The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation (GAERF), in an effort to streamline and ensure continuation of a variety of industry educational programs, has assumed management of several activities previously conducted by the Graphic Communications Council. Among the activities GAERF will manage under the Board of Director’s new initiative are the staging of information exhibits at major national and regional industry and education conferences, the national distribution of career-oriented literature, and the production of the highly popular “Career Day” at leading shows. Career Days bring high school students and their teachers and counselors to exhibitions for a combination of formal presentations and show floor experiences. This year, GAERF will produce Career Day at the immense international PRINT 05 and CONVERTINGSM 05 on September 9-15 in Chicago. The event will offer students the chance to visit the largest and most important industry exhibition in the world in 2005. The Printing Industries of Southern California with support from GAERF will present a Career Day during GUTENBERG SM and digital outlook SM on April 28-30 in Los Angeles, which includes the final stages of competition in the much respected Student Assembly program. GAERF will participate in a number of other industry and education conferences, such as the International Technical Education Association and the Association for Career and Technical Education. “This action by the GAERF Board of Directors is a further response to the widely perceived need throughout our industry for a more consolidated and efficient approach to promoting career opportunities, continuing education, and print as a medium,” said GAERF Chairman Randolph W. Camp, CEO of Walton Media Services in Monroe, Georgia. “By linking these valuable ongoing programs to the significant and stable funding available through GAERF, we will be able to assure that they continue without interruption and, in fact, become even more effective in the years ahead,” Camp said. GAERF’s funding comes from revenues of events produced by the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). The Foundation was created in 1983 by the three national associations that had created GASC the previous year: The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and the Printing Industries of America (PIA). In addition to conducting these activities, the Foundation administers three programs designed to promote a positive industry image and support recruitment and training of a skilled workforce. PrintED is a national accreditation and certification program for graphic communications courses of study at the secondary and post-secondary levels. The MAKE YOUR MARK in Graphic Communications is a campaign to raise awareness of the graphic communications industry and its career opportunities. The Grant Program has awarded over $4.5 million in funding to support more than 125 projects at more than forty-four institutions. For additional information about the Foundation and its programs, visit the GAERF web site at www.gaerf.org or call 866/381-9839.