Temple University Prez Will Pay Passport Fees

by Kelly Amabile on

Will Temple U soon be Travel U? The new President of the Philadelphia-based university welcomed the idea in her inauguration remarks last week, as she urged students to take advantage of opportunities to study or work abroad while in college:

“I am so convinced that this experience is essential to your education that my husband Randy and I will pay your passport fee,” she said. “Internationalization will help you develop the point of view essential to contribute as citizens of the world and compete in the international marketplace.”

Way to go prez! Beginning this summer, Ann Weaver Hart and her hubbie will pay for any Temple student applying for a passport for the first time. They are creating a fund within the Office of International Programs at the school, which will be used to finance any student wishing to have the Prez pay for his or her passport. Bravo, I say. And not a bad way to become big woman on campus mighty fast. If only the new passports could be processed as quickly!

Global Giving

by Erik Olsen on

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet aside, we Americans tend to be a rather stringy bunch. Hey, I’m right there with you. I don’t think I’ve ever given more than a few hundred dollars to a cause, be it saving Spotted Owls, feeding the poor in Africa or shrinking the ozone hole. I’m sure some of you out there want to scream from the mountaintops, “Hey! I give a lot.” Well, thank you. I’m not talking about you here. I’m talking about the average American who, it turns out, gives about 2 percent to charitable causes. It’s something we all might think about a little more. And since this is a travel site, what about giving overseas?

Well, take a look at the site GlobalGiving.com which shows how the Internet can transform how you support causes you believe in. They have created an Ebay-like marketplace where the “sellers” are groups in poor countries who run environmental, public-health, educational, or human-rights projects. You can go on and contribute amounts ranging from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars…depending, I suppose, on the size of that Christmas bonus you got. It’s Ebay similarity is actual quite intriguing, such that you can easily compare offerings, find possibilities you hadn’t been aware of, etc.

If you want to learn more, check out this story over at NPR about the group.