Tuesday. April 23, 1963 University Daily Kansan
Page 5
Wescoe Hits Harmful 'Myths'
By Roy Miller
Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe attacked what he called the "five modern myths of higher education" in a speech here last night.
Chancellor Wescoe, speaking at the Accountant's Day dinner in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union before more than 150 persons, said these "myths should be destroyed"
- "That universities are too big."
- "That state universities take them (high school graduates) all in and just as promptly flunk them all out."
- "That only an institution with highly selective admission policies can be a quality institution."
- "That we (institutions of higher education) cannot possibly support the continuing costs of higher education."
- "That TV (educational television) will solve all our problems."
"Mythology is not a thing of the past. Chancellor Wescoe said, "Mythology is still with us when it comes to the misconceptions about education."
The Chancellor, in attacking the first "myth," said persons who say universities are "too big" are unable to define what they mean by "too big."
The prime consideration in judging a university should be "what it has to offer . . . instead of its relative size," Dr. Wescoe said.
"THEERE IS NOTHING worse, in my opinion, than to be stuck in a small university." He said students in a small school do not enjoy as good a curriculum or staff of professors as do students in larger schools.
"The larger the institution, the more likely it is able to be fair to the student," Chancellor Wescoe said.
The Chancellor said that a "moderate-sized" school like KU provides diversity of opinion, and "It is such diversity that makes an educational program a good one."
One of every 18 freshmen entering this year was valedictorian of his high school class, and 88 per cent of these freshmen were in the top one-half of their high school class, he said.
THE CHANCELLOR said persons who say that state universities take high school graduates all in and just as promptly flunk them all out fail to realize the screening job performed by high school guidance counselors.
He quoted statistics which disclosed that fewer than six per cent of the present freshman class dropped out of KU at the end of the first semester.
"THE FACT IS, few for reason of academic failure are forced to leave the University of Kansas," Chancellor Wescoe said. "Our problem here is not to rid ourselves of students . . . but to give them the best educational experience."
Selective admission does not of itself make a high quality institution either, Dr. Wescoe said. "There is no test capable of selecting the motivation factor."
HOLIDAY—That is what you'll have in this Marina swimsuit, fashioned for flawless fit and perfect flattery. Sizes: 8-16. Colors: Coral, beige, black, blue, gold.
$815.95
The Chancellor made similar statements on selective admissions in a speech recently at Hays, Kan. and in the cover story of a nationally circulated education publication.
THE "OPEN DOOR policy" has not hindered KU's scholastic standing, the Chancellor said. In the last five years a record number of students have received Rhodes Scholarships, Woodrow Wilson Fellowships, and Danforth Fellowships.
Costs of higher education are not insurmountable, Dr. Wescoe said. Statistics show the college population doubles one of every 15 years.
He also mentioned one of every 95 of KU's engineering graduates in the last five years is in "Who's Who in America."
CHANCELLOR WESCOSE called this growth cycle a challenge instead of a problem. He said the challenge of increasing enrollments has been met at the primary and secondary levels of education and "we're ready to meet the challenge at the university level."
Dr. Wescoe, in referring to educational television, said educational television is a "tool and not the answer" to the problems of education.
He said his experience with 11 years of television in the field of medicine showed him two things:
- That a television monitor doesn't replace the classroom teacher.
- That programming is expensive.
The combination of the classroom teacher and good programming makes something that's great, he said. But "without these two, education has as much to offer as a 20-year-old western movie . . ."
"But sufficient numbers of such students cannot be attracted by graduate schools falling below high standards of excellence," he said.
Academically Costly Research Decried
KANSAS CITY - (UPI) - President James A. McCain of Kansas State University warned yesterday that research should not be promoted at the expense of the academic program.
"The graduate school is a case in point," McCain told the Kansas Chamber of Commerce convention. "Competent graduate assistants are indispensable to a thriving research program.
"Nothing could more completely thwart our objectives than to promote research at the expense of the academic program," he said.
"The universities must be firs rate in every respect."
LOOK Executive Here for Ad Day
A speech by a vice-president of LOOK magazine will highlight Advertising Day program Thursday.
Al Lockart, of Bruce B. Brewer Advertising Agency, Kansas City will speak at 9:30 Thursday morning on "Why Can't We Have Ads Like Acme."
A syndicated columnist for the Kansas City Star, Bill Vaughan, will speak at 10:30 on "The Better the Newspaperman the Worse the Speech."
Kansas City radio broadcaster, Gene Davis, of KMBC, will speak at 11:30 a.m. on "Modern Radio Promotion."
Following a 12:30 p.m. lunchon,
Les Suhler, vice-president of LOOK,
will speak of the "New Horizons in
Direct Mail Advertising."
Tomorrow Bob Kearns, sales manager for WIBW-TV in Topeka, will address a radio and television class at 2:30 in room 216. Flint Hall. Kearns' talk will be on "Radio and Television Advertising on the Local Level."
Mrs. Ruth Cerrone, vice-president and copywriter at Cunningham and Walsh Advertising Agency in New York, will also speak to classes tomorrow.
When You're In Doubt, Try It Out—Kansan Classified
"Tareyton's Dual Filter in duas partes divisa est!"
says Marius (The Profile) Lucullus, star actor of the Players Romani. "Gaudeamus," he declaims, "at long last here's a filter cigarette with flavor bono-de gustibus you never thought you'd get from any filter cigarette. Ave Tareyton!"
Dual Filter makes the difference
DUAL FILTER Tareyton