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REFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION
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TRUMAN, HARRY S. Typed Letter Signed, as President, to Bishop G. Bromley
Oxnam, inviting him to serve on the Presidential Commission on Higher Education. 1
page, 4to,White House stationery; folds. (TFC)
Washington, 13 July 1946
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“
As veterans return to college by the hundreds of thousands, the institutions of higher education face a
period of trial which is taxing . . . to the utmost. The Federal Government is taking all practicable
steps to . . . assure that all qualified veterans desirous of continuing their education have the opportu-
nity to do so. . . .
“
It seems particularly important, therefore, that we should now re-examine our system of higher educa-
tion in terms of its objectives, methods, and facilities; and in the light of the social role it has to play.
“
. . . I have decided to appoint a Presidential Commission on Higher Education. . . .
“
Among the . . . questions with which I hope the Commission will concern itself are: ways and means
of expanding educational opportunities for all able young people; the adequacy of curricula, particularly
in the fields of international affairs and social understanding; the desirability of . . . technical institutes;
the . . . requirements for the rapid expansion of physical facilities. . . .”
Truman’s Presidential Commission on Higher Education, established on July 13, 1946, issued a
report the following year,
Higher Education for American Democracy
, recommending the found-
ing of “community colleges” across the country, and an increase in Federal scholarships and other
financial aid; the realization of these suggestions helped to make the G.I. Bill of 1944 the success it is
widely acknowledged to have been.