The multiversity today; Laws, Grants and Contracts

For eight hundred years Western societies of turn to universities for the teaching discovery and preservation of advanced knowledge from small beginnings in Bologna and Paris men have built giant educational complexes to serve not only students but governments industries and the general public as well. The huge American Multiversity these are the subject for this series Multiversity today. The programs were produced in the studios of WRAL the University of Illinois Broadcasting Service. Dennis Corrigan is your host for today's program about what's going on inside the Multiversity today. Oh. Yeah. Modern Americans are in the habit of thinking of their universities public and private as intellectual retreats isolated from the concerns pressures power struggles and politics of the so-called outside world. Professors students and administrators are upon occasion accused of having little knowledge and

even less interest in public affairs governmental activities and the problems of society. Indeed some are shocked when they discover university people assuming their responsibilities as private citizens. Some people are angered by cooperative programs involving governmental bodies and universities. However as Nicholas von Hoffman notes in his book The Multiverse today the universities present service to war research government and corporate enterprise is not. Whatever else it may be an abandonment of older better and purer policies and practices American colleges and universities have never been places which nurtured dissent and social change from their beginnings they have served the media and publicly stated needs. The people who now look upon them as special readouts of freedom are not restoring the old definition but making a new one. Just what are the relationships between state governments and the federal government and

Multiversity And how did these relationships develop. For some answers we went to Samuel K. go director the ESTA tute of government and public affairs and professor of political science at the University of Illinois. We first asked Professor Goh What were the relationships between the federal government and institutions of higher education. Before World War 2 there were quite limited. We had none of the vast programs we now have federal programs. They were primarily in two areas in the agricultural programs and in the military. These have a long history. The other programs have basically post World War Two. The federal government's role in agriculture through universities grew out of the more land grab act this Act signed by President Lincoln in 1862 provided federal aid for the development of universities to teach mechanical and agricultural subjects and provide information for the general public. Mr Henry

Johnson assistant professor of education at the Illinois State University discussed the importance of this legislation and its relationship to the mood of the 19th century. I see the moral act as. As a part of a general cultural concern and in the mid-1980s there is the general desire to increase the higher learning which nobody who is responsible for a moral act is particularly interested in. I mean it's the federal government should support education this has been true for a long time of course it's not the first federal participation in education I mean the early Northwest Territory right insistence on who provided this kind of thing. But the point is that the moral act schools the land grant colleges were true. We're to take a hand in areas of technology and agriculture because the society had all of their cultural of course but it was not going to be agricultural in the name of the new idea which was science. This is a new cultural idealism a new

intellectual ideal which is already as I said been present in the United States for a number of years actually because William and Mary in the 18th century is dealing fairly strongly in science jail had already done a good deal of science Harvard was rather slow on this. But nonetheless what the society wanted and I was the fruits of science to be available to everybody and to be applied to its tasks. And so it created I think a wholly new kind of institution. I was concerned would be with very directly with very specifically with in terms of the approach of the proposal itself with the jobs that the society is doing and it will bring to bear on them the enlightenment that science can provide in the area of technology engineering and so on in the area of agriculture. And at the same time they're allowed to to carry on the old tradition but the terms are ambiguous. This of course led to a good deal of hard feeling here at the University of Illinois for example which was a land grant

college of course but people were very suspicious of the fact that the Classics were still present here because the common man really felt that education was no longer relevant and a new kind was needed and this was an expression of that desire I think. The Reserve Officers Training Corps ROTC was a major part of the relationship between the federal government and universities before World War 2. Professor go and land grant colleges had to provide ROTC and military education you know university doing only what was only college and what was required to provide military hands. We might add at this time that military training for the Department of Defense was not always fully accepted. And the years before and after World War 1. These programs were the targets of protests protests similar to recent student demonstrations. State governments have long had an important role in higher education. We asked Professor go about the pre World War Two

relationships between universities and state legislature as well as state legislatures probably before World War Two. Watched a little closer the deep internal administration of our universities. When the universities were smaller some of the Illinois universities were in a department of the government rather than being you know I don't know I was ation charred on the side. The University of Illinois has since its inception has had an elective board of trustees which has made it somewhat more independent than these other institutions. The legislature was a primary source of the money for our universities and for higher education and properly so that they were concerned about the running of the institution. They were concerned with the auditing of it the institution they were concerned with purchasing.

They were concerned with the personnel practices. They were concerned with control of fees and gifts and many many other things. I think looking out at least in our state you would find that the legislature is more concerned with the broad broader aspects rather than the internal aspects of the administration of our university. Have the relationships between governments and universities changed since World War 2. Both cases were relationships with the federal government and with the state legislatures and state government have changed significantly since World War 2 in the federal government the major changes many new programs have come a war on not only the many agencies of the federal government to enter into contracts research contracts with individual departments and individual faculty members but in the

six days we've been passing new federal legislation the Higher Education Act of 63 65 and there are continuing new programs. The federal government is entering a lot of new fields which were unheard of back in 20s. And at the state level. Some other developments in civil war have been new University along with the other higher educational institutions have set up their own civil service system independent of the state government. There have been a couple important court decisions which have said the university is independent the so-called Barrett decision middle forties was a very significant decision for the at identifying the autonomy of the university and I might say on this point that in some states says a constitutional provision for the establishment of the university and setting out the relationships between the university

and the state there is nothing in our Constitution or in higher education. From my experience this happens to be a field of interest research field of interest of mine. I would say that you know no way our university has as much autonomy as any other state even though there is not a constitutional guarantee on this. The one piece of federal legislation affecting education that most people know of is the G.I. bill of rights passed shortly after World War 2. We asked Professor Johnson if this was a significant point in the history of American University. Well I suppose in a certain sense the G.I. Bill is a significant change. I don't know that you can point to it as a thing in itself. I think that the significant change is the fact that by the by World War at the end of World War Two. And I think probably not before that the united

people the United States are coming to the inclusion that the bachelor degree is as normal as high school was 50 to 75 years before. I mean they run a very close parallel in their development and what the what the G.I. bill does of course is to enable many many people who had never thought of going to the university to go. It increases their scope enormously their their gross size. And I think so I was the seeds that it's part of everybody's birthright. To get a higher education. And this had never been assumed before a higher education had of course been an elite business and something for those of those who had leisure or a particularly strong motivation who wanted to receive it. I'm now the student arrives because after you leave whatever high school you go of course you go to some college somewhere to do at least something. And the G.I. Bill has an effect on this because there there are now children of families who are higher educated

which families would not have been higher educated probably 50 years ago and they'd always tended to have the children do what they've done of course so that the effect multiplies. So in that sense I think it is I don't think it's designed it was designed as a as a as an intentional move let's say in the sense of the moral act was nothing like that to revolutionize education I think the thing was in the wind anyway it wouldn't happen. And it just simply perhaps speeded the process a bit. If we regard the role of governments in higher education as an outgrowth of the wishes of our citizens we need to ask just how our governmental bodies acting upon the desires of the citizens. What are they doing in simple terms governmental bodies may act in at least three basic ways.

They set up laws to govern the founding and operation of universities. They hire our contract for services they provide funds for university fees when governments provide funds they may be regular operating funds special funds for general our specific purposes or loans state universities of course receive regular operating funds from their state legislature. However many other types of aid are available. Professor go with the new programs. The new legislation of the sixties. Other programs providing buildings and this is not particularly new There have been a lot of programmes research programmes which would be called defense related programs but in addition we're now getting into the idea of federal scholarships. We had federal loans a few years before. We've got into such things as teachers or graduate fellowships

for elementary and secondary school teachers and many many other programs and I think we're getting to the point where we will have flat grants to university rather than just for this purpose of that purpose. But we are not there yet. The study says I don't think you can say the state has any new specific programs. We do have a state scholarship program which was established after the passage of the adoption of the master plan in the state scholarship program that isn't just for our university it's for all universities including the private sector. The legislature has been been very generous with the University of Illinois but they have also been branching out into other areas and they now are very busy starting encouraging a junior college system. You know when I was pretty late in

establishing a junior college system but I was rapidly catching up will be too long I think before we find the entire state covered by junior colleges. This is where the state legislature has been putting its emphasis and expansion of these programs. The aid for universities has been welcome by most. However there are people who fear that increasing federal government aid and increasing federal contracts will result in federal control of universities. We asked Professor go for his opinion on this question. I think it's very clear that those areas mostly in the sciences physical sciences where there is money available research money available to people in these areas tend to undertake the research which the federal monies available and not much of this money until recently has been coming over to other

parts of the campus. There are a lot of our building. In the physical sciences have been built with federal programs under federal programs and so forth. We're beginning to find money available to build programs for the social sciences and humanities. So I think this has meant that the university from state money and from other money has to it has had to come out with additional money for these areas where the federal government has not been interested. But I haven't seen the federal government control as I evolved from. I think it has distorted some of our emphasis on our research programs but they have not gotten into anything such as suggesting you must have a course and in this subject or that subject they have as I say influenced on what type of research is

undertaken without going through a period right now as some of the money is being withdrawn and it's disrupting the whole university has some of the federal money for these research programs for example as you write where the Congress is not appropriate appropriating as much money for the space program. And so this means that those parts of the university which we're getting research money from the space program having to. Watch this spending a little more carefully. It has had an impact. Federal programs have had an impact. We would be completely dishonest if we said no. I don't think it is. Quite is disruptive as some people have said and I don't think it is greatly affected the curriculum and has certainly affected the research emphasis of a large university such as

ours. Many faculty members not only welcome government grants and contracts but compete for them through these contracts and they are able to finance their research and often they can find no other way to finance it. Grants and contracts may come from many of the military services. Well the Department of Health Education and Welfare the Department of Agriculture or any of several other departments in the federal government. So you call professor of mechanical engineering and head of the department of mechanical and industrial engineering at the University of Illinois I had these comments on federal grants. Well the federal grants undoubtedly have been a very great stimulus to our faculty members and to that extent I think it has been a very wonderful thing. The difficulty with that of course is the fact that each man has to practically you know work good on his own head and the advantage

has always been to the better and well established figures. Now the NSF has of course provided so-called research initiation grants that do assist the young faculty member in making the grade. In some states the major concern about outside control of the university centers around the state legislature rather than the federal government. Professor Gove had these comments on state control of the university. Returning to my point there is nothing in the Constitution and you know no I giving the University of Illinois a constitutional autonomy. This means that legislature could control every aspect of the university. But you know knowing what you know most of the state's legislature has not seen to tell us what type of paperclips we should buy you some of the other

very minor details. They have said the university can determine its own broad policies. This doesn't mean the university isn't subject to pressures of all types and some of it comes from the legislature. Some of it's outside pressure put on the legislature to effect. And the internal operations of the university. In some states the legislature because of pressures on the legislature have insisted that the university. Offer a coarseness but subject of that kind of ludicrous examples of this. We haven't had much of that going away but when there is unrest on campus when. Yes as sure as your space with students the legislature gets concerned about these

matters and probably properly so. But most of the pressure is is subtle it isn't done by formal action only occasionally does the legislature attempt to directly tell the university do something the university doesn't want to do. Is this relationship like lobbying. Yes it would almost be the reverse of our normal concept of lobbying with the legislature lobbying the university rather than a state agency such as the university lobby the the legislature. But we tend to think of everything in nice neat compartments when the legislature just making policy. You know the state agencies are just running the carrying out the laws and the judiciary just interpret it which goes on but into relationships very very complex and has a nice and neat and

when it comes to the university you were off to the side we aren't really a state agency of the normal type and the relationships are very complex very confused and counterpressure as in times of university trying to influence some decision legislature and other times the legislatures try trying to arm individual members or of trying to influence. The university and I guess I would come up with a non satisfactory conclusion to a very very complex relationship. Illinois is one of several states that has a law somewhat restricting the kinds of public speakers that may appear at the University of Illinois. We asked Professor go but this type of university control is typical. And this act you refer to it years passed in the 40s applied only to the University of Illinois. It does not apply to the other higher educational institutions in the state. It was done in the time when there was

popular sentiment for that type of legislation and it was has been on the books ever since. You songs States this type of legislation was is pretty common in years past quite regularly. This is not historically been the pattern you know no way. To hear it. I suppose it would conclude with the notion and varies from state to state to say certain climate for higher education. And it varies from state to state I don't understand. I'm trying to the climate you know and I my observation is it's quite good from the universities point of view this results and the legislature not you. Insisting on having day by day minute by minute control of the Internet operations and risking some states

would even get in and decide the legislature would decide through a line item budget we call line and budget how much a particular profession would be raised. This is not unknown these states would from the point of view of public administration would be considered quite back when the legislature should make that type of decision. This goes on and there are all kinds of speakers bands and all kinds of legislation. Professors would say in violation of the concept of academic freedom. If governments have certain controls over Multiversity days so multiverse cities exert barriers influences on governments Multiversity graduates become government employees Multiversity research may spark governmental programs in health education agriculture and a variety of other

fields. The resources a multiverse of days may influence the side of government research installations faculty and administrators may offer expert advice influencing government decisions. The relationships between governments and multiverse of days go two way. However these relationships are not perfect. I have faced criticisms particularly in some states in this light. We asked Professor go but he would like to see some changes in the relationships between multiverse of these and governments. Recently a new faculty committee here wrote a report on this subject. You might read a paragraph which I think is puts this relationship perspective. The report says because as I read uniqueness of function the university requires a status and a total complex of governmental activity. While it is imperative

that the universe to be properly interpreted to the legislature and to agencies of state government it is also imperative that the administration of the university play Faile with the legislature and agencies of the state and that the faculty of the university attempt to gain some appreciation of the responsibility which falls on the legislature to make decisions about the allocation of state resources and to protect the ongoing functions of the university. Despite the pressures which are placed upon it many undesirable proposals are resisted within the legislature and do not get a hearing. The legislature is oftentimes a first bark against the waves of public intolerance and narrow partisan issues. When this breaks down the university itself must be the Bowick. And this is when a status under law seems great mean ultimately. The university cannot be protected from the public because the public created it and the public can destroy it. The best protection is a public which the university helped educate to the

point where it does not wish to impair the freedom in the functioning of the university. I think this puts it very neatly that. Pointing out that the relationships are complex and the legislature can be a buffer but we've got to explain our eyes taste to the public generally and have people understand what a university is. The earth ignore. Laws grants and contracts. These are three of the many relationships between our federal and state governments and Multiversity relationships that may date back to the founding of our institutions of higher education. American Multiversity these are not isolated ESTA Titian's they never have been.

They are a part of our society and through our governmental bodies. We all have an influence over what's going on inside a multi-person e today. During the past half hour you heard the ninth program in a series about what's going on inside the Multiversity today next week at this time. We'll discuss the relationships between society and Multiversity Zhan what good is it. Your host for today's program was Denis Corrigan. The music was performed by the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Charles Delaney. The program was produced and directed by Louise Geissler is in the studios of WRAL the University of Illinois Broadcasting

Service. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.