Profiles of Excellence in Business and Education Leadership.

This document contains two papers on excellence in business and education leadership. "Corporate Leadership in Improving Student Achievement" (Edward B. Rust, Jr.) explains why business must remain involved in education and discusses the following efforts of the State Farm Insurance Company to assume a leadership role in educational reform: hosting a series of meetings on teacher quality throughout Illinois; establishing a program through which State Farm employees volunteer as substitute teachers; working to promote service learning; and providing leadership training and mentoring. "State Policies for Education Excellence" (Mark R. Warner) presents an overview of existing and proposed state policies for achieving educational excellence in Virginia. The following programs are highlighted: (1) SeniorNavigator.com, which is an online program that helps Virginia's senior citizens and their families, caregivers, and others to obtain answers to medical questions, locate senior health services, and connect with other senior citizens in their communities; (2) TechRiders, which has provided free computer training to more than 15,000 participants; (3) the Virginia High-Tech Partnership, which encourages black students to pursue technology careers by providing summer internship and job placement programs; (4) the Virginia Career Education Foundation; and (5) Virginia's Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools. (MN)