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If you ask most people: “What do public colleges and universities really do?” the immediate reaction is often, “Teach college kids.”A more informed person might add, “Yes, that’s right, and they also do research.” A few might even throw in, “Oh, they also do ‘public service’.”

If you ask them what does “public service” mean, most usually say, “students help in the community by tutoring kids,” or, “they help with the homeless,” or “they clean-up public places, like the parks or beaches.”

If you told them that there is actually one local public university that creates math and science curriculum for grade school students all over the world; coaches executives in the largest Danish oil company in the world; designs infectious disease prevention programs for county governments; licenses software programs to make nuclear power plants safer, and does brain scans of US Army Iraq veterans to chart PTSD, they might tell you that they don’t understand what you are talking about. And, if you then told them the one university in the Bay Area brought in $1billion in unrestricted funds doing this type of good work around the world…they would likely think you are crazy.

Well, the verifiable fact is that these “Public Service Contracts” are exactly what one Bay Area public university has done and, oh yes, brought in $1 billion dollars in revenue in the process. 

How can this be? The traditionalists would say that non-profit universities and colleges “can’t do that,” or, “see.” they’re ‘privitizing’ public colleges,” or, “they’re draining limited resources away from the core purpose of public colleges or universities.”

Enter a new book entitled, The Spirit of Fiat Lux and its accompanying web site, SpiritofFiatLux.net, which prove all of these assumptions to be very, very wrong, by introducing something very new and important, in terms of funding for public colleges and universities. The concepts explained in The Spirit of Fiat Lux will likely challenge the status quo seekers, albeit I imagine most everyone agrees that we must break the status quo in public colleges and universities, if we are to solve funding challenges in higher education.

This story, The Spirit of Fiat Lux is a “portrait of an American university.” The history, growth, obstacles overcome, significant accomplishments and achievements of UC Berkeley have their counterparts in every state.  The current fiscal crisis is not unique to California, solutions are needed everywhere.

The New Reality

The “new reality” for the future of public higher education in our nation is stark. State funding for state colleges and universities is in a free fall with no end in sight. Worse yet, tuition has sky-rocketed and continues to cripple generations of students, which will have serious consequences.  The long range impact is impossible to calculate. In short, the historic ways of funding public higher education are no longer sustainable.

As a result, universities and colleges have no choice but to find new ways to supplement funding.  Starting immediately, public colleges and universities must leverage their existing assets, including tangible assets (equipment, labs, software) and intangible assets (science knowledge, copyrights, trademarks [patents are handled through the traditional research arm of the campus] and most importantly, their human assets (faculty, scientists, staff, students) to become more financially sustainable.
Toward a Better Future

It’s time to implement Public Service Contracts which leverages the vast assets of the university or college to be used for “public service” under the terms of revenue-generating “contracts.” The simple process of Public Service Contracts, enables colleges and universities to become more financially self-sustaining while simply doing good in the world.  Providing “public service’ is done without weakening the commitment to teaching and research, or competing with the private sector. Towards finding a national solution, the author, with counsel from the leaders of The Enterprise, is incorporating The Enterprise 501c3 as a California non-profit corporation and an IRS 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation, allowing The Enterprise 501(c)(3) to act as a “fiscal agent” and sponsor other non-profit organizations or projects throughout the country whose mission is to advance public higher education.

Get Involved

This article calls on us to re-ignite the Spirit of Fiat Lux, “Let There Be Light” in our hearts and minds. What can you do to serve and save public higher education?  Here is how you can get involved:  Go to www.SpiritofFiat Lux.net/Get Involved to see specific steps towards taking action.

If interested in learning more about how you can help, or for sponsorship of your non-profit or project, please contact FiatLux.info@gmail.com. For more details, examples and more, see www.SpiritofFiat Lux.net and click on “Public Service Contracts” at the top of the page.    

“Live the Spirit—the Spirit of Fiat Lux”

Brian C. Donohue J.D., M.B.A. (Information Technology) is a licensed California attorney who led the UC Berkeley Business Contracts Office for 15 years and executed approximately 10,000 Public Service Contracts on behalf of the Regents of the University which produced approximately $1 billion dollars in unrestricted revenue for the departments of the campus.  He taught Intellectual Property Law at the UC Berkeley Extension for 18 years. Brian and Dellyn live in Concord and have 6 children and 12 grandchildren.

 

 

 

 

It’s a new year! We all have a clean slate, a fresh start, a new lease on life. This is our chance to really accomplish something in the coming year. Every year at this time I have such good and true intentions. However, I’ve come to realize that resolutions are virtually impossible to keep and/or execute so I’m inclined to come up with another form of goal setting. This year, I’m trying the “Year at a Glance Calendar Action Plan.” Over the past few weeks, I have been visualizing, strategizing, prophesizing, brainstorming, designing and chronicling my plan for the next twelve months. Needless to say, I’m charged up and ready to hit the ground running on January 2^nd. Yes, the second. January 1st is my day to recover from very likely being over served on New Year’s Eve.

January – After New Year’s Day, January is kind of a drag. The holidays are over, the weather is cold and miserable and if the Forty-Niners aren’t in the playoffs I might just take up hibernation. Depression is common amongst people tasked with taking down the Christmas ornaments so that’s why I always make my wife and kids do it. In January, I plan to rest and regain the strength that I lost during the holidays. Maybe I’ll do a few sit-ups and some jumping jacks just to get the blood pumping.

February– Who wants to be my Valentine? A Father can always count on his precious daughters…..if he has gift cards. I like the month of Feb. because it’s short. It’s like an abbreviated month and that’s why I call it “Feb.” As far as month’s go, how much can one accomplish in just 28 days? Rehab maybe? That’s it, I’ll start rehabbing from the holidays by giving up alcohol in Feb. Oh snap, the Superbowl is in Feb. Forget that idea. Instead I’ll start really getting into shape. I hope I don’t pull a groin muscle.

March – March is known as the windy month, but wind won’t bother me when I’m hunkered down in a sports bar watching all 65 NCAA college basketball games, more commonly known as, “March Madness.” Come on Villanova. It’s called March Madness because a lot of people get mad this time of year. My wife gets really mad at me because I sit around the house watching too much basketball. I get mad at “braketbusters,” meaning I can never pick a team that gets into the Sweet 16. The only person not mad is the person who wins all my bracket money. I get mad again when people gloat after winning all of my bracket money. I’m getting mad right now just thinking of it. I think I’ll try shooting some hoops during the month of March as a form of physical and mental stress relief. I do look awfully good in my long Georgetown basketball shorts, a Michigan State tank top and a pair of Air Jordans.

April– Easter, the religious holiday celebrating the resurrection of chocolate. After about seventeen or eighteen See’s candy caramel filled chocolate eggs, a six pack of Ghirardelli chocolate bunnies and a pound of jelly beans, I’m usually ready to check myself into a nutritional rehab center for the rest of the month. I do enjoy spring in full bloom until the day my sinus cavity explodes from all the pollen in the air. It’s hard to ride a bike or fly a kite when your eyes are dripping water and your nose is bleeding from binge sneezing.

May – My Margaritas con Miguel are muy bueno on Cinco de Mayo. I can totally get behind a national holiday (even if it’s for a neighboring nation) that celebrates their independence with tequila and nachos. Granted, I’ve been known to enjoy tequila and nachos in December, but I’ve also been known to drink eggnog in May. Eggnog margaritas rock! Spring wouldn’t be spring, without enjoying a sizzling platter of fajitas and a few ice cold Corona cervezas on the back patio. I even plan to work on my Spanish speaking skills during the month. Donde esta el bano, por favor?

June – Life in our house gets considerably less stressful in June. As we roll into the start of summer, the kids and my wife just naturally relax knowing there are just a few more days left of the school year and ten weeks of vacation awaits them. The days are long, the weather is warm and I can sleep in just my underwear again. What, too much information? Baseball games, BBQs and the backyard waterpark slip and slide are all on my “must do” list for June.

July– My birthday is in July. When I was a kid, birthdays were the greatest day of the year. Even better than Christmas, because in additional to getting presents, you turned a year older. Now, birthdays are a sad reminder of how old we are and how little time we have left. Thankfully, we celebrate the birthday of our nation every 4^th of July. I love the Fourth of July with the red, white and blue picnics, fun runs, pool parties and fireworks. I wish we did all that cool stuff on my birthday. The highlight of my birthday now is the annual midnight run around the block in my birthday suit. It’s an invigorating way to stare down the day you commemorate being a year older. Who’s with me…………………….?

August – My kids might be dreading going back to school, but I would be more than happy to take their place if they feel like earning a living and supporting me for a change. Virtually ever adult will admit that we didn’t fully appreciate the carefree days of being a student. Granted, there were classes, homework, projects, papers and tests, but we didn’t have a mortgage, health/auto/life and medical insurance, teenage children, an expanding waistline and a receding hairline. August means the end of a ten-week summer vacation and back to the 8:00 am – 3:00 pm school day. At my work, summer vacations are usually one week in late July and a couple long weekends. The typical workday starts around 7:30 am and, thanks to my cell phone, usually wraps up around bedtime. Being a student again would be the life. Is anyone up for a game of ultimate Frisbee or starting a hacky-sack circle?

September– With the immense popularity of the NFL and the NFL season kicking off in September, September might just change its name to Footballtember. Don’t think that hasn’t been discussed at the NFL headquarters. Not wanting to take anything away from high school and college football, because America’s love affair with everything gridiron knows no bounds, but the NFL has a cult following like no other. As fall descends on our country, the warm “Indian Summer” days allow us to host and attend backyard tailgate parties virtually every weekend of this glorious smash-mouth, D-Fence, ground-pound, protect this house, month of the pigskin.

October– I don’t really do the whole Halloween costume thing since I lost my diaper at the neighborhood “Rugrats” themed party a few years ago. I loved seeing my daughters dressed up in adorable costumes every year, but now as teenagers the costumes can boarder on inappropriate and highly distressing to a father. On the other hand, the children who come to the house each year to “Trick or Treat” still possess an uncorrupted innocence that shines through their scary outfits. I do love my Halloween candy which is why I buy enough to satisfy 300-400 door bell ringers when our neighborhood has never generated more than about 25 visitors on the night of All-Hallows. Note to self, load up on Kit Kat bars.

November– My anniversary is in November. We’ll be married twenty years on November 6^th. My Bother-In-Law set the over/under at four years. I think someone owes me some money. Twenty years is a long time. I should probably let my wife plan something special, maybe a trip somewhere romantic. I hope she invites me. Between Halloween, my anniversary and Thanksgiving, I better be careful that I don’t put on too much weight otherwise there might not be a 21^st wedding anniversary. My wife is already starting to wonder what happened to the underwear model she married. It might be a good idea to get to the gym for a few Pilates classes or some water-aerobics during the holidays.

December– I can’t believe its December already. Where did the year go? I just wasted eleven months and now the holiday’s are upon us and another New Year looms. My first task of December is to get the Christmas lights up. Stringing the lights, decorating the tree, hanging the stockings, sending photo cards are all great ways to get into the holiday spirit. Putting the holiday stuff up is aheck of a lot better than taking all that stuff down in January. It’s always an instant holiday spirit jolt once you watch the first animated holiday special on television. Oh wait, the Christmas specials started in October. Regardless, December is about all things magical and holiday-ish, just remember to hire someone to put up the house lights this year. I don’t need another broken arm from falling off a ladder like in 2013.

Well, that’s my year in preview. I’ve got to admit, I’m quite pleased with my Year at a Glance Action Plan. It’s inspiring, motivating, dare I say, illuminating? I challenge all to you to create your own Year at a Glance Action Plan. It’s better than making a list of stale resolutions that will blow up faster than the President’s health care website.

Sadly, despite the best of intentions, no one actually accomplishes all of their resolutions, goals or action items because it’s human nature to abandon the plan when presented with a more enticing alternative. Even though I will, in all likelihood, eventually stray from my month-by-month action plan, for just a moment in time I want to believe I’ll follow through on my list of tasks and challenges. As Robin Williams said in the movie, Dead Poets Society, “Carpe Diem,” –but first, plan your diems.

Eating makes no difference where you are or who you are. You’ve got to eat. There are probably favorite foods and maybe favorite places. Most bakeries make my mouth water, no matter where I travel. Pizza seems to have won over the world for there are “Pizza” signs in every corner of the globe. Vegetarians are happier in the Asian countries and in the Far East. When sausage is mentioned, one immediately thinks of Germany and a stein of beer.

In the United States these days you can find a take-out for almost everything. Or, if you just want to fill a need quickly, there are tons of fast food shops on every other corner.

But wait a minute! I venture to say that each of you has a “favorite place” – a spot where you go on special occasions or even when you just feel the need to sit, relax, and fill your tummy. That’s what this story is about.

A month or so ago, Barbara and I found ourselves in Skopje, Macedonia. Admittedly, this is not a high-profile visitors’ country, but nonetheless it should be on your “bucket list.” The urge that brought us here was “we knew somebody.” The granddaughter of one of our best friends had married a young man from here and was now making a life far from the United States. I will elaborate in a later story on this pleasant country with such a rich, but unexplored history – after all Alexander the Great started here. But today, I want to tell you about eating a meal in Macedonia.

The lead-in to my two hosts was, “Where does a local go to eat and what do they order?” There were plenty of restaurants around, but I wanted something that was directed at the local population, and believe me I got it.

We wound around a series of short one-way roads littered with parked cars abandoned in a most casual way. There are plenty of cars here, but parking is in short supply. The sign advertising a place to eat was small and painted with no hype whatsoever reading MEAHA-KEPNHY. My friends told me this series of letters is pronounced care-peach. So we ate at the Care-Peach Restaurant.

We entered by going down a set of five to seven stairs and past an outside covered eating area populated by two folk who were sipping beers and smoking cigarettes.

The inside, no more than four meters wide, had a central aisle with five or six booths on either side. The walls were lined with history. Pictures of buildings long gone, or now renovated. People who shaped the Macedonian nation looked down on us visiting diners.

But proudest of all the collections were the ones of the soccer team, excuse me, football team. At the base of this “shrine” was an old un-inflated leather soccer ball and a pair of spiked running shoes once worn in the Balkan Soccer Tournament. The Rabotnicki of Skopje won ten titles between 1952 and 1980, using the Macedonian name – all of this while there was still no separate country of Macedonia. More on this in a later story.

The menu which was completely indecipherable to us was a gourmet map of delights to our hosts. They ordered meshana daska, something akin to “mixed board” he exclaimed. But first came the aivar. Now I’m getting a little over my head here because in reality this appetizer was quite extensive. We were served toasted buttered bread on which to spread this mixture of tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. There were other dips of various colors, and a bounty of fresh veggies on the tray. And we ate these hors d’oeuvres with relish, dipping everything into the sauces. A meal unto itself!

The meshana daska arrived with two to three slabs of grilled cheeses, grilled veggies, and grilled meats. I’m not quite sure what each of them actually was, but I cut a portion and down it went. One thing I can vouch for – this country’s eaters love peppers. There was no shortage here. In fact, my mouth felt like it was on fire. In addition each of us received a plate of meat (I had sausage as it was advertised as being homemade by the restaurant,) and a pile of grilled sliced potatoes covered with some local cheese. These local cheeses do not come in packages similar  to those found at Trader Joe’s. They have a unique taste and are delicious. It took a while and a great deal of confidence to work our way through this gigantic platter of food. My host told me what I was eating because all was not recognizable. If I lived here I would weigh twice my current weight. It was all delectable, but wow – the quantity!! I’m still a little unsure of what I actually ate, though.

We skipped dessert, waddled off to our hotel, and amazingly no heartburn.

One final note. The currency here is the denar. There are about sixty denars to the Euro, and about seven tenths of a Euro to the US dollar. The bill for the four of us came to 1,280 denars. I’ll leave the calculation to the math majors to figure out what we ended up paying.

Well, bon appétit!