Conant Asks for More Scholarships and Greater Faculty to Keep High Standards

Stressing Harvard's responsibility as a National University, President Conant's first Annual Report to the Board of Overseers advocates a system of scholarships whereby this responsibility may be maintained and further advanced. In trying to keep the high intellectual standard which Harvard now holds the important thing about any system of scholarships is the "adequate choice from among the prospective candidates" the report says. "Even with our present funds it might be possible to conduct the interesting experiment of establishing in one area of this country (for example, in a portion of the Middle West) half a dozen thousand-dollar scholarships for entering Freshmen. A combination of school record, recommendations, special examinations, and personal interviews by competent judges should be tried in the endeavor to make a satisfactory choice."

For Limited Enrollment

Such is one method by which the cream of the crop would be admitted to Harvard. "If we could draw to the College and to our graduate schools several hundred of the most brilliant men throughout the country each year, we should be accomplishing much of importance for the future of the University." Pointing to the fact that this might mean an increase in enrollment, the President is quick to deny that he is at all interested in making the University any larger than it is at present. "It is certainly quality not quantity in which we are interested, and to this end we must give financial aid in larger amounts to more carefully selected men."

In order to reach this ultimate it is felt that it would be necessary to combine many of the smaller scholarships to provide a greater number of large fellowships, particularly in the College. Further in this direction would be a plan whereby "a considerable fraction" of the scholarships would be awarded for more than one year. "In the College, for example, some might be given for three years at the end of the first year and some for two at the completion of the Sophomore year."

Would Abolish Rank List

Realizing the present difficulty of men who are trying for scholarship aid, who are forced to "plan their work with the sole aim of obtaining the highest marks possible," the President feels that this method of awarding scholarships would "tend to diminish greatly the emphasis placed on grades obtained in courses. In this same direction the Report reveals that it might be a wise step forward to abolish the rank list itself for the upper classes. Modification such as this would of course be more in line with the shift of emphasis away from course grades and towards the development of the general examination and tutorial system the President feels.

Would Increase Tutors

Feeling that the tutorial work at present is carried on by a young, and, in part, at least, necessarily inexperienced group of men, the Report advocates that the list of tutors be spread to include a larger fraction of the entire staff of the departments, "including the older, more experienced professors."

For the senior who is writing his honors thesis the present system is felt to be advisable with the exception of the course requirements, which it is felt might well be cut down together with a greater elimination of course examinations. To this end Mr. Conant feels that "we should proceed further along the line of differentiating the methods of instruction and the degree-requirements according to the capacity of the student, giving the brilliant man as much freedom as possible."

Faculty of Scholars and Teachers

In this connection the President feels that the final solution must not in any way interfere "with the aim of having the Faculty of Arts and Sciences the most distinguished body of creative scholars which it is possible to obtain. Excellent tutoring, like excellent lecturing, should be given great weight in considering a young man for promotion, but by itself it should not be sufficient to insure a permanent career at Harvard." There must be no separation of "our faculty into those who teach and those who carry on creative work. Our strength in the past has lain in the fact that the spirit of scholarship has pervaded our teaching and our scholars have seen the importance of perpetuating the ideals of scholarship as well as advancing knowledge in their own specialty." In the past Harvard has enjoyed a central position both geographically and intellectually. We still hold the latter, but it is the former that we have lost. The task of getting the best men to the University in the past has been an easy one, in the future we will be faced with a more difficult job. Harvard must attract to it the best men in all lines of education, research and teaching. "If we fail in this regard, there are no educational panaceas which will restore Harvard to its position of leadership.