In a recent open letter, Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and 23 other public university presidents and chancellors challenged the chief executives of the nation's state and land-grant colleges to seize the opportunity to make lifelong learning a reality in the United States. "The days are long gone when career education stopped once the degree or degrees were completed. For better or worse, job requirements are changing more rapidly than ever before," Vanderhoef said. "This generates two major kinds of educational need-employees either must learn more to do their job well, or they want to learn more so that they can change the direction of their career. Both require continuing education, and our universities must be partners in meeting this increasing need." The presidents' letter, "Returning to Our Roots: A Learning Society," urges public and land-grant institutions to provide faculty with the professional development support they need to make lifelong learning part of their core mission by broadening the range of learning opportunities, expanding partnerships, using resources more efficiently, and taking a close look at accreditation standards. The letter cites recent survey research data indicating strong support among opinion leaders for technology-based lifelong learning initiatives by universities. For example, a poll of 35 state governors found 94 percent supported using technology to help postsecondary institutions deliver more educational offerings. Commission members also call on state and federal governments to promote lifelong learning by increasing investment in higher education to keep tuition affordable for all types of students, fund grants for research in effective learning methodologies, help pay for information technology infrastructure, and reshape financial-aid policies to meet the needs of lifelong learners. Vanderhoef serves on the 24-member Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, which was created by a $1.2 million grant given by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. A Learning Society is the fourth in a series of commission reports in the form of open letters to public university officials that will frame a vision for reforming public higher education and outline steps for change. Graham Spanier, president of the Pennsylvania State University, chairs the commission. John Byrne, former president of Oregon State University, is the executive director. "A Learning Society" includes original data from a lifelong learning survey conducted at the request of the Kellogg Commission by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. The survey of more than 435 decision makers in K-12 and higher education found that respondents strongly agreed that lifelong learning "promotes individual well-being" (99 percent), "benefits corporate productivity" (99 percent), "is important to the country's economic prosperity" (99 percent), and "enhances the quality of community life" (98 percent). The entire text of the report is available online at the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' Web site, http://www.nasulgc.org.