Buck Picks Group To Study Coming Surplus in Ph.D.s

Provost Buck yesterday announced the formation of a special Faculty Committee to study ways to beat an impending surplus of Ph.D.s.

Certain departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and of other graduates schools are "over-producing" advanced degree holders who want college teaching jobs, the Provost stated.

As a result, Ph.D.s fresh out of the Graduate School may find good jobs extremely scarce in four of five years, Provost Buck warned.

Three-Man Committee

To prepare for the coming squeeze, the Provost named three men to the new committee. They are Dean Rogers of the Graduate School; John W. Teele, director of Student Placement; and Roger W. Hickman, assistant to the Provost.

The group is expected to give special attention to the three aspects of the problem:

1. Expanding facilities not only for new Ph.D.s, but also for non-permanent appointees--Harvard instructors and assistant professors--who wish to teach at other universities.

2. Establishing the demand for teachers in various fields.

3. Recommending ways to cut down the large number of graduate students entering fields already well-manned.

History is one example of a field which may see surpluses soon, the Provost said. On the other hand, Physics can probably absorb many more students that it now has.

The new committee will urge certain remedies for various departments, but the Provost emphasized that these departments will make the actual decisions governing their own fields.