- We have available to us this year the results of the most complete survey of education ever prepared in this state, a survey, it is to be noted, carried out by experts from outside state who were able to assess our situation dispassionately. I commend the reading of thus survey to all of you. If the five major volumes of material are too lengthy, may I recommend at least the summary volume, notable for its brevity. The survey indicates in clear and unmistakable terms, that we are confronted with a rapidly developing situation. It can be the beginning of an era that will be tremendously rewarding to the young people of Kansas, and to the state, but it will require, as the survey reminds us, the energy and concern of all Kansas citizens. It is, however, not an unprecedented situation. It is rather a situation that Kansans have faced before. Between 1905 and 1955, college enrollment in Kansas increased on the average. We have available to us this year the results of the most complete survey of education ever prepared in this state, a survey, it is to be noted, carried out by experts from outside the state, who were able to assess our situation dispassionately. I commend the reading of this survey to all of you. If the five major volumes of material are too lengthy, may I recommend at least the summary volume, notable for its brevity. The survey indicates in clear and unmistakable terms we are confronted with a rapidly developing situation. A student population explosion is upon us. We see the signs of it today in a freshman enrollment 25% greater than last year, and we are not in a position to meet it. The survey points out that the University of Kansas will require more classrooms in 1962. We'll run out of laboratory space in 1963. This, in spite of an efficiency in the use of facilities, that ranks the university in the 94th percentile in a nationwide comparison, in which the 80th percentile is looked upon as excellent management. In the past five years, the university has made a massive attack upon the problem of student housing. Spaces for nearly 2000 additional single students and 240 married students have been constructed, largely through private gifts and federal loans. Today, all these are filled to capacity, and we have been forced to use a World War II barrack that we had hoped to abandon. Two years must elapse before we can add another residence hall unit, and this, I remind you, is only the beginning. It can be the beginning of an era that will be tremendously rewarding to the young people of Kansas and to the state, but it will require, as the survey reminds us, the energy and concern of all Kansas citizens. It is, however, not an unprecedented situation. It is, rather, a situation that Kansans have faced before. Between 1905 and 1955, college enrollment in Kansas increased on the average of 370% every 15 years. Our present situation is different only in magnitude. What we build now must serve for the new generation, and for that generation to build upon for its future. We must plan not merely for one tomorrow, but for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Perhaps it is time for us to stop talking about our problems and do something about them. This is the time for all of us to be about the work at hand. I accept the responsibility which which you have entrusted me. I expect to expend all my energy, all my enthusiasm, and all my devotion to the task. With the thoughtful support of everyone here assembled, of those within and beyond the reach of my voice, students, faculty, alumni, regents, citizens, and friends, I have no doubt of the outcome. I am filled with unbounded optimism. We will win our battles because our cause is greater than ourselves, because we will not draw back from the sacrifices that will be required of us to continue our creative advance. Let us begin.