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Philip G. Hubbard educational partnerships, February 1967

Expanding Educational Horizons by Philip G. Hubbard Page 3

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the Union; others made posters, designed brochures, and broadcast programs over thee radio to gain support for the project. No amount of effort on the part of the older participants could have taken the place of the comradship and sincere concern for the visitors as human beings which was typical of the student volunteers. The student co-chairman was later elected President of the Iowa Student Body; another is not President of the Senior Class in the College of Liberal Arts, and others are in the honors program at the university. All of them are sources of pride for the rest of the university.

Much more could be said to demonstrate the commitment made by many members of the university community to help these two colleges. Some of their teachers are now working on advanced degrees at the university; five members of the university faculty traveled to Memphis in order to participate in a seminar with honors students at Le Moyne this fall; the Dean of Students, the Associate Director of the Iowa Memorial Union, and the Auditor of Student Accounts went to Memphis to advise Le Moyne with regard to progress in a new student union now under construction; the university choir will give concerts in Memphis and Holly Springs later this month; the President of the university, Dr. Howard Bowen, was appointed to the Board of Trustees at Le Moyne, and so on. An outside observer might view all of this activity and ask "Why?" Why is a great university with ten colleges, eighteen thousand students, and problems of its own paying so much attention to two tiny colleges six hundred miles away? How is this rejected to the educational objectives of the university?

In considering these questions, it must be remembered that the activity was not planned in advance, and  that it has been a volunteer effort from the very beginning. It was an indirect outgrowth of the intense civil rights activity which put the educational system of the South under a spotlight which exposed shocking weaknesses and demonstrated to many Northerners, for the first time, some of the reasons for the low level of education there. Thus, there were strong humanitarian motivations for the initial activity, an urgent desire to give a helping hand to those who were struggling against oppressive resistance and misunderstanding. In spite of the extracurricular nature of the enterprise, however, it is the general opinion of the university community that it rests on a sound educational base which benefits the Iowa participants as well as those in other colleges. 

Without any doubt, the weakest link in our national educational network is the Southern school system, especially that available to Negroes. This system is entwined in a vicious cycle of ill-prepared students being taught by ill-prepared teachers from sub-standard colleges. Millions of young people are denied a fair opportunity to develop their talents, and consequently contribute less than they might to the economy and to the culture of their local community, their state, and our nation. Those hardy volunteers at Iowa City who started with a busload of students have now been joined by an overwhelming majority of the university community in the conviction that they cannot use the university as an ivory tower, insulated from any involvement in a matter so crucial to education. 

In the swift current of modern life, one cannot wait to learn the outcome from history books, or even from current magazines. Many see an opportunity

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-3- the Union; others made posters, designed brochures, and broadcast programs over thee radio to gain support for the project. No amount of effort on the part of the older participants could have taken the place of the comradship and sincere concern for the visitors as human beings which was typical of the student volunteers. The student co-chairman was later elected President of the Iowa Student Body; another is not President of the Senior Class in the College of Liberal Arts, and others are in the honors program at the university. All of them are sources of pride for the rest of the university. Much more could be said to demonstrate the commitment made by many members of the university community to help these two colleges. Some of their teachers are now working on advanced degrees at the university; five members of the university faculty traveled to Memphis in order to participate in a seminar with honors students at Le Moyne this fall; the Dean of Students, the Associate Director of the Iowa Memorial Union, and the Auditor of Student Accounts went to Memphis to advise Le Moyne with regard to progress in a new student union now under construction; the university choir will give concerts in Memphis and Holly Springs later this month; the President of the university, Dr. Howard Bowen, was appointed to the Board of Trustees at Le Moyne, and so on. An outside observer might view all of this activity and ask "Why?" Why is a great university with ten colleges, eighteen thousand students, and problems of its own paying so much attention to two tiny colleges six hundred miles away? How is this rejected to the educational objectives of the university? In considering these questions, it must be remembered that the activity was not planned in advance, and that it has been a volunteer effort from the very beginning. It was an indirect outgrowth of the intense civil rights activity which put the educational system of the South under a spotlight which exposed shocking weaknesses and demonstrated to many Northerners, for the first time, some of the reasons for the low level of education there. Thus, there were strong humanitarian motivations for the initial activity, an urgent desire to give a helping hand to those who were struggling against oppressive resistance and misunderstanding. In spite of the extracurricular nature of the enterprise, however, it is the general opinion of the university community that it rests on a sound educational base which benefits the Iowa participants as well as those in other colleges. Without any doubt, the weakest link in our national educational network is the Southern school system, especially that available to Negroes. This system is entwined in a vicious cycle of ill-prepared students being taught by ill-prepared teachers from sub-standard colleges. Millions of young people are denied a fair opportunity to develop their talents, and consequently contribute less than they might to the economy and to the culture of their local community, their state, and our nation. Those hardy volunteers at Iowa City who started with a busload of students have now been joined by an overwhelming majority of the university community in the conviction that they cannot use the university as an ivory tower, insulated from any involvement in a matter so crucial to education. In the swift current of modern life, one cannot wait to learn the outcome from history books, or even from current magazines. Many see an opportunity