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This is the first time in many years
that the back cover of the ROCHESTER
REVIEW has been devoted to a news
story rather than a photograph. This
news is of sufficient importance to merit
mch a position/ what makes it impottant
is not the size of the grants) but
tather the phitoso phy of education il1Zplicit
in the purposes fOt which they
were given to this University.
Two Foundations Recognize DR Leadership
THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT of two significant foundation
grants underscores the fact that the University
holds a prominent position among the nation's leading
educational institutions. In April the United States Steel
Foundation named Rochester one of four private universities
selected this year to receive a $100,000 grant under
the Foundation's Leadership-Institution Aid Plan; a few
days later the Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded
the University a $100,000 grant for its Non-Western Civilizations
Program.
According to the United I States Steel Foundation announcement,
the Leadership-Institution Aid Plan provides
financial support for "selected outstanding institutions'" in
view of "the unprecedented necessity that exists today in
America for the relentless pursuit of excellence, the maintenance
of freedom, and the stimulation of creativity and
intellectual vitality."
The Carnegie grant testifies to the University's leadership
in the study of non-Western civilizations. This lead- '
ership dates back to an article by President Cornelis W .
de Kiewiet entitled "Let's Globalize Our Universities,"
which appeared in The Saturday R eview in September,
1953. In the article Dr. de Kiewiet termed the predominant
concern of American higher education with the his-
tory and influence of Western Europe "dangerously out
of date" and urged colleges and universities to provide
basic undergraduate instruction leading to a greater understanding
of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Dr. de Kiewiet's proposal was put into action by the
University in 1954 with the establishment of the Non­
Western Civilizations Program headed by Dr. Vera
Micheles D ean of the Foreign Policy Association. Since
then 24 faculty members have taught in the interdepartmental
program which has enrolled some 250 students in
the introductory course and many others in advanced
courses. The University also has sponsored public lectures,
special courses for secondary school teachers and others in
the community, a television series, and a conference on
W odd Awareness.
Beyond the campus the impact of Dr. de Kiewiet's
original article has been reflected in curriculum changes
at other colleges, and the Program's influence has been
extended both by Dr. Dean's visits to colleges throughout
the country and by publication of her book based on the
Program's introductory course. This book, on which other
members of the Program collaborated, is widely used in
colleges and secondary schools.