President Conant Announces New Plan For Educating Government's Officials

After pointing out the increasing responsibility of American universities in educating men who are capable of becoming government officials, President Conant outlined Harvard's activities in that direction to the Economic Club of New York on Monday evening.

"As I see it, the educational problem divides itself into many parts. The first is to provide the technical man who may enter government service with a proper understanding of the fundamentals of economics and government so that he may have the necessary background to understand the social and political implications of his governmental work.

"We must develop special orientation seminars in government, economics and allied subjects for men as mature as our graduate students so that the technical man, when he enters a government position, will be ready for the social responsibility that he may soon encounter.

"The other half of the problem is to develop certain new programs within the social sciences,-programs of graduate work which will cover a somewhat broader field than has been usual in the past and provide a training for the many non-technical positions in governmental service.

"The Department of Government, in cooperation with the departments of History, Economics and Sociology and the Law School, is inaugurating a three-year program of graduate study for a small group of carefully selected men. The second year of this work will be in the nature of a public service internship. Through a cooperating committee it is hoped that the student may be placed in a position in governmental work or in certain types of private enterprise where he will get practical experience. During this year he will also be in touch with the University and then return for a final year of work which will knit together his study and experience.

"In certain cases, however, we propose to provide special work in the social sciences for our technical men and we propose further to create certain new avenues, through the social sciences themselves, which will be particularly directed towards governmental work.

"Finally, this new departure at Harvard promises to bring a much needed force of integration into the whole field of graduate instruction. Here is one practical method by which the coordination which is so sorely needed can be accomplished. From such coordination and integration of the separate fields of the social sciences and of the applied natural sciences we may hope to accomplish much for the good of the nation."