12 SEA GRANT COLLEGES 



It is being proposed that the Federal Government and the Nation's 

 colleges and universities enter into an alliance for exploring and har- 

 vesting the seas. This effort would be financed with 10 percent of the 

 funds received by the Federal Government from the lease of lands on 

 the Continental Shelf. 



An official of the U.S. Interior Department has said that $17 million 

 a year could be expected as the 10-percent share from leases granted 

 primarily for the extraction of oil, gas, and sulfur from the underwater 

 property. What can the Nation expect by the way of return from the 

 Goverimient's investment in this partnership ? There are two ways to 

 answer this question. You can begin by examining partnerships of 

 a similar nature which are already in existence. In looking around 

 for parallel situations, it is inevitable that we focus our attention, at 

 least briefly, on the land grant colleges and miiversities. 



Here we have a vigorous eductional system founded on the principles 

 of public service, education for "the industrial classes," and research. 

 In the case of research, a wise balance was struck between projects of 

 an applied nature, where a short-term benefit or economic gain has 

 been the goal, and investigation of a long-range nature, where the 

 object has been to advance man's basic knowledge of life processes. 



At the time of their establishment, the land grant colleges repre- 

 sented a sharp break with educational tradition and the prevailing 

 views about classical education imported from Europe. The land 

 grant concept is distinctly American in character. It incorporates 

 the democratic ideals of the frontier and of our pioneer forefathers — 

 the idea that each man should progress in accordance with his abilities, 

 and the idea that almost any problem can be solved, given the proper 

 tools, time, and knowledge. Parenthetically, it is interesting to note 

 that many of today's emerging nations are looking toward the Ameri- 

 can land-grant system for guidance in framing their owm programs of 

 higher education. 



If we examine the record, the optimism of Senator Morrill and Jona- 

 than B. Turner was not unfounded. 



Today, although the land grant colleges comprise only 5 percent of 

 all the colleges and univereities in the United States, they enroll one- 

 fifth of the students and conduct the world's largest off-campus edu- 

 cational programs. Research centers at land grant institutions came 

 up with such scientific achievements as hybrid corn and streptomycin. 



The unparalleled efficiencies achieved in agriculture have given this 

 Nation a surplus of food and fiber. But even more important, these 

 efficiencies released a surplus of people from the farm so they could 

 contribute elsewhere to our industrial and economic growth. For in- 

 stance, it has been estimated that if output per man-hour had remained 

 the same in the last half century, we would need to employ over 29 mil- 

 lion persons today in agriculture. Actual employment in the field of 

 agriculture is less than 7 million persons. 



This then is the educational pattern followed under the land grant 

 legislation which the National Manpower Council has called the most 

 important single Government step in connection with the training of 

 scientific and professional personnel. 



A variation of this formula came into being — more as a matter of 

 necessity than anvthing else — during and after World War II. The 

 Government mobilized the scientific know-how of the universities, first 

 to help win the war, and secondly to assist in solving the problems of 



