism in all its forms.


Source: France - Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Italy and Britain in a Row Over Hostage Raid



The Italian government says it wasn't informed about Britain's failed rescue attempt in Nigeria. British and Italian hostages died in the raid.

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