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The Industry-Academia Partnership Pilot Project (IAPPP) was undertaken by Huertas Junior College (HJC), in Caguas, Puerto Rico, to improve advanced technical education, enhance the competitive capabilities of the region, and reduce the region's unemployment rate. The project consisted of three basic components: professional growth opportunities for faculty; curriculum development through job-specific educational experiences for all program students; and program improvement through a job orientation and work experiences or internships. In all three components, staff from participating industries acted as consultants to faculty and as mentors to students. All students enrolled in IAPPP were minority students, 84% were from rural towns, and 99% came from families with incomes below the federal poverty level. The program was implemented in three stages, the first of which was implemented in the first 3 months of the project and consisted of coordinating professors' visits to industries to establish initial contacts. The second stage, implemented in the next 4 months, was dedicated to strengthening industry ties and scheduling students' visits. The final stage, lasting 4 more months, involved student internships. The program, which achieved a 100% retention rate, increased the employment outlook of participating students by 81%. Of the 23 participating students in the electronics program, 4 students were employed by the companies they had gained experience in, and 3 of the 9 students in the Computer Drafting program were employed by companies in which they practiced. (MAB)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert