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RILEEH, ca. 1966

""Equal Educational Opportunities"" by Corinne Janssens Page 12

committee to investigate and define in cooperation with the Negro colleges' staffs, the needs and goals of the two institutions.
U of I Participation Activated
In November, members of the commitee -headed by Dean Donald Rhoades, and including Dean Willard Boyd, University Secretary Leonard Breka, and Professor john Huntley, James Dickinso, and H. Bradley Sagen - spent five days at the colleges. Their findings so strongly pointed up the drastic need for help that in January, RILEEH - Rust, Iowa, and Le-Moyne for Expading Educational Horizons - was founded to continue the work of the ad hoc committee in exploring the areas of need more fully, explaining these areas to the U of I community for the two-fold purpose of raising funds and securing the professional help of students, faculty, and staff, and drawing up proposals to gain HEA financing (a goal which may be realized in June).
As a first step in the program designed by Professor Eugene Spaziani and his steering committee, Dean Phillip Hubbard and five University students visited Rust and LeMoyne in February to become acquainted with students and faculty, and to determine the areas in which immediate service might be rendered.
Present plans call for the visit to be followed by a speaking program designed to acquaint the U of I community with RILEEH and to enlist volunteers to serve as temporary advisers, hosts to Southern guests, and as exchange students and faculty beginning this month. In addition, a fund drive to raise $10,000 is planned for May and, as the first step in a continuous cultural exchange, the Rust College Choir will perform at the University, and for other audiences this spring.
RILEEH is but the latest of a long line of U of I projects to help turn human potential into a productive reality. Some of the previous projects undertaken by U of I faculty, staff, and students include the Mississippi Support Program food, clothing, and toy drive in 1964-65, the student exchange last summer which brought students from Rust College to the U of I campus, and the book and bail fund collections.
The need for such programs is especially evident at Rust. Founded in 1866 by the Freedman's Bureau, Rust has always been a stubborn defender of the Negro's right to a higher education. However, in 1959, as a result of inadequate financial resources needed to maintain a strong faculty and proper facilities. Rust lost its accreditation. In the intervening years, largely through the support of the Northern Methodist Conference, the College has been striving desperately to regain its standing by seeking opportunities - such as those provided by RILEEH - through which its faculty members can continue their education, the physical plant can be expanded, and the instructional programs and materials updated.
The odds faced by Rust in its continuing effort to provide  equal educational opportunities to its students have been great.
Situated in the heart of one of the poorest regions in Mississippi, and serving a resident student body which has never had the advantages of a well-developed primary and secondary education-or the social and economic opportunities available to their con-

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committee to investigate and define in cooperation with the Negro colleges' staffs, the needs and goals of the two institutions. U of I Participation Activated In November, members of the commitee -headed by Dean Donald Rhoades, and including Dean Willard Boyd, University Secretary Leonard Breka, and Professor john Huntley, James Dickinso, and H. Bradley Sagen - spent five days at the colleges. Their findings so strongly pointed up the drastic need for help that in January, RILEEH - Rust, Iowa, and Le-Moyne for Expading Educational Horizons - was founded to continue the work of the ad hoc committee in exploring the areas of need more fully, explaining these areas to the U of I community for the two-fold purpose of raising funds and securing the professional help of students, faculty, and staff, and drawing up proposals to gain HEA financing (a goal which may be realized in June). As a first step in the program designed by Professor Eugene Spaziani and his steering committee, Dean Phillip Hubbard and five University students visited Rust and LeMoyne in February to become acquainted with students and faculty, and to determine the areas in which immediate service might be rendered. Present plans call for the visit to be followed by a speaking program designed to acquaint the U of I community with RILEEH and to enlist volunteers to serve as temporary advisers, hosts to Southern guests, and as exchange students and faculty beginning this month. In addition, a fund drive to raise $10,000 is planned for May and, as the first step in a continuous cultural exchange, the Rust College Choir will perform at the University, and for other audiences this spring. RILEEH is but the latest of a long line of U of I projects to help turn human potential into a productive reality. Some of the previous projects undertaken by U of I faculty, staff, and students include the Mississippi Support Program food, clothing, and toy drive in 1964-65, the student exchange last summer which brought students from Rust College to the U of I campus, and the book and bail fund collections. The need for such programs is especially evident at Rust. Founded in 1866 by the Freedman's Bureau, Rust has always been a stubborn defender of the Negro's right to a higher education. However, in 1959, as a result of inadequate financial resources needed to maintain a strong faculty and proper facilities. Rust lost its accreditation. In the intervening years, largely through the support of the Northern Methodist Conference, the College has been striving desperately to regain its standing by seeking opportunities - such as those provided by RILEEH - through which its faculty members can continue their education, the physical plant can be expanded, and the instructional programs and materials updated. The odds faced by Rust in its continuing effort to provide equal educational opportunities to its students have been great. Situated in the heart of one of the poorest regions in Mississippi, and serving a resident student body which has never had the advantages of a well-developed primary and secondary education-or the social and economic opportunities available to their con-