At Industry's Door

The brightest financial hope of the nation's colleges seems to be American industries. Frightened by the spectre of the control that is an inevitable companion to federal aid, colleges are now knocking on industry's door with a new idea: fund raising cooperatives. And while this plan may work well for small liberal arts colleges, it is not the solution for Harvard and other large universities.

Two hundred colleges in 20 states have formed these cooperatives, usually in groups of about ten institutions in the same area. The cooperative solicits funds--restricted and unrestricted--from industry and the money is then distributed equitably among the members. Since the money is funnelled through the cooperative, no stockholder can complain that his firm is pampering one particular college.

Donating corporations get double benefit from the plan. In the short run, their gift can come out of tax money, as long as it is less than five per cent of their total income. And in the longer run, better colleges cannot fail to turn out better captains of tomorrow's industries. If a dollar given to a college today can produce a string of executives in ten years, the investment is worth while. Under this idea, even the money-starved field of the humanities should get funds, if what it teaches adds to the future executive's ability.

Beneficial as such a plan may be, it is not for Harvard. The University is essentially a cooperative within itself; any unrestricted gifts it gets are proportioned out to whatever department the corporation deems needy. Moreover, the Corporation does not want any funds earmarked for specific projects. With little to gain, then, the University's presence in such a cooperative fund would in essence be merely a drawing card and a help to her less fortunate sister colleges.