LAURENCE M. GOULD 



the undergraduate and graduate students. In the liberal arts 

 college the instructor's concern is focused entirely on the under- 

 graduate at a time in his development when basic decisions 

 concerning a career must be made. 



Another general reaction was that competent scholars in 

 the liberal arts college are more apt to be able to consider prob- 

 lems simply because they interest them than might be true in a 

 larger, more complex university or research institution. Even 

 though they work in laboratories which are often small and 

 ill-equipped, a recurring observation was that the individual has 

 much more room to move about. A further general observation 

 was that research in the liberal arts college was much more 

 likely to develop along the lines of pure research, or stated 

 differently, the avenues for pure research are much wider than 

 those for applied research. In general, small liberal arts colleges 

 do not have the resources to undertake applied research to any 

 large extent. In none of the responses to my questions did I 

 receive any comment about the place of applied research in 

 liberal arts colleges. 



Most of my informants believe that we could improve our 

 programs to give better opportunities to students who promise to 

 have the capacities for careers in basic research. Whereas a 

 goodly number find it easy and desirable to carry on some 

 modest research programs on the part of students during the 

 academic year, the bulk of my informants believe that much 

 more attention should be given to the utilization of young 

 scholars in summer programs. This is easier in liberal arts 

 colleges, which for the most part do not demand the time of 

 their staff for summer teaching. During the coming summer 

 (1959) at Carleton College, twenty students in biology, chem- 

 istry, and mathematics will be carrying out research projects 

 worthy of the name, in close cooperation with members of our 

 staff. 



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