| by Ann Marie Deer Owens Robert Koff, vice president of the Danforth
Foundation, will receive the 1997 Bridge Award from the Vanderbilt Institute for Public
Policy Studies (VIPPS) during his visit to campus Monday, Dec. 15.
Koff will be honored for his leadership in linking research on good practice to actual
policies for children and families, according to Clifford S. Russell, director of VIPPS.
"The award, which was established in 1990, recognizes individuals who assist VIPPS in
building bridges between policy research and education and the wider community," he
said.
Koff will discuss current directions for the Danforth Foundation, including the St.
Louis 2004 Project, during a special seminar on Dec. 15 from 4 to 5:15 p.m. The St. Louis
2004 Project aims at a comprehensive revitalization of the metro St. Louis area.
"This will provide an excellent opportunity for those who are interested in
initiatives underway in Nashville to hear from a major force in St. Louis about what is
being done there to meet similar challenges," Russell said.
Those wishing to attend the free seminar should call 322-8506 to make a reservation.
Koff has worked on issues of education policy, planning and assessment in the fields of
public K-12 education, higher education and medicine. He was a professor and administrator
at both Stanford University and the State University of New York at Albany. He served on
the New York State Council on Children and Youth and chaired the New York State
Educational Conference Board. In 1992 he joined the foundation staff as a program director
and was named vice president earlier this year.
Koff received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in psychology and
chemistry. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the
University of Chicago. A licensed psychologist, he is the co-author of "New Ways of
Paying for College."
The Danforth Foundation recently awarded a grant to VIPPS' Child and Policy Center to
support the management of the foundation's Policymakers' Program. The program helps state
leaders across the nation create a vision for children and families and define a state
process for achieving that vision.
Since June 1 the Child and Family Policy Center, under the direction of Bill Purcell,
has assumed responsibility for the day-to-day activities of the Policymakers' Program.
These include a national meeting in January for state legislators and governors' aides, a
summer institute for state teams and program evaluation.
The Danforth Foundation is a national, educational philanthropy dedicated to enhancing
the humane dimensions of life. The foundation has assisted persons throughout the United
States in furthering their education and extending their abilities to contribute to
society. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Danforth and their daughter and son, Dorothy Danforth
Compton and Donald Danforth, established the foundation in 1927.
Previous recipients of the Bridge Award have included Dr. Thomas Frist and the HCA
Foundation; former Tennessee House Majority Leader Bill Purcell; Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals Judge Gilbert S. Merritt; John Seigenthaler, founder of The Freedom Forum First
Amendment Center at Vanderbilt; Keiichi Komiya, senior executive vice president of the
Toshiba Corporation; and May and Herb Shayne, long identified with VIPPS. |
