McElroy Asks Conference on College Needs

The Administration is seriously considering a national conference on higher education, according to Marion B. Folsom, Secretary of Health Education and Welfare.

Neil McElroy, chairman of the White House Conference on Education, said that he favors the proposal, and that his committee would discuss, on Jan. 16, recommending a conference on higher education. President Eisenhower in expected to follow the committee's recommendation.

The proposed conference would probably draw representatives at the state level, rather than from local or institutional groups, McElroy predicted. He headed the recent conference on secondary and primary school education.

"A large part of tomorrow's problem will have to be solved on a state level," he said, "for I do not know anyone who thinks private institutions can finance a doubled enrollment."

Francis Keppel '38, Dean of the School of Education, last night agreed with McElroy that the primary emphasis would fall on the state institutions. The proposed conference would, however, also help clarify and place perspective the problems of private education, he added.

Although the recent conference recommended limited Federal aid, Keppel was skeptical about the possibility of increased direct federal aid to higher education.