Concerning an Integral Development Plan for the University of Puerto Rico (1976)

n- ': '^•^' 7-SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO RIO PIEDRAS CAMPUS

concerning an

integral deveiopment pian fior the

university of puerto rico

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i MILLARD W. HANSiN

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SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CENTER FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES UMIVERSITY OF FUERTO RICO RIO PIEDRAS CAMPUS

Coneerning an Integral Developnent Plan £or Ule Uttiverslty o£ Puerto Rico

by

Millard W. Raneen

November 1976

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Introduction

1; The'íollowi'ttg papets^ writceii Sáaali'

• mak«»>

ter- Mlsaions .of a. Uni,veraitv-In a

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ortaooflairs^ ra 1 P.vawt; to'añy dAtegcal deve.3.-pp!itent-p£latt*

The flrst proposes the establishoent at the; Río .Piedras .caiDpttS....:o£ía <g.rad|tai:;f

facuí^. The: seccmd-propbses; motre ¿ttention to. the' purposea pí. ithe .tmi-* ve^ralt}^ aatabÍished:dA :the hásic statiités:.o£ ;1903,. 1942-, attd 196,6.. í f; ■ í'^ yéarsifagb.-^the Councll ion Hlghet Educatlon dlrect.exl a-lial£. pn; thje, escab'IlBhment' ó£ ahy giiaduate- program .until a Poherent plaa'£op.the runiversi-

tyi syatn» had beea iDade;f (Certtlicatioo, fihimber 40,. 21 October 19743i/vlben ■ ■

the Couttcil directed the imlveraity iPresldeat ;to submlt to It a plan £pr tba intégral.:deveilopin^t o£ the uniyersltjr. i (Certlflcation Mumber. 42, 12 vembetf ^l974> :This has not been dohe.

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-- <.-;■''^r^é.Onlversi'ty• is a huge,..sprawldng nonglemeration of'.unlta with. yery . lítele planñlng'^ifor the aáslgnments'Of- staff,-. .students,: and resoprcea.-

Maibd liniverslCiés-are at Río Pledrars.and Mayaguet. Hie mediealsfaeuitles are ae SaB: Jñan.> Universlty Cílleges are at Cayey ánd Humacao.. A nuiñber.. . o£ two-ryeár 'regional >collegea -haye been establiahed in Various- citleav- A - ■

budget ofi $171 million must be distrlbuted «Ithin this system. : lliere are no "adequate'.criteria for good - judgments as to.^proper abares. l:o be assigned .to these units, faculties, student bodles, and their research and curricula. .

The crucial: determinatlon.£0 be oade is the articulatipn .o£,the-.inajor

univéxsity at RÍO Piedras with.the university colleges-and the regional. , colleges.

.For more than ten-iyears, chancellors at Río iPiedras have ad-

vocated more emphasi8-;on upper división instructlon, gradúate .instructlon^ and research, leaving for the regional and:. university colleges morere*

sponaibll-ity fOr undergradúate and.especia.lly lower división instruction.

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But the £^dvqcac;^ has. not

follpwed by plans for this development. .R^

Piedras,cQnblnues year after year

^ pprawling instltutlon w^h Inadequa^

gradúate iristíuction and research.

Jhe .uhlverslty President. and the Rio Piedras Chancellor }are xesponsl-.. ble to the Co|pncll on Hlgher Educatlon for a plan for integral developtnent and, as .part,of it, a plan for gradúate.study and research at Rio-Piedras.

The baslc statutes of 1903, 1942, and 1966 speclfy the development. pf

a unlverslty wlth adequate researph, gradúate and professlunal Instructlon,' and arts and sclence instructlon.. Other unlverslty purposes should eot

frústrate achlevement of these mlsslons asslgned by publlc authprlty.. asslgnment of unlverslty funda for remedl.al baslc study by students from low Income famllles not capable pf standard unlvuirslty curricula frustrares

the speclflcatlons of the publlc authorlty. Provincial standards of per'< formance In research and gradúate Instructlon frustate achlevement of the

klnd of unlverslty speclfled In the baslc statutes. Tlie use of unlverslty resources for Individual purposes such as youthful Identlty. searches,

pleasure wlth one's peers, polltlcal adventures, and looklng for husbands

and w^yes frustrates .the development of the unlverslty needed by the people of Puerto Rico.

Rstabllshment- of a strong. gradúate faculty at Río Piedras yould be a

long step towards the klnd of unlverslty speclfled by the baslc statutes.

Only a considerable concentration of those members of. the faculty capable

of research and gradúate Instructlon at world p.erfprmance leyels can trans' form the sprawllng Instltutlon at Río Piedras. Into the peak of the uní»" versiiy system which it alone can become.

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A similar conoiMitration of ¡the

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best gradúate students is equally essentlal. The dispersión o£ these hlghly cnnpetent faculty and students among mediocre masses o£ professors and stu~ dents 8tunta their performance*

A plan for the integral development o£ the university is long overdue* The shift at Rfo Piedras away £rom undergraduate and especially lower di visión instruction towards upper división and gradúate instruction and re-

search, so long advocated by its chancellors, is long overdue. Itiese papera are relevant to these long dormant questions.

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The gradúate faculty

Xhá OnlWrsltyK'lac'kiiig an'ihdlspensablé-gradúate'facttlty^ can** : not achieve its propér, .•fiecéssary, and. legal obligation'ai'. The gradf uate faculty should have béen established 20' years agOj. vhen it -waa . '

strongly récótaménded by the late Frank Bowles and others. ■. Xnstead,

howeveri thé Uhlvérslty of Tuertó Tico/Rio Piedras .expand/e!d lits undergraduate progrhms. and faculty even while-ui^ergraduate Instructlpn . in regional colléges álsd expanded.

-24 departments now offer pror :

grams'íox the mastet^s degree in Río Piedras.

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In 1973., .512 such.de--

grees were granted - 15% as many as the 3400 bachelor's degrees also-^-

granted. i^Renort of the chancéllor. 1973, p; 45)

But in 1973, only

7 Ph. D. degrées were grantéd;'-'

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The proper,- necessáry, ahd legal obligation of.the university. v is often stated and almost nuver disputed.

The .master of .Clare Gol- ,

lege¡- Cambridge Univérsity, Sir Eric Ashby, for example, in the first study made for the Gaínegie. Cbtnnidsion on Highér EducatiLon stated .

that it was colinnited **to the preseryation, transmission, or extensión of knowledge by rational thonght - «hether to ac<tuire a professional.,-

sklll or fór lOye Of learnittg."

(Ashby, 1971, p. 29)'

Thia learning

and professional préparatlon provides "the thin stream of Intelleotual

axcellence on whleh society.' depands' for innovation, for wlse Judgroent in unforseen crises-, for managea^nt-of ihlghly cpmplex systeita."' :.

(Ibid, p. 3.1) , The' few cotapetenf-for'this learning and. for ..thls contribOítlon can'oniy gain this efirsantial tearning in a good univérsity|.s gradúate schopl and professional schools.

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Walter Lippman in 1971 concluded his lectura on the university

and the Éuman tic/ndition í»íth the 'propositibn-^that ttíe uiHversl'ty-'wab'-

the last'¿nd-pessibly the-oniy ln8titutloa- cbinpeteñt''"to usé -^own'-

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and reasbrihble •próceduré8:^o "state the'truth as* úéll;'ks Ití'c&n bé'

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stated at-e -gíVen t:itBé 'ahd -'placé." He apoké' at thie Centfet-fbr "the

Study oi Déiñbbxatlfc "Iñstitü'éíbtos at Saiíta BarbkraV Cáliforhiki Utíder ' - ^ ' the chairáahkfaiíx áf Robar M; ílútchinís,'formerly Chahcellor' oiÉ' THe '

University of Chicago, ^nsen, 1975, Missibns. p. 19) He =wás =di4fe' •

of the most' ádept ^hitikers of his time, speáking at* che of the ceñtkrs of world intellectual'work.

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José Ortegk y Gasset ¿brty yeárs earlier, "upon cicmsideriiig the

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mission of the university in Spain, stated that it'áhould "tr«ismit

culture,'ééach candidates for the profeasions, engage in ácienti'fic: research,' and edúcate new members o¿ the sciéntific community."

(Ibid.-, p. 19) Beyond ¿fhis 'missionj he wrote, "Hay que hace'r'del h<KD*' bre medioj krite todd ufl'"hombrá cul'to,- situarlo a ík* altura de" íos ••

tiempds."' (Ibid, p. 19) Sixéy yeafs* ago, Ürtega was atbácked by Unamuno for piféferring Eufope to Sapin, and he replied thát his > fascinatlcn fot Europk was permanent ánd that in'the*wbrd Europa

"comiétizáñ'y acabán {iáfá'mí todos ios dblorés de España.*' ..-(Ibid,;,

p. 20)" Julián Marías" in our géhératibn continúes the' advOc'acy of • many of Ortegk's idéas and liké Akhby, Lippmann, and Ortega'assign"^- -■

to the tthiver'sity the miasión oiE "Máintaining, iñcreásing» criti-

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cizingí' and áis'seminating' thé best si'aténients of'-whkt is-.tíue' knd-whát' is false which can presently be made."'

(Ibid. j p.'20)

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gSofesgor^Oaws, a njuch youngec aian, participating in the eatr. . t tensiva .lnquiry¡ about higher educatlon pubiished in 1974 and-,1975 ...

by the íAmerlcaa .Acadetny ,o£ Ar.ts and Sciences, not only relteratas

the acceptedi standard proposltion about the university but also notes therharmful intrusión ¡of other^ improper missions .into the

university agenda« líe defined the university tnission "as preservar ., tion, increaae^v .and connpunicatlon o£ the peak of human knowledge,. not intermediate products and not providing remedies for inequali-. ties pf whatever sort." (Ibid., p, 38)

IJniyerslty .administrators in Puerto Ricp accept this central proposition about the university mission.

The first Commissioner of

Education, Samuel M. Lindsay, proposed the establishment of "a uni versity like the,.great universities of Europe and the United States."

(Ibidt p. 50) In 1942) Governor Rexford G.-.Tugwell, only .the previous year Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico, stated the necessity of raising the university to the intellectual level at

which it could perform its necessary work. (Ibid., p. 85): In the same year, I942j the Legislativa Assembly reorganized the universi

ty to enable it to achieve "its. obligation ,tp serve The People of Puerto Rico:

To impart higher learning;

Tp .make scientific research in the various fields of learning; To study the fundamental problema of Puerto Rico."

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(Hansen, 1975. Missions p..lQQ).

. .. Jaime Benítez was .appointed university chancellor under the

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reorganlzatióti'óf the statü't'é of 1942¿

Iti 1960, 18 yéAts'áfter the

statute for-the- new üniversit^'becamé-' law. Chancellor'^'Betiítab de-'

plored- the'adihi'ssion o£ tstudencs withoüt thé ñecé'daary mihiáura o£ ■ knowIedge!and:

He'-depldred the consequence:-'.t-"an.:impbrtant

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part o£ the uttiveísity'próg*aní is and perforce-inust< bei|femedíaI in-

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characCéí-and beíow óollégiace-natüte."^ (Ibldv. p.- 69)

Ob 24 September- 1974, -a £ew ihonthá a£te3:''hls-ap|>ó'lntinefl-t as

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Chancellór o£'the UniVérsity cf Püerto Rico/Río • Piédtas,- Ismael Rb-

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dríguez Bou reportad to a general meetine óf the Claustro.' -The ré-'

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port o£ thé study group'concerned' wlth"gradúate rstudies,\pteéentéd at thié meéting, begins'as £ollows:'' '"Principios Generales

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-Conviéne adelantar' las siguientes advertencias,' a manera de principios prácticos para que orienten er desárrollo de los'estudios gradeados-en lá' ! , Universidad de Puerto Rico:

1. Los estudios graduados deben responder a dos -necesidades complémentariási Pot un'ladb, 'Ibs' requisitos de crecimiento Intelectual y cultural

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de'lá'Universidad inisma, en términos de diversidad y de conquista creciente de las £ronteras del sabet. En ese séhtldo son ésénclal'es al crecimiento

propiamente universitario. Pero por el otro lado, deben tesponder á la nécésidád de la'comühlbad

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circundante, en sus exigencias de líderes, de expertos, de Investigadores y de agentes de producción y de Innovación sociales, al máximo nivel de destrezas obtenibles."-

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One percelves the reit^atlon o£ authorltles b£ thls cg^ury In many ■ .:*í

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places - Ashby, Llppmann, Ortega, Marías, Caws, Llndsay, Tügwell, and • ■ ■ ■■

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Bedltez. The ünlversíty must -provlde scholarshlp, research, and Instructlon-at-thé peák level 'of dür cívil'izatlon - nbtiJat intercedíate

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or lower levels.

By now it is clear that this principal misslon o£

the university can be achleved only in the gradúate faculty.

The Council on Higher Education, it seems evident, has decided

that the necessity o£ a gradúate £aculty o£ soné kind can no longer be postponed.

On 21 October 1974 in Certificación ndmero 40. the

Council prescribed a halt on the establishnent o£ any gradúate progran until a coherent plan had been nade.

On 12 Novenber 1974, in

Certificación núnero 42. th.3 uouncil prescribed that the university

president {Repare the plan £or the integral developnent o£ the uni.

versity and-í Subnit it to the Council not later- than 30 June 1975. . i. ! . •

Sincer 1903, the University ¡pf Puerto Rico has grown inte a huge institution.supported by over $100 niliion, about 10% o£ the rever

nues of the Free Associated State of.Puerto Rico. It has repeatedly

been¡adyised to undertake the proper, necessary, and legal function o£ such an institution - the preservation, criticisn, disseninatlon, and expansión of knowledge at. the. highest level of our ti^, "a la

altura).de los tienpos.^' As part of the integral plan for universi ty developnent which the Council. has requested. by 30 June 1975,. there should be a plan for a gradúate faculty conpetent for this first and

necessary'.university nission. I believe that the Council on Higher Education, In the light. of the constantly reiterated proposition. about a university.ai.la: altura de los tiempos, is obligated to .estabrlish a gradúate, faculty. .

The decline in efficiency and public accep.tability of nost of

our principal institutions is notorious, The quality of life as well

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as of the habitat becomes progresslvely worse. Xhe un^vers^y unhappily declines at least as swiftiy as any other maior Institution.

One wry critlc said that the business of higher education was prqbably the railway business of our time. David Riesman, first a student and now a professor of torvard University, now. finds this great institution precarious.

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"Thus what now exlsts seems to me precarious, sustained

•by a-minority'who ipoéjseb's déep institutionai loyaílty^

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and whose caring and sense of responsibility are • moderately contágiouá-; Cynicism and loss of faith, however, are also contagious. Under these conditions,

the -fiiture óf Harvard, as of lifost major institútlons of higher education today, seems to me impossible to prédict." (Hansen, 1975. Missionai ol 7)

Thé'públic seems to lose confidence in the leaders of major'insti• tutións;" Bétwéen 1966 and 1972, whén a saiipie of the pubüc were

asked about their confidehcé in leadérs in 16 major institutibns,' 48% on the averáge replied that they had "a great dedl of confi- '

dence" (Chroriicle of Hleher Education. 4 December 1972) Asked again iñ l972,- 27% on the average had such confidence. '¡The-declihe'-iii -'• •feoifidence In educátiohal leaderes was more marked: ffom 61% ía 1966 tó 33% in 1972. ''

It is- iróñid as welí as tragic* that the decliué oí' uníversliy comj^ététticé ¡and of public respe¿t"for éducatión are tó some'éxtéiit rboted-ih a hópeless attáropt ifcé aatlsfy what sofae ¿eliéve 'fco'bé'

widespread public demanda. And to do so whilé' sacrifíting' th¿ 4n^'

cient, nefcessiáry unívérsity cbíámitménfe to the peáfe of khówlédge. As it becamé more evident that'the'uppér places"iti'professioíiál'aiid"'

technical work were usually held by university graduales, a

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gro^ltig: publi^;; ji&jQa^d:édrr!ftcce&a'to;* thej university, > f>r«8iuna1»ly In .tí)e:j

expe&baittl^rthat j>áásaga thmighí the tuxlvex&iJi^ led J:a.>bhese:-hlgbexá;

pre£«asl9nal.\placee4. ;3uch.dediaads in our time are habitually^ deemed^

juat'iandvinperatiye*'^-.

enroillment In the U^S; of'fewer

thaji^ 3:;;iQl:lVl'.ion.uin higharreducation.after the Second .WorldüWat becaise-

an enrollment o£ almost 9 mlllion within 30 years. It has become.. . vblatantly >,elaar.-'by now,.of•, epurse»-,. that only tbn.eoiQpeteQtt ¡pasa

thx'bugh .thei^hlveTalties to.the hlgher prefessional. places^fvhlte:the-^

■leaa-cbeipeteat.drnp. out along. -the:.way. and flnd di.sappointlngi.jordl-'v;. nary emplejanents.v;:

• :! .In.the .samfe.yearsj eapecially; -in the; SixtiePi ther-e-was. a-v .t!;-,-;,;. strident'demand ; that: ineq.uallti.es should be ellminatedj pf ten by. i 'n.!

schoels; and¡ uniuersitiesi . In- the; United Statesv^ felackSi .hi-spanics» ' i weine.nyi.;and, tdie childr.en .o£ parents o£i>low<.-income oc;fellaaee.: on wel*-

fare attaeked: univers.ity gatea. te pass through tcwaxda oiore equali.ty*' ''í. c.Qwpetent.'ltttellectual .work. were appli'ed,.-.thesav- r:.

groupa-;dentói^ed-! <}upta6. e£ adi&l8s.ion^»lthout regard to. such standards*

Once admitted and confrontad with failure in their coursea».' they r,,;. demandad, and usually got more benevolent grades.

SO» far-. there has

"beéíV'.no ;netabl.e change in .the statua. oif.these groups despite the quo tan. univer sities have.^ with uneasy consciencesí be en givinjgi thon. ;

. y. :iFurth.ermpre, lergeinumbets. of.;young persona and.: their patenta-

perceived, the universities-as ■ convenient. places f.or unemplc^fid/ypung

men>and upBarriediyoung upman te congrégate in.attractive bulldings^ aa^le gy.ouhdsi aM withfcitíwes. thought, moire saféty thani.was.te be.

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fouád in i:hé streéts. The young.:pérsons' ofteh had little' decisión ';' : about their .adule ideneicies. ánd «ork and^Iwelcomed a £e« yearsi'

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self'coácemplacion without having to make connnitinents. Ateo, largély ségregaeed ¿rom both children ahd adülts, thesd ypüth (the cóhot^t 18^22) ofteir/fcund their own company moré agreeable thah work mith 'adules."

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These uéw' claimants -.for university services - f or social' rab-

biliey,; fbr rédress of anciehe inequalities, for a restihg placé for graéificaeion; ahd'sélf 'inyentories before the plunge intó adulehood -

did noe perceive ehae large sums of money and ehe time of large

numbers" of facnlty and service personnel were absorbed, in erying to

saeisfy théir .claims. 'And very few of the faculty, about halfof • whom'were gratified duriiig the Siicties to get university appointménts which'depended upon the ehormous'ienrolliiient increase»'foipid i.t necessary to explain the dirastic change ih thé'añiversitles'.

(For

discussion of these questlons, see Hansen, Education fot 'eompétent

partieipatioh. 1975,' and also.Missions of a university Ih a email countrv..

1975.

Méanuhile,' the concern with learning,- both for its own valué

and also for its use in gaihing a- professional competente, was hárdér

and Harder predsedvto gain a propér ^hearing ainong those with'the authority áñd fundé which -shapéd the universitiés.

It is not»' there-

fore, veify surprising thát while pronouncements ábóut- the-^deep uni-'

verslty commitment to the híghest learnlng weré routinely made, in

fact éhé universities - arld especially the University of Puerto Rico ■

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draine4

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Eloq^Aí:,pí99o^n<j;p^?j!e|its dbout uj^iveirsitjr cowinitmAnt tq thf

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learnjlqg

^o^.,ina^ched,;by..nep.gssary..f^^

by e^sentfal pol^ies ■ ^

abpAt-.th^;.aAtry^,Qf.,faqyil-f3?í^94'®tudents ¡into .Ipwe:^ of

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.le^yel^s ^

.thoi^e pi:pfegsoj:8. .:wbp. weri^ cg^petent jfqA. the^.

hig^.pj|t.,lea^^li:ig

lendlesply by.Jacl^..Qf 4u^

fk;^d 1>y

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work assignments to the new claimants for universlty séricas.'

pursuej.^^e. b;|^|^^e^t.,J.;§ai:Aing, at wq:?!^ l^yelq o^, pqrfoymance,. yer qulres tb^ •antirp .tiijie ¡apd.qi^q,^

P® :''?P'^í|3Í5:;

Tbe u^ijVqypijty , mayaba . a. p]Lqasapt refuge, for ^ou|;b.;be|ore. !^l»e, ardors .of, adAltbPpd......

mqy sbrlve to. le^d. tbose of

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sta^y^.^a^

lacoma .tq.,blgbar statys. qnd Incqme, altbougb by now ..t^q,.racordjOf ......

achi.eyemeqt herq is qot encpuraging.. . It.,TOay. strive .bo elimi^jiat^.. , anclent ipaquali^es, perhqps. by entraqce. quotas, pa^bap8,.aJ,8p-by, . . . benevqlqnt g^adlAgi but theire la a? yet no evldqiwe. tli^qt muqh, cbange

occtira amqng tbose wbq ara unequql.

seat of tbe bighqst. learnlng.

And tbe .universlty pay l^e ,^.,

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If all tbese pissions arp (tq ,^6,.,^^?^^?-

taken, ^b.e aeat ,pf ^arning «|,il require adequate qrganl^ation,^, . , .

f^culty, .and. .iBonay tq ptoteqt its ,profe8sors..froni ,c.ilaim&. whiqb waajte tbelr tlpe, . ,,

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If.;tbe a.^ginsent. cQuld be .grante^ for tbe nacesslty.^.of lnclq.ding

a gradúate^ faculty in the dyaft

the plan of integral ^evelpByettt .

of. ^ha. ,dnlyarsity w^ich.the Council on Higljer, Educa.tipq has preRcr|.bed

fpy 3.Q 'Jqb® 1975,' t^n the. first issye .1^. the ptructuye of t^a^ faqultypj , The .upual sttuctute in United States univeraitles is.

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départtnental.

The'departméntá responsibla -foi; undergraduate In-

strudtloa slmply added prograiás leading £0 the tñaster^s degree and» when théy could, prograns leádlng'to the Ph.D. The University o£ Puerto" Rico, however slowly and unevenly, had begun this kind o£ der velopmeñt.

A better-structure £or Puerto Rico is a gradúate

ulty sepárate £rom the departments although, obviously, necessarilyi • related to them.

There is objection in the United States to the departmental

structure, which Jacc^ues Barzun at Colombia calis "the ámiable

anarchy".' (Berlesoo,'1960, p. 120) Even in the departmental structure, however, the deán o£ the gradúate £aculty uáually con-

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trola the granting o£ the Ph.D. degree despite con£licts with the

departments and wlthout controlling much else. Much more importantj-

£ewer'than 40 universities awarded 94% o£ all the Ph.D. degrees, and- in these institutions the excellent quality o£ the pro£essors and their capacity to díctate the terms o£ their work make questions o£ structure almost irrelevant. <Pro£essors like John- Renneth'6al-

braith, retiring in June. 19-75 £rom Harvard, and his colleagués preserve, disseminate,' criticlze, and éxtend knowledge in their £ields

pretty much as they wlsh. Their energy and time are not at Che command: o£ any clalmants in the university whom- they do not choose to serve.

In £actj they work almost entirely in research and Ph.D.

instruction.

Attempts'to foster the highest learning-'do not alwáys

in&lude the departmental structure.

The great cantera' o£ the highest

learning in Stan£ord, San.ta Barbara^ ■ and Princéton not only dlsregard

- 11 -

departments but universitles and students as vel.1.. Hany professors'

have

tb.elr. departmeq^s to vork mpre |realy,4n the Busselli Saga Suggestions are qften.héard to establioh a «holly new'^

W^hittgtpn,

exclusivqly at the ÍPh.D. and; post- .=

i

A

Ph^p. layelp^ . ;v, -

.;;i

^

dramatic experimental model starting de novo .

witliout the restrictions of established tradltions»

!.\í

^established pracijices, or establishe4 personnel would be free to do what operating institutlons cannot now try." .(Berleson, 1960. p. 257)

,I haye asked.24 select ^y^fessors of the Universlty of Puerto ;

^ico» p£ clearly ^demoqstratqd-competence fpr the hlghest learnlngy... about the ^uestlon .of ^6P4vt3nentaI :strucf;uii^-:ÍU'.;cont|>$s,t-.w.lth.a-naw

Ph.D.,/acu,^ty hVttPWous :Of ^

Ihey hayu .qja.average

of 16 years service here.^ al^l/have wr-itten learned pastera and- more

•

\®hy^®'^':rhook8;',and.all bu.t .'uqie reportad at-

tend^ncejto read papera at learned meetings. : JPhey ara .¡now assigned*.. tQ.U .dl|f€ren,t.jdeparta»nts.« ; .Ftfteen prefpr a Ph.D. program. placed

In th^ departpi^ta> .pn.top-of ptiqgrams: foq. the mastet'a; degree» -.whetk .5??Ay't.y^®hi;'^.'*d¡í*^epar.ían^t has ass.embled- enoiigh .coiapetent .pro-'

feasorf..i:p..do tha Ph.li. j;>rogr;ain.. Nine prefer a new;.Ph>d%. .-faculty auton9po^s,3f^om;thfti4epaa:.traents.,, ¡To some extent the flfteen ar« . :

more,¡satisf1^ wi^ih master'a prograros, and in oqa instapce.a Ph.rD.!

iiP.thejLr departments. Many said; and impli.ed that. ithey.. . .heavy obs.taple.s and. weare reluctant,

to put lp;.^ish. these adyances. Most of these profesepra^ sisiply an- .

swered.my.íuuestlomaire^.^^^

heard any descript;Lop. of a .Ph,0.;].

- 12 -

graduateífiiculty or argument ádvóbáting ité neéá\;

'

Almost all the'24 select professors haVe Ph.D. degrees fróni

United Staces univarsitias (all have Che degree ftroni some úhíversícy)• It is-natural for them to prefer á departmental structure like ¿hat

where they were educaced. But one can dispute Chis natural predlléctlon. Puerto Rico differs markedly from the United States so that

a structure which may be sultable there nay be less so here. The

üniverslty of Puerto Rico also differs markedly from Únited States

universities» and 'eápecially so from the 40 br so responsible for nearly- all the Ph>D. programe. These differences may persuade one that a departmental structure «ould not serve Puerto Rico as well as a new faculty for the Ph.D, Widely differettt circumstances at least make'it prudent to consider different ideás.

The participación of the labor forcé is formative in'any society.

Productiva capital is unlikely to be moved to or remain in places without an adequate and sufficiently skilled labor forcé; The leve1

of technology used» where bf course the more advanced teéhhólogias permit more labor productivity, is also restricted by che adéquacy ' and skill of the labor forcé. A gross sign of the effectivenéss of

a labor forcé is the degrée of its use; In the United States, 61%

of the populación works in the labor forcé. They support themselves and,' with their taxés, they also support the public iñstitutions ánd those on Welfare «ho are not wórking; (Associatéd Presu

. I975

p. 180") In Puerto Ricd, fewer than 30% of the populación works in

the labor fórce. (Informé écondinlco al Gobernador. 1971. See alsb.

- 13

Hansen,.

^aslons.

and a

-

113) (In 1974., the populatloa ^as 2^993,200

.775í,íOOO werfi woiífcing., vhtch meaos that; 26% of the .

populación «^s .emp,Ioy}ad.i) (Iníorme económico alj qohernadoc.:1974,

. . r.

PP» 23.8;•snd ;245): ; vfli.ete/are. twQiccmaequences.. First, even with! •

v : ;i^J

immense fedora^ .ii»p^ca, P«ePto Rico.icannot .pay for.'.public institutions and werl^are.^at ;ft. yery,;hi'gh' leyel*; .Second, 'schóol .and;-iiniyersi~ ' ■

ty shx^d,.¡')>e agAigned as a; principal mission educationi £oiCi:«o£^

higher ileyeip, o,£ fxfítkfiQlqgy and. lnquiry;.abouc the .7.0%? of the^-Tíopula)- -tn .

tion nnt-.wprHing. ip 1971 ^d the 74% not working in. il974v" Not ottly ; Í8 labPlTrPSrrbicipation ^small iojcontrast :t9ith thac ;o£'the. Usited

• : '

States, but;siso the proportiort: a£ workers in thé public Síector as ^ ? - i" compared with the private sector di££ers: 29% o£ the Puertb Rican" :

-

work £orce is on thcipublic payroll in contrast with 16% in the wUnited States..(Hel£eld et al. Relaciones del trábalo en el servicio

público, problemas v recomendaciones.. Vr>i, 1,.p;...23-24, 1973) With'' such a contraft in the-adequacy of thé labor £orcé, it would^ seem • "

prudent tOr-apsign work_t9 each individual at. tM highest level b£. i''

productivity within his competence. At the peak o£ the university,

proiessors competent £or scholarship at world per£ormance levels ought not to be assigned to work at lower levels - instrucción £or the master's and the bachelor's degrees. vü;;:

-t.;- . , .. .

•„

The University o£ Puerto Rico like its supporting society

: .. .

di££ers considerably £rom the general pattern o£ higher educación in the United States, and especially £rom the pattern £ound in the

40 institutions which grant almost all the Ph.D, degrees. Di££erent • •• =

' ■«: ■ ¿i ■ ■

.

.

; ' :""?v

'. i.

; ,i. '• • .

/..

; <:•

•

- 14- -

clrcuiDStances suggest che prudence of considering different ideas.

As to size, the Cai.negie Commission on Higher Education recomroended

a range from 5000 tp 10,000 fpr comprehensiva colleges, i.e. for í universities V7hich do not grant the Ph. 0. The, University pf Puer.to

Uico is a cpmprehensive college, pursuant to this deflnition, yet-

its enrollm^nt at iiío Piedras alone is 26,000... (Hansen, 1975,,

Missions. p, 42;) Furthertaore, the distribution of this huge enrojLloient is slanted heavily towards undergraduate instructipn. In 1971,-,

enrollment of full-time atudents was 95% undergraduate, 37» law, and

only 24 gradúate, (^nsen, 1975, Missions. p, 41) The distribution:: of degrees granted, furthermore, differs from the United States pattern as follows:

Degree

United States . N

%

bachelor's

524,000

77

master's

141,000

21

18.000 18.000

3 3

Ph. D. Total

Puerto Rico %

.

.,

683,000

3400

86

512

13

7 7

18

3919

(Spúrr, Academic degree stfüctures, p. 17; and Repoirt of the Chancellor 1973, p. 45),

Despite importaht contrast in manpower, higher education en~

rollment, and distribution of degrees granted, the public university in Puerto Rico/Rio Piedras has been developing gradúate studies on the departmental pattern of the United States,

By 1973, according to the inventory presentad in the report to

the Middlfe States Assbciation (September 1974), 24 departments enrolled

- 45 >

stud^néc^-'asrcandidait¡es.i£or th;e.-iDas£er';:a.-'dSe^.eek.Ni>;4Appe!ididje8ij6ir2LO.v

and appendlx 2) The enrollment was a total .of :24J£5.jj\í)£i tha$.a,.; 555:. were s^tuden^.<i:n--".the.':iLaw Schoól»-;-sO' ithat>:4356 -w&re. popaljl)!}^'.caodl-

dateá 'fois íthfi' ina8tar''s degtíee;. f.Moat were pardt-tiwe. atudentSií 1971 there were only 503 rfullntime;graduóte; atudeats,. > ;-(Hep8:ep,%r:A57.^>.; Misslons. p. 4lXi Fucthermore,! tandidates for the Ph^fl.üd^gree - of course there wereV'^few - were .dlaó included in .,the ..totelr«;

sta-

tistics are also'in somé.errior hécause enrollmeht ;in all cpurses wlth

a.'áumber-^4@t0..ior hl^er-.waa incl-uded .whereas.Qot all sueh .ppurse.s are at'th'e'gradúate .'leveX;.'"i

•V'.:' ;. ).■ •

{-!'

»

■ -..i;)

:!:tc

■ i jlhe .8aine.re.pffl«t listed'Z79'profesaors .givtng: this,.'iaat5ue.t4onf.

It Is'évidént tbat mest la\í profeaaors and a feWíQthers fgiying^t

n<

in8tti}uctloa!''at'tha^'Bh;D. 'leyel weré'not assigned.to^a Qaster's.-

r.

;

instructi/oii,. and..'it 'ls alsOevident ithat many ;Qf these i279-.pror ■ r¡-'.

fessora probably alao gave instruction at.<.the undergraduate level.; , , Under'ctbeseodlrcuiBstances^ 'It' is not -.pcaaible, to^ describe;.the en-

rol1hDent::aad>:faculty-ia8sigmDent. to Inatruc^lon fpr. t^efinaater'a "degtee/preciaéiyi'^v. '.li:: :t

• .i

:'The:• 1856'Vstudent» ■ texcIndine ■ those jLjti the Law $ch9Pl);:were ,dÍ8trlbatedíprimarlly d'n three fielda.t • ;

.( .i •

• i.i Educatlon (aecondary educatlofii, erientatipn

-

, :,.i

and counselllng, supervisión and

■'.v :

adminlsitratliDn, a^ home econpnd.ea)

; 506 ;i.e,.v27y{r„

,.;;'-r Public> adinlnÍ8tration ' i , ;; ;

í&óclal Wprk ■ '

-'-i -

355.

. •. ■ ¡ ■ ■. I-i K ..i

.íí;; Mi?; ith«.ri<ip^. ;

1056; .Í4e. ,56X •

- 16-

Álmost'Sll thb-'graduates of thesle; programs: would find' thelr employmentf'int Che-piiblic sector.

'DistribUt^on of these gradúate students in the faculties-í.o.£.

hüDÍañltlesy' hatural sciehce, and social scíence (except public ad.-. i i . nfinistratioh ánd soicial'^ork') vas as follovs:

.1

humanities

145 i.e. 7% of'.i856

natural scieifcé-

103 i.e^ 5% of 1856; •

social sciehce

!

t.

■

; .

' 71 i.e;; 3% of 1856

• In summary, while gradúate study is slowly'belug established. in

the departments, the number of students and faculty ín the axtts and . sciences rétnalns siriall.-

On a basis of full-time study and insitruc-

tion, the number would be'much smeller still.

The conclusión .is'

that the úniversity-has moved so little beyond ui^ergraduate instruction in the arts and sciences that there is no réason to advance to '

the Ph.D. léve'l dn thé^departmental plan.

The argumehts for a Fh^.D; faculty autonomous .from the depart- ments are persuaáivé. Oniy the mostcompetent professors assigned

to work at the highest level of knowledge for scholarship and instruction can put Puerto Rico á la altura de los tiempos.; Onlv'such a

faculty will be capable of providihg a módel of the-.róleof the.pro-; fessor for guidance of younger of; less competent members of the facultyb

Only such a facult-J^ wiil be able to produce the research

and scholarship which are almost universally named as- the. firat mission of the university.

Only such a faculty will be able to pró

vida the best available understanding of the basic problema of the

- 17 -

íaéb -

tooj of thé Unt-

> í

versity of Puerto Rico. Only such a faculty is likely torproduce

eá^átiiáí'f^arntng máterlaís • fór ^'nstÉuctlon at l-étíer levels¿.^learn-

ingWterlAÍá Ijásed^oftétí ott thé -Puerto Rlcan sítuationi) valid in . gaíttiné'í'áóigHcs áboüt- this socléty, raore persuastve forijstudenta': i .. than learnlng materials based ott'different places 'atid°°éi:rctpi8tance8Wr;

'íjhM''prófÍB8á¿rS~ ¿Bínpéteút' for theée-purposes áreíaseigned' to work in^'dep'ár€áé&.t8- where th'é bvérwhelmiúg'bú'rden' Is•uñdergraduate. ;íí •.-i r Instiuétii&A" ánd íhe-íftstriacfciotí" of smitll'^íiinbers'-'-of caádidatéa jfop -i;

thib átaktéx'ó dégréé> they lauk'«nergy anid' stiaiulus and .suppórt;>forw

Wóirt Wt"'theit highuBt-cbúipe

■ "They-are féw. Wie'-UuiVersi'ty pfc,b

Puerto l^cér áhbuld'be prüdent,-'evien'mlsérly, in uslng'them onlyíatt.rj.

the'íiigíiiBát'Ifevéls bf'scholárship-'and Ihstrüctlon'^ The plau fot tbfe intégralvdevelopment of thbí »mlversitg^ .whlcb;

should' be reády on" 30'june- •1975 for the-fconslderatiloa'of.-ldiie'Gouncil on R'i'gber'EdWcátlbn sHóúld provi'de'for-the p'ro0^t'''é8tabld8te&ent ^of.:;:;the grá^uátfé faénity. If süch án establláhmént- "Uérd appxbved ¡nev,

ttíe '■^ccrtSírig 'acaáemic' yéár ' eoüld bé dedlca'téd ■; td the " recruitment■ of t^e -faé^lty -arid^tlié'brgatilzafeióá of

•• ^

-

Ttíb deán'áhd profésBOrs shóuld be'dppoidted':tfQii«^ttme to;ithe >.• oew faculty.

No other assignment «í'll éondetlttate thelr servicé :pni-

the 'blghesi l'évél'oi -sbholárship and iustrúdtion^dlthóut which the Úbivifetéity of Püérto Rifcó^ill cóntihüe tb'-bé' tt dottprehensivei coi-- ;

la|[Íéí dé'í>4ndettt bn universlties In Eur^é ahd thé Vnlted Sta<tes. . Noj othex^'ássignmeht will protécít thése profesbbr» froiD work at lower: ■

- 18

levels whi'cH keeps Cheni from this high seryice, a ^service which they aloné éán givé.

.>

••• -Funda, supporting pera orine1, and.apace éxiat in .the univeí'slty,

It ia only necéaaáry to aaaign them to the gradúate £aculty;--<- Vahare-: additíbñál''funda, aupporting peraonnel, and apace are nécesaary,; they ahould-he"prév-ided aa aoon as pqaaible.

•; ■•

■'

i;.: .

Ihé móat'fconvenient space for the gradúate'faculty;ia the.ceqtral

quadrangle át'RCo' ÍPiedraa«

Wlth the exceptlon .o£ one. departaient of '

ina'tructión, the apacé'ón the east aide adjacent'to the llbrary la

.

now U'sed by adminiatra'tlve officea. - It doea-not seem eaaentlal for- •

them to be located at- the center 6f the univeraity . : If the gradúate

facúlty la to berve^aa: model and gulde, it ahould. be easily visible, to all the faculty aad étudents.

It ahould alao be located at the

center for'-dónvenlent 'acceas-to llbrary and laboratorlea.

Appoiutment to the gradúate faculty ahould apeclfy certaln quallficatlons.

Appolntment ahould be reatrlcted to acholara whp

themaélvés have the Ph.D. and «ho have, by publlcatlona and at-

tendance af nféetlnga of learned groupa, demonstrated thelr.competence for acholarahlp a la altura-de loa tiempos. . Competence for acholar-

shlp át worId performande levels la the only entltlement to an appolhtniént to the grhduate faculty.

■ The new faculty ahould provlde hlgher salarles>than thoae.at lower levels bf-Iriatructlon,

j

The income wlll relieve the profeaaora

to aome éxtent frbm earning money outalde.the univeraity.

The hlgher

aalary i»iii márk the diátlnctlún betwéen them and profesisors at:r , <

:

lowe^r

-

hi^h^ir s,al,ary will encourage professors in other .

faculties ^l;o jímprov^.

in qrder to

becqme.qll^ili^ for appo^^ent to the highest facult^, ^ ;.The seminar instead of the credit hour should be the unit o£ •V- ■ ■'T

'/"T;

■ ')

:

'"i • •

•.

y- .

;. * • • • v r,. • • •

work in this faculty along with research and the dissertation.

The

Ph*D.^^increa8ii^l^ is .defined .as a selection deyice and as treining for scholarship.

More advanced .work increasingly is provided in

such a definition, ijt is nioije an^ more,,

fre^ent to

cómaletion of the degree in four years of ^

fullqti®^ stjtid^, On .^hqse premises, one. couid speqif^ a stud^ progrcm of two or two and a half years leading to the Ph.D. with admission to candidacy following one and a half or two years of prior

' 'i'S

V-1

■

Ai-.. V •

*'

. -r.i;-!

¡ti'.! - :.

gradúate sti^dy. , The candidate shou.ld be admitted pursuant to his

achievement as undergraduate and gradúate in the field of his se»•

.Vv'

V

■

!.

study and accprding to a general examination.

.Tí- :j.í

His curriculum

shoul(| be xesparch tesulting in the dissertation and two seminara

during at least .two years.- i.e. four seminara of a year in length or eight seminara of a semester in Iqngth. >

. .Mi- ■

.

.'. 'li.,

The degree would be con;.w

¡t;

;i;;

ferred after successful dqfense of his dissertation by the caqdidate - . I'".! .j . j . . ^ :r...-.,vj. I-..V ' ri;. before a pqnel of at.least three members of the gradúate faculty.

Probably members of the nqw gradúate faculty should retain •

■'

'

•

- •

•:3

.V £•:...

.-••

•: i

..•.. •a»».: •

appointmet^ts in, their present departments - ad honorem - to permit their cióse associatíon irith colleagues dedicated to work at the

master's and the bachelor's level.

Their counsel and example would

be valuable. They would, also, be in a position to observe the

- 20 -

•^^^.loproent; pf professors in their special field and jable,. therefore, to propose new appointments .,to the gradúate faculty., Their advlqe

on the department curriculum would be valuable, especially for the

master's curriculum which, pften, would serve to prepare and se.lect candidates for-.the Ph.D. program,.

,

.

professors have stated, a .desire for instructicn of candi-

dates for the master's,and the bachelor's degree. It is natural.

They haye given such instruction as a major part of their u.niversity service. It might be suggested, however, that iiistruction at these

lowep levels would deprive them of energy and time for their pore proper work at the highest level. It might also be suggested that . short series of public lectures attended by candidatos for lower

degrees as well as professors might satisfy the inclination for instruction at the lower levels. ..

. Wlthout such a faculty the people and the üniversityof Puerto Rico cannot reach la altura de los tiempos. Until at least a few

professors reach this level and become citizens of the world com-

munities of art, philospphy, science, and technology, the people

and uniyorsity of Puerto Rico must remain dependent on those communities..; Such dependence like any undue dependence debilitates

and harms, . Whateyer else the üpiversity of Puerto Rico fip^s it

wise and possible to do it must liso become. a seat of the highept learning.-

- 21 -

The gradúate facul-ty

Part II

facülty was sent on 20,June, I975-;to a number of sthotara'aud 'Oth'ersv "Thlrteen replied.

The 'followlng''Continuatlon; p£ -the

papér reb'orts thh%cf0n)ments in general and-.considera:, tlie mpst'seripu.s' Issuep..;

''Tlíb^e^who'responded are the following: • fjüan'D2; -Curét, ■'chemlstry, UPR/iOfGeorge Delacre, philosophy, ÜPR/RP 'Charles FranketíKoffi ecbnomics ahd-.plannlng,- UPR/RP .< Cari J. Friedrlch, politlcal science, Harvard

Laura Gallego, educatlon, UPR/RP

.

Ell Ginzberg, economics, Columbia

- Ñiáthahf Glazer, éducátion ahd social r«tructuré, 'Harvatd: '

'

• '

' ' •

Rafael Hernández Colón, Governor Humberto López Morales, linguistlcs, UPR/RP , Eugene V. Mohr, English, UPR/RP Luis A'; PassalacquaV Social Science Research Center,. UPR/RP David Riesman, sociology, Harvard

, ',/

,

¡^José'Árs'ehio Torres, poíitical aciencé, UPR/RP .

There i»as'helthér covert ntft'oveít opposition to. the .pbjectrlve o£ raiqing

perfotmahce Statidarrds in ácholarshlp and'gradúate study instructlon at .the

Üriivétsity oP Puerto Rico.

Quite the contrary.

The conoiients and queaPiQn&c

were addreáséd to issues of structure and policy of the gradúate faculty., ; , ''

principal criticism of the original paper questi'oned-.the seperation

of the fkcuity fór teseárch and instruction at the. Ph.D. level froq? the , j éxisbing-'^depártments where there Is reáearch and instruction at. the M..A. -and

' B';Ai -lévela'.

Otté eritiO'thoUght the department. association «as essential. tp

' control the pérforió'ance quálity of- the sen-ior professp.rs« '. It «as argued that depártménts óf peérs in-thé same Specialty diminish the ppssibility pf quacH"

éry.' (A qüláék «as définiéd ae a professional «ho can persuade, cliente A^out^ his qualificatíons but not his colleagues and peers.)í, It «astalso ergued that

départménts of 'spéciaí' study fields' are needed for ühe tealnins- ^ad. later

- 22 -

placement o£ professional acholara and profesaora. It was aaked «hether a

atrong gradúate deán mlght achieve the higheat wbrk ásaigninents. and- quallty control aiméd a't whiie leaving the top acholara in-their reapective depárt-'menta.

An aaaocia'tion between inatruction at the two gradúate levels - Ph^D..

and M.A. - waa thought more logical than the asaoclation of M.A. and B.A, Inatruction. Flnally, the iaaue waa raiaed o£ what mlght be done wlth a

proíeesor who ahould be aaalgned to the gradúate £aculty btib £or whom there was no suitable program in that £aculty.

As to excluding quacks £rom the highest £aculty levels or research and Ph.D. inatruction.

The UPR/RP is a huge college o£ more than 26,000 studenta

with only 1856 gradúate students, many o£ these part-time and only a hand£ul at the Ph.D. level.

The large departments which sta££ claases £or this huge

enrollment are in the majority pro£essors with modest preparation (the majori-

ty without the Ph.D.) and £ew with acholarly per£ormances acceptable at Ínternátional levels.

They are, £urthermore, burdened with large clasaes and con

siderable counaeliñg and committee work.

The very £ew sénior pro£essors in

these departments who ahould be reáasigned to research and Ph.D. instruction at the new gradúate £aculty are not midst peer colleagues in their present

departments who are in a poaition to £oater and monitor high per£ormance. I

suspect that i£ there are quacks among the top research pro£essors, their .peer

colleagues in a select Ph.D, gradúate £aculty would be more likely to identi£y and denounce them than would the large departments burdened with extensive

undergraduate instruction. Indeed, the principal argument £or the non-depart amental gradúate £aculty is to sepárate the top professors £rom the lower work assignmehts Ih departments so heavily dedlcated to undergraduate instruction

- 23 -

and álso'f'roih thé reláxed parfúmance statidards of these depar,tine|its., , One

cbÍÉiaéntátor iTáqüiréd whéthet^ -there would be "a critica1 masa" f.o?: the jiew,., .

gradúate faculty. The answer: is that such a c.ritipaL^ass.c^i^.be ussembled oniy-iír a facuity which concentrates all tbose at the ÜPR/RP capablp of per formance at world achieVement leveis.

■ It is unlikely. that a single professer jwh® should join t^^. new facu^lty woxiid ble alone in his ífield (as may be.sugges^tted in the discussipn, to fq^ow

béíów);'but were this sb, then he should be appointed to the facuity. The resé'átbh hb'wbuld do tnight alone juátify the assigntnent, fpr the heart of thp ' matéer is thé necesdtty-for more soünd research at the uniyersity. This is móst likely to be fouhd in the gradúate facuity composed pf the tqp pro-

feSsbré oí the university.

•

v

" A furthef'suggestion was madé'rabout quality control. SchPlars in the

par'ticulW discipline involved could be invited to serve, ad hpc, ,both, on coiranittees 'to approve the Ph.D. dlssettations and to approve.appointments to

the facuity. This is a powerful device at Harvard «hlch mai^ntains the level

of quality at thát preeminent university., In addition, appointments should be piecedéd by searches by tha existing facuity and widespread announcement

bf opéníñgs so that the competitioii for appointment would incide the world of schblárs and not iñerely the inmediate, small environment in Puerto Hico.

^Anbfcher criticism was ^st the segregation of ¡the top. pcholars and re

search ptofess'ors of the udiverslty in this gradúate facuity would constitute an eiite. Of "course "ib w'Puld. -"Of -course tt wpuld be,a target fpr those who

oppose elites. Hpw can thiS ¡be avoided? In .education, there is an inevitable

- 24 -

hierarchy áccording to the difficuity of the task and the number ayailable, for the assíghmenta. i Schóol teacher.5. i^umber thousands, there are more available than 'áré needed, and the work is not too difficult.. The instruction and

coünsellng o£ lówer división college students can be done by a faculty with modest academic preparation and accomplishment) if they are reasonably,. dili-

gent. The materials of instruction have been prepared by .othars. üpper divi sión ahd first level graduate/professional instruction clearly require more

competence and a more extensiva academic preparation. This is rarely routine instruction, and some research is undertaken by both instructors and gradúate students.

The numbers of capable candidatos are not many.

Finally, universi-

ty research and Ph.D. instruction at international performance levels is pos-

sible by oniy a few in small places like Puerto Rico. It is complicated, difficult work.

At any of the lower of these levels, an incumbent could

grUmble about the elite above him, but if he is competent and highly moti-

vated, he might accompany the grumbling with hard work to prepare himself to join

the elite above him.

It was also noted that segregation of these top professors would deprive M.A, ahd B.A, candidatos of their instruction.

That is inevitable.

That is

a primary reason for the establishment of the.new faculty. If a university

has oniy a few tóp professors for its research and highest instruction, it is unecohomic and imprudent to assign them to work below. their highest skill.

Some inqui'ifed'about emplojnnent for graduating students. Perhaps after

five years operátion the faculty at best might be able tp gradúate about 20

annually. Educátion, governmeht, and industry and commerce would clamor for these few highly trained, competent individuáis.

•- 2-5 ■ -

ís prematüte* to «atisfy those asking for mote ihfoianation about the 'strücture and'pólicy df thW ¡gradúate fáéülty. - The'^t^cúlty ^Itself atui,thOse

td whoiff ít'i's respónsíble wil'f'have to detértaine ttfosb of the. structural. and p'ólícy issues. Bút I cán at leáslí mafce'a-few súggeattons.! i'

' u j.'

The pritiiáry task 'of thé gradúate fáculty will- be exceUciít research.-and PhlD. Tnstructlóa d£ small númbers d£ students who havé the necessary-íijuali-

fidatlohs añd thténtlóhs. T£'thésé'cándidates coopleted ibasic ■gradúá't^^atudy

in about two years be£ore applying tó thé gradúate £acülty, they shpuld' álréady have ttíé'baslc knówledge o£ theír fleld,''a'cóunmánd of-the-baéic procedures and skiils o£ tíie fiéld,' and a record of' áfchi'eyemenfc-to justl£y .their ádmlssidn to Ph.D. candidacy.

Such' étúden^s sh'dúld" cbinpTete tfaetr. reseáréh,

dlssertátloñ, and setnihafs within two years. "

'^arogram ■might' be thé

dlsserta'tlúh, research £br it and^ probably álao résearch •apprentíicesh^p^ 'with thelr prlhclpal pro£essór, and tvo sémlnárs each semestér before graduation.

total df'éight

Thi's preparation is áboút what major uníversities: now re-

qulre £or the Ph.D.

■'

^

-

PerHa'ps about thrée plrofessors in 'éách d£ eight fields -.couldi: as .a,pini-

inuin, now be áppolhted to estáblish'the new gradúate facu-lty. . The fie Ida where this could probably be achleved are the following: ■ ■ '

biology chemlstry

•'

■ '

'

• phllosáphy;-

.

psychology

. j, .

ecéinótalcs

s'oclél policy

linguistics

Spantsh

^

Wlth the Deán, this would constitúte an initial faculty o£ at least 25. Each

pro£essor would during two years present £our seminars in his special field.

- 26 -

and for students in that field,, these should along «ith ,thelr reseaxch and dissertation-'próvida them sufficlent speciaX education.

Th^would have four

additi'ottal seminars In adjacent or aven diffarant fialds.

A biology candi-

data, for exampla, might hava four spacial seminars in his or her spaciali-

zation> parhaps two chamistry saminars, a seminar in the philosophy of scianea,'and a seminar in social policy.

A sound dissartation, sound re-

search'j- and study in thasa aight seminars at tha lavel thay should maintain will provida a good education for tha candidata.

Tha original papar notad raquiraments of space for offices and saminars

and librarias and laboratorias.

The commants emphasizad thasa nacassitias.

Considerable appropriationá «ill be immadiataly raquirad to establish adaquate library and laboratory facilitias for Fh.D. and rasaarch work at tha

lavel of' the naw faculty.

Thara has baan considerable advocacy in racant

yaars for mora amphasis on uppar división and gradúate study with lass émphasis' in Río Piedras on undargraduata, aspacially lower división instruction.

If this vary appropriata advocacy is effective, soma spaca and fi-

nancial resources could be radiractad towards tha Ph.D. faculty.

If tha

univarsity changas direction towards universlty nork and a lassar amphasis on college work, than radirection of rasourcas must be achiaved.

Monay is cartainly scarca.

The possibla budgat of tha naw faculty at a

mean salary of $25,000 for 25 parsons would ba salaries

1/4 for ovarhaad appropriátion for library and laboratory

$625,000

156,250 750.000

$l,?31,250

- 27 -

WiCh ;the jUFR budget excefiding $100 toillion,-.(biis «ouId,-'.pons-tltute only;:jl.53%

;.of¡.the tot^^],;:^udget, a m.odest Item to pay for redireqtlng the Institiijtlon to-

^:|;ds. excellent. research and ,Ph.p, ^Instructio^. Ifi utxderg:paduate.>.ips.tKuction yi^^e. diiqinished (and probably enirollinents wlll decline rega;rdles^ o;f. the intepticns

the unlyersity>> cheU'by no means. 3II,

the. salary Item for the

department, places now held by those transfeyre^-tp the new faculty will. have tp be prpyljíed for., The net salary. bilí, that is, will. bp much less than $625,Ü00.

.

,

- .

í

If the people, the public authority, and the uniyer.slt^ are .at all serious about living a la altura de los tiempos, vhich cannot be achieved with-

out the research and Ph.D. instruction this new gradúate faculty would do, however that research and instruction may be organizad, then the office and seminar space, library and laboratory facilities, salaries and overhead neededare an exceedingly modest budget item.

Two other comments must be noted. Some regard the gradúate faculty as a good thing but not now; instead, later after further development of the uni-

versity and further analysis of present gradúate programa. It is not premature, it is belated; it should have been established at least 20 years ago,

as the original paper argued and as is argued in my forthcoming book, Missions of a university in a small countrv. There is no more classic avoidance device

than further study, One remembers the ancient description of policy decisión in the faculty of Oxford University; all policy proposals were excellent, only some were obsolete and some were prematura. Some thought the proposal good but decried the possibility of having it accepted at the University of

Puerto Rico, If this modest improvement at the university is indeed impossible.

- 28 -

then acute inqulry is .indicated about the prograin o£ the. Council on Higher .Eduoatlon and:Of the. o£ficers. o£: the univérsity.

M.more than a tenth o£

the irevenues o£¡the.,Free Associated.-State arer:to continué,to be assigned

to the ünivérsity while it rémalns largely a huge college without proper

research qnd Sh.D,. instruction - leaving Puerto Rico-, there£ore, dependent uponvuniversities o£ Europe and the United States, except in a £ew £ields

;.(law, medicine, and a £ew others) - then- the Government should /reexamine its budget priorities in this time o£ shocking economic decline and an inadequate public treasury.

- 29 -

University Missions Assigned by Public Authority '_l

·¡

~)

i.

,, .1 -_:

''

.. -· .

·.. 1

oUn'fveJtsity•·'tht-eé ·inissions: - t·o :acéfuite, evaluate, and inctie-aS:e kt\-0wle.dge;to 1

pró'v:ioe .:edticatfon f-or the :profe§si'.óns ;. ánd ins true tion· of; ;9oath. in k\nowledge and th@·"professions ~- •· These- are· the

~standard)

·ancient unive.rsi:tty .misSJio.ns in

..: ·~ ¡ .;

,, · · · : These tt'aditiona1,: -necessary- úniversity 'ti\issions :have been weakened ;and

fruS:tráted by· othér missions ássigned'·O:i:' permitted by, :pubUc.1autthority.

(I): Throtighout'the century th'ere has ;been a tendency to.have"the university

·work at· school levels, either to provide education for crai5t and trade occupations ·which do not :t!equire knowledge of university 'level ar ta :ptovide- remedial basi:c education:\olhich some .students failed to acquire in the schools whére i t iS proper'ly' of fe red. · (2)

There has been a tendency, also to con-

cent:rate uníversity attentioll. oll. what is local, in some·measure<shutting out what is feund throughout the civilhation:

a provincialism;which lowers

performance. lev.e-ls at •the university'.

Political and, individual de-:"

(3)

sires have been óperative•at the university ·weakened or breached.

whenev~:t;"

i,_tª/aut;ortomy has been

Again, as with work at school levels and provincialism,

performance levels of university work suffer.

(4)

Lately, in the.extremely

legitimate movement to give·just rewards and opportunities to the less fortuna te in· the society;. especially to the poor, the university has b.een asked to'admi't students not qualified to study the

curricula~·students

wbo must

r~hdve · compénsatory, remedial' studies to enable them .to do univ~rsity work.

The remedial study .. is at lower school fove ls~:in performance level but at

- 30 -

university levels in cost. (5) Many students in the age cohort 18 to 22, morejor. les^i usé thé üniveráity as á'stáging* jilaeé bétveen adolescence and

fInal;adulthood) a place to define,identities, to, seek°mates and. frlends, .;.and to experiment with and to enjoy living .wlthout the conStraihts find re-

=: sponsibilities of .family and^TMprki , ,Unless public authority protect^'the university against these non-university missions

and ünless, of course,

. the .officecs, faculty, and students of the university understand thé nature

of proper ipniversíty missions and are committed to their pursuit

'the"

propeij university missions oannot be achieved at acoeptable performance

levels. At the heart of the University of Puerto Rico in this century, as at.all the universities of théiWestern Givilizationi this confrontation

:tests the will and competence of both public authority:and the universities.

Upon .the change of sovereignty in 1898,.the War Department briefly held the, public authority in .Fuetto Rico. General ordrer Num.bér 108j'.Headquarters of the Department of Puerto Rico, Únited States War Department, established thé Insular Board of Instruction.' It closed the Instituto Civil whose d-i-

'ploma,'. bachiller de artes .oermi^.tpd its graduates'tO'Sgain a. highex educa-

tioii in .a university outside the'Islatid. The new'^Insúlar Board of- Ins'truc'.'ifiion'restablished a high school of: the United States Rind'to prepare'-'Süudénts

- fór.'uttivetsity studj^ in education in the United StatesJ . A téfiniñálj£Ii8ti-^ltution .was'eséáblishéd in'Fajardo to prepare schóol .teachérs''aiid'%orkéx's<~'' skilled: in-Ihdiistriál-árts i.. It was expected that the 'feché6.1''wóüld,«"'ih

general, foBíoí»'thé pattern iof the Carlisle Indían Schbol áttd'f-hé Hémpton Instítíite (for hlácksj-'in the United States. (Aouhtes Históricos,?afO:br& la

Universidad de Puerto Rico. Archivo General de la UPR/RP, p. 102. The

- 31 -

nií.Bsipns here assigtíéd wer€ át such modest pei:f£)rtíiarice levéis that it is ob-

j vious the piiblie autfcbtity assuined; that hlgher éducation for the peóple of Pu.esjrto.Wco would be'found-Qtotsidé thé Islaod.

. Public;authority ffter thé Foráker Act bf 190Ó Was in a civíl govertiment, where the. Cómmissioáer of-Education, á^pointed by thé Président óf the S.tates, was' the tesponsible'officer ídr éducation.' Ptoféssór Samuel

, M.; Li^daey of Golianbia üniversity, Cpmmí'ssioner of Education-,- prb^óseá' instead.qf normal and industrial arts trai-ning a üniversity liké tliosé in the United States^.

"las cuales, a su vez, participaif del tipo de las inglesas y, en lo concerniente a sus escuelas postgraduadas, del de

i:

las universidades alenáanasy adonde'se dirigían casi siempre los aspirantes a cátedras en Estados Unidos, para la espe-f ' cializacidn de las materias a-que intentan dedicafse cotí mayor asiduidad y devoción." (La Universidad de Puerto Etico.

Archivo Genéral de la UPR/RP, p-i 2 •'

La'Lev para Establecer una Universidad de Puerto Rico:(abnrnvf>a 12 Iterch

1903 by the Legislature of Puerto Rico) established the fouñdations for such a üniversity, to provide thé people of Puérto Rico

. "los medios de adquirir cuanto antes el perfecto conoci miento de los diversos ramos de literatura, ciencia y artes

íncluyendo agricultura y ofi'¿ios mecánicos, así como '

cursos profesionales y técnicos en medicina, derecho, ii^e-,.

,

.. alaría,If^rroacia, y en la ciencia y arte de la pedagogía," ' ' (Sección 2.)

the missions include knowledge and éducation of young persona ip knqwiedge and the professions, but also they include preparatipn of young pjsrsone ÍP'work at lower performance levels than science, art, and the professions,

required. Artes útiles and oficios mecánicos, and also the, primary..^piphasis on training school teachers, suggest more an image of the Carlisle Indian

- 32 -

School or the Hampton Institute than of Columbia University, Oxford, the

Sorbonne, or the Universidad de Madrid. The immediate necessity of school

teachers and persons apt in mechanical and agrichlturai arts was presumably seen by Professor Lindsay, and education in these two depáirtments was given the first priority to be established. But the law of 1903 provided suf-

ficient authority for the usual range of university work assoon as the Junt ta de Síndicpf^ thought this feasible. Depártments of natural seiénce and engineering,- liberal arts, medicine, law, and pharmácy were to be established:

"y los demás departamentos propios de una universidad bien montada, que la Junta de Síndicos pudiere de tiempo en tiempo establecer." (Sección 10)

Not only was teacher training the first wcñrk of the new university but also its importance was defined by the fact that instruction in this department

was without charge. in only ten years, however, the University came to have a liberal arts college Cl?10i,, a..law Cíillege.:(19l3.), and a pharmaey college (1913), (Benner, 1965, p. 3)

In addition to sufficient authority for a proper university, the 1903 law led to the acquisitions of land, buildings, and the appropriation of

nds .fpr the modest beginnings of the institution. A measufe of university autonomy resulted from governance by a ten-member Junta de Síndicos rather \

than direct administration by the government. But this autonomy was tightly circumscribed by having the Governor as honorary president, the Comroissioner of Education as president, and having also as members the Treasurer, the

Attorney General, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates (Sección 3). The assignment of lands and fixed money sources such as 50% of the fines imposed

in the courts were a measure of autonomy to permit the faculty to maintain

- 33 t;h.~:i¡r<,study

.integrit;y. in;

and

.te~ch~ng.

But .makin,g .the

pr:esident,i~l·

appointee,

the.. Co~missipne~. of .Educat;Jo,n,. (!hancello-r ·.of the .university s,ever,ely con-

. Twe~ty yea.J;"s.. la ter'· Ac ~,!.'lo. 6 7 to Reor.ganize t;:he Uni:veis:lty of P,uerto Ric.q.;¡(ap,pJtqyed 28 .JL1.ly 1923) .again assigned mixed. as in.

190~ wi~n

th~

l1,sual, univer$ity miss.i.ons

· lower level ed.1.,1cation inagricult1.,1ral and. mechanical

tradas .., llT,he univ.ersity .shall }?e an :i,~stitution of higher learni,l}.g and shall ... provide the inhabitants of Porto tlico with t_he .. llleans of acquiri~g a thorough knowledge of th.~ :various branches of literature, science, and useful arts, i.nc luding agr~cultural and mechanical. trades, and with. p:r;ofess.ional and technical courses in medicine, law, engineeríng, phar, , ":macy and .in the science an.d .art of ped;:tgogy .. 11 . (Sectíons. :2 and 3.)

•'!_ •.

., The principal change, a crQcial one, · ch.¡i.ncellor

o.~

the universi.ty.

1"78S

the. provision f or a professional

(Section 9)

Thomas Benner was a prpfessional

educ¡¡.t.or (B._A., 1914 and Ed •. D. 1924, Harvard University) who served .as uníversit;:y chancellor from 1924 until 1929. (Beqner, 1965)

In add,itiOJ;\ to

authority for. the departments. listed in the 190Z law, the 19=2.3 law provided f.o,; tl\ose of pbilosophy and letters, eugenics and soc:La:l welfare, archi.tee:tur~,

journalism, and dental. .surge.ry,

The. missions of ~~·~.$i;a.nal

·192~

(Sectipn 10)

conti.nt,1ed to· be the st.!,lndard higher learnit:i.g..,. pro-

education,, aIJ,d a general ar.ts and.

i:icien"~s.

education.

inc;luded: those of training in .agricultural, ·and mechanical arts. as

They. also w~U

as

teaching., · which are not;. always inc luded in ins t;i tu.tions of higher lear:ning.

This mixture of traditional ::university missions .with schoo.~ . training for work in agriculture and trades brought the professional

ch~mce.llor

.and the

- 34 :govérning politic·al party ·intoí col lision.

Senator Santiago Igle~ias pr.o-

p'osed'transferring $100,000 annually .of the ·oniversity budget of ·$675,000 to cover the cost of a special school .of ·arts and .t!;rades •.. (Benner, · 1965, ··p~ ::i37)

Such an a:ssignmént of university funds for education ·at school

·fe,.f-els could only•weaken and postpone the proper university functions . . The · próposal was defea:ted, ·to. some extent because o:f argument by the profess.ional chancellor and university students; but the displeasure of leaders of the párty in power forced the hand of. Antonio. Barcel6;.the principal leader :

'r•

. '

of the Aiianza, who asked Bennel1' tb resign~: · ('Fhe professional, young chancellor did resign and spent more than

th~ee

decades-as professor and dean of

the Collége· of Education at the University of Illinois.

:He returned to the

UPR/RP in 1962 as an aid to Chancellor Jaime Benítez and, fortunately, wrote a brief history of his timé at the university;) Senator· Barcel6 and Chancellor Benner in· the 1920's expanded research 'ana graduate/professional educ·ation in the- arts and sciences, and these beginni:t1gs TemaÜ1ed to serve in the· Foi;ties and Fifties as foundati'?lls for still further expansions. · Such was the D'epartment. of Hhpanic Studi.es .where diSdnguhhed Spanish scholars'taught and where·young local students who became distinguished carne after education at ..Columbia and: iMadrid.

The first

advanced degree at the university was in <this department, in .192 9, the M.A. 1

being conferred' bn Carmen G6mez Tejera for her study, La. :Novela en Puerto Rico.·

Federico de Onís of Cohitilbia Un.iversity :was for a time .chaiJ1I11a.n. of

this :départment. · '(Benner, 1965, ·p~ ·89--90)

Later; along with the-, ch~1I1istry

de.pártriil?nt·, the first Ph.O:. :degrees were awarded :students of.·,the depq~tment 'of hlspanic studies.

·''

...

- 35 -

The other achievement ia graduate/professional educatiMi and research'

was the founding, in collaboration with Columbia University^ -of thé School

of Tropical Medicine in 1925. A'-quarter o£"a century later, it becanie párt

of the new medical school at the university. Barceló received an honorary' LL.D. from Columbip.University for helping found this school, and the citation praised him for i'warmly supporting the institutions for education and research in the island."

The public authority had established the usual university missions, al-

though the necessary emphasis on research and scholarship was lackiríg^and' teaching'was the principal work of the institution. This meant teaching curricula with learning. materials largely preparad by professors at other

universities in the United States and Europa. The work of public authority, in other words, had been incompleta. But the more serious threat to higher learning in the public university of Puerto Rico resultad from the lack of a proper autonomy.

After the professional university chancellor was forced out in 1929, the P°liticians in power for the next decade used the University of Puerto Rico for their own intereses and that of their friends and ohildren to such an extent, according to Rexford G. Tugwell, who examinad ittie institution in

1941 and accepted the invitation to be its chancellor,;that in many depart-ments there.was. "no better than a parody of the education^il process."

(Tugwell, 1949, p. 109) Politicians intervened extensivaly^in faculty appointments, curricula, and standards ofstudent^performance to the grave detriment of the institution. Under such conditións, the recruitment and

retention of well qualified professors bécame exceedingly difficult, and

- 36 -

those.ifho carne to the facul.ty and remaine.d ttiere were in dispair by 1940,

Furthepapfe,. a colonial and provincial desire ,to escape períorroance

stfndards of the .yorld outside the Island presented the serious qpestio.n of whethec. Puerto Pico •! O

"was to retnain a small independent principality, entirely , ,

provincial, filled with fálse pride fór achievements which were not recpgnized elsewhere but protected from exppsure .. by insulation from competitión; or whéther she was tb become'

part of the larger world, accepting common standards, con- .

tributing and receiving as part of the whole." (Tugwell, l^Afe, p. 481).

This.. escape from world performance standards was often concealed by a de-

fense of the Spanish language against the intrusión of the Gnglish language, Without a thorough command pf English, .obviously, students and professors

would be seriously isolated from wptld science, art, .philosophy, and technolpgy - and thereby impoverished - and they would also be shielded from

world standards of academic performance, frustrating the development of the

kind of university for which the people of Puerto Rico provided public authority and funds.

•.;j Some^^mps, but not often the time is favorable.

It was favorable in

1942. In the great war, the Germans in that yeat were turned back at

Stali^ngrad an4 in North Africa. The Japanese were turned back at Midwa^j^. ^'^:',?,'^4'-f-°,.8¡ico., in a legislstive session of three days and three nights in the spring of.that year, with the leadership of Governpr Tugwell, a man of far grpater intellectuel and political competence than the usual men sent

down from Washington to sit in La Fortaleza, and with the leadership of Luis Muñoz Marín,.,^ho had Just founded the new Partido Popular Democrático and "

"

'

.

■ ■

,

■ •T Í

'

with it capturad control of Puerto Rico's legislatura, the basic institutions

- 37 -

necessáry fbr the mbdernizatíón'of íúerto Rico were créatéd. -As -tó the instltutibn bf the mbdern ünlvérsity, Tügwell and Muñoz wére jólned by onie

of thé móst cbrápetent persona bn the faeülty, soón to be nainéd chanceilor, Jaime Behítez.

Tugwéll ih 1941 had presentad the uhivefsity trastees á prógrani ktíá ' certaití requirements for himself as requisitas for Accepting the iri^itation tó become chanceilor. His áim wás more competence in higher leárning áCTRÍb" "Piedras.

He propbsed júnior collégés apart from the Río PlédiTaá

campús to be concerned more with the student than with the subjects of scholafs.

The central instítutioh was to be

•'fOr'serious training in the intellectual pursuits. Thís i's also vocatipnal, aven if it is labeled law, politice, or phi-

losophy, ánd it should he carri'ed oh under rigorbusly qualifiéd" instructora in a professional. way." (Tugwell, 1946, p. 123)

.;

. For himself, he requested a ten-year contract and a right during the time of the contract to two years of leave.

.

Túgwell just: afterwards was appointed by the President of.the United .0.'- ".

.

•

■

.

•

•

. • t

Stat?.s .'to be Governpr of Puerto Rico. A hewspaper ánd a cllqüé of áctivist students có^abofated in their oppositibn to Túgwell, and thé poiht of the lance was the dual appointment as chanceilor and governbr.

Senátor"'Muñoz

Marín spoke to a student assembly in súpport of Tugwéll, but his féception •.

.

I.'

was unfriendly. ahd a shbck to him.

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Togwéll wrote thát

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"The reception he got at the hands of what he had idéaítstic,elly. considered to be future Puerto Rican leaders

thoroughly convinced him that 1 was right. 1 névér dóubtéd .from then pn that he would support, University,refom,'!

Tugwell, 1946, p. 148) Uhereupon Tugwell resigned as chanceilor.

the modernization of Puerto Rico reqúired pubííc ágéncies cápáble of

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the task.. Industrialization was essentlal, and to< foment It the governmenC

needed a ;bank, a development company, a budget bureau, a planning board, and a university capable of acceptable research and the educátion of competent professlonal and technical persona for the new instltutions of á inodern

Puerto Rico. All the major statutes to put this institutional systetn in place were legislated in 1942 éxcept the civil service law fdr establiahtnent

of a merit system. (Tugweil, 1946, p.228) For three days and nights, the legislative session worked to approve the new laws. Not a single Popular.

in view of the balance pf power' between parties, could be spared. Soné had even gone to a hospital for rest and were brought to the legislature on

stretchers to vote. (Tugweil, 1946, p. 301) The university law was some*

what less than Tugweil wanted, but he found it acceptable, especially because it provided sufficient autonomy from politicians to permit a competent faculty to be recrulted, retained, and left free to their intellectual work with commitments only to that worko

*'the University of Puerto Rico as it was could not be recognized by other universities as worthy of the ñame.

The new act was intended

and went a long way toward - enabling us to carry out the purges, establish the standards and insure the independence necessary to enable it to take its place in company of genuinely dedicated institutionsJ' (Tugweil, 1946, p. 318) Law No, 135 approved 7 May 1942 was

"To Reorganiza the University of Puerto Rico; to Establish its Purposes and to Determine Its Responsibilities Towards the People of Puerto Rico

The law began with a declaratibn of purposes which clearly instructed the new university in discharging its responsibilities to the people of Puerto

Rico: to pursue higher learning at levels of excellent performance, to

edúcate persons interested in and competent for the study of the higher

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learñíng, ánd to prepare professionai and technical persona.

"Declaration o£ Furposes

There are hereby declared as cardinal purposes

pf.the university, in its . obligation to serve

. c,

The People o£ Puerto Rico:

To impart higher learning;

To make scient^iic research in the various,fields

, y,,

o£ learning;

^To study the £undaroental problems.oi Puerto Rico; To extend to the people the bene£its o£ culture; I-y

■ To.pare pare public servants.

By puhlic «Arvant-

shall be understood every pérson who, having availed . himself o£ the. opportunities th^ Jhe People of Puerto Rico £urnishes through its university, is graduated there£rom. In this^,,ense, a public servant is not only the one who works in the

.. . ..

instrumentalities o£ the goyernment, but every person equipped with a university education, in any pqs-ition, pro£ession, public or private activity, or kind of productiva li£e that uses the intellectual

equipment.furnished by the university ... r-

.The aim o£ the university, as a canter of education

and as a center of research, is to point out the

truth and to instill the methods of luiowing it, of testing it, or of doubting it ..."

Government of the university was by the Superior Educational Council

with seven members. It was to be independent, with 10-year terms for its members. It was expected to reflect higher learning in the world outside Puerto Rico - two of its members were to be "eminent educators identified, by their history, with the cause of democratic culture." Four members woúld '

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be Puerto Rico residents.

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The President of the Council was thie Commissíoner .

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of Education, still an appointee of the President of the United States, and ■. ■ ■Vliill or- J- y-.: i .. . o !•

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thus, I suppose, thought of as protection against unwise policies and pro

grama of the new institution.

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o-.;, ,,

(1\iro distinguished Columbia University pro-

fessors, where Tugwell had been on the faculty, were appoínted:

.-¡-r

Llndsey

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Rogers, a proininent political scientist and connect.ed with the International

Labor Office along with his university post; and Adolf A. Berle Jr., a law

scholar and later a diplomat.) The Superior Educational Council was assigned, aiso, the research mission of continuing study of the educational procesa.

(Section 3 and 4) Its authority extended to the appointment of the chancellor, approval of university regulations, establishment or revisions of di-

visions within the university, and approval pf the budget "in a lump sum."

(Section 5) This circunscribed its authórity to that of general supervi sión, leaving to the chancellor ánd other university officers the manage ment and work of the institution.

The chancellor was given'greát authority, presumablyto make the ex-

tensive changes Tugwell in 1941 thought essential to create a proper uni

versity. He appointed university facülty and other personnel, including

the deans who sat with him as the University Board to make the budget and other guides for the institution. (Section 9)

"The professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and instructors in each college or faculty shall constitute a body to work for

the improvement of the academic standards and the cultural progresa of the

University." (Section 18) Their authority as a faculty included the proposal of curricula to the University Board, the proposal of programs of

faculty work and the proposal of necessary regulations. Tliey were to receive permanent tenure after three years of approved service. (Section 16) An

eutonomous chancellor was to work with an autonomous faculty to do universi ty work of an acceptable level.

The autonomy needed for university work guided by the integrity of the

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facu|.t^ withgut outside, improper interferance, was, also guardad by th,e provisión of fixed funda not.dependent .upon annual.dppropriati-ons by^ the

legislature, Fix.ed.provisions,jwere ma^e - a share of the fines in the aourts, for example,, for a-permanent fund to be invested. in-interasC~beaf~

ing securities.^ (Section 21) A steady 3% of t^xes pn alcoholic beverages was assigned to the_ university. (Section 22) A fixed..share of property

taxes (20/100 of 1%) were assigned to the university. (Section 20). Student

tuition and fees wpuld al^p proyide funda. (Section.l9) And special ap.r propriations, especially for construction, could be made: .-the Act pf 1942 appropriated $400,000 fo;c plant and equipnent. (Section ??) .

provided proper purpose, autonomy, and funda for , the uni-

,,yprsi|y. to,fplfill its missicns and to. become the "universidad, bidh montada"

^hfph Frpfessor Lipdsey of Colurnt^ia üniv.ersity, lik,e Professoi^ Tugwell -of.

Puprto Rico needed. , It failqd, howevpr, to "^SWell included .-in his. deyeloprnept b;eep the Río Pipdras campua at a proper

® P'^9,P.®5;-levpl of conpentration on. hig;h leyel intellectual -

..

gradúate, edupation...,

ñ 1®®®**?»:.;*^^® univeraity gjew and fulf^^l^d Us iaÍ8.aions ^easonably

^®^V , í,ys-difficulties were aa.insuffieient attention to resaarch and while accepting a fapid,inprease of undergraduate anr.pllment

in Río Piedras, an increase which Tugwell had hoped to fore,ataU.,^y the shield of tha Janipr cpUeges. la the a^demic year ending l;94l, when Tugjíell became CJ^^cellpr and proposed a raform plan for the university, t^ere, pere 4228 S-i^udeats. Ten years later, there had .been an increase of 85% tp

— 42

7846;'! <Niévés,' 1965, p. 223) 'In the next half decade, to 1966, enrollment grewVtQ!:i9,;063, a 53%. increment.

(Hansen, 1975, p. 149)

The two prbblems of provincialism, shutting the university away from

the currents and standards of the «orld academic conmunity; and of such emphasis oh másses of undergraduate students that research and gradúate edu-* catión su^fered, remained to cloud the university missiohs.

The législature

in 1942 hadi-provided the necessary autonomy, funds, and clarity óf purpose.

It had not,' however, and perhaps it could not, guard the university against lowering.performance standards. .

Both Lindsey in 1903 and Tugue11 in 1942 proposed legislation to the

end that the University of Puerto Ríqo uould become like the great universities of the world.

But the provincialism which Tugwell feared flared' into

activity after 1953.

Governor Muñot.Marín started it by chiding the owner

of a rural bar for naming-hléplace Agapito's Bar. The use of English began to become a mark of disfespect for Spanish and everything Puerto Rican.

And uhen Chancellor Benítez removed the requirement of studying the literature of'Puerto Rico, a new dimensión to the mbvement uas added.

Some de-

picted a fierce battle betunen those uho favored an occidental culture and

a university based on it uhile their enemies uanted a Puerto Rican culture

and a!university based on it. Midst this din, feu heard or responded.to prOposals for the establishment of a gradúate.faculty and the encouragement of móre and better research.

i

The lack of adequate research for the modernization undertaken by; Tugue.ll, Muñoz Marín, and the new men of the Popular Democratic ^Par.ty uas

serióus. Thiree yeats after 1942, a group pf goyernment men of .thie. neu

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mpyeiqept,. whp .previouply had been university ptofessors, s'ought' a '¿éin'édyv

.the..ps|:$jblishipent at the- University of a Social-Sífietice Res'éaifch"CÍeritei:.

Tugwe.Il; whp wás advocating.and,;^3^¿ctInavJAie^APjattijiifaaáü^:^ gpvprnorj, first, and. then the election of a local góvérhor^ Was prepáréd to head, t^e ne^, researph divisio.o> . The reseavch center w'ás established átid'''

.given a reaspnablp.-budggt ($100,000 annually) to stúdy the básic problem® of Puerto, Rico,, a 5}iasion .included in the 1942 law.-

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Tugwell, hpweyer,, left the Island to accépt- a university pbsitión'át•

the .University pf Cbicago in 1946.. The cetiter vas dirécted,- instéád,''^by"

Senioir untll 1.948, by Simón Rottenberg until 1949, ánd-unfil 1^964

by M^llar<l W. Hansen. During .theae 18 years,- a. reasonable'ñumber. of; reseaych books and papprs were. written and published, most of them about iin'portant. problems :in;.,th(S; Puerto. Rtcañ society. Thc avefage püblication rate

with an annual budget vhich ranged from .the initial $100,000 to an avferage

of $150,000 vas lóore than tvo books and'five articles per year.-'' The'work vas, as Tugv.ell proposed, "psrt of the larger vorld, accepting 'common v stsndards, coutributing and receiving as part of the.- vhole." The trouble

vas,:hovever, that - vith painfully fev exceptions - the research vas done

by Unlted States scholars.

The present.univeysity lav of 1966 did little tó restrain effectively

the provincialism or .tl^e'lómense increase of undergradüaté'enrollment at <•)

Río.Piedras vhich kept apademic performance at levels'niuéh belov those of í.'

the vorld optSjide the Island.' The five coromissioners'Chosen in 1965 to V

prppose (§;,ne.v fUniyersity lav wrote that "the difficultles at the uhivérsity

had.tvp; prifpary s.purcea:

lack of understanding.betveen.adminlstrátion and '

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important sectors of the faculty and student body; and the" university attempt

to próvida services demandad by a mass sociaty. (Cordero at al. Informa de . la Comisldn da Educadoras sobre la Reforma Universitaria. 1965.

p. 3) Un-

fortunataly, the statement of the two problema was itself highly provincial in that the two sources of trouble were defined as "estrictamente locales/'

On the contrary, as anyone aware of developments in higher education in the United States and Europa in 1965 should have known, both these sources of

trouble were epidemic. And had they been aware of the epidemia forcé of

the problema of university government and of higher education undergoing

change from elite towards mass institutions, they should have known about policios, ptograms, and studies already treating these grave disturbances.

There ts nothing in the repoft of the five commissioners to suggest that universities existed outside the Island, that the University of Puerto Rico waS one in a world of universities.

A notable example of the provincialism of the 1965 report was its

complete disregard (or ignorance) of the growth of university systems in many states of the Unitéd States, notably the largest. California and New York.

Five years before the 1965 report, the State of California established

its university system on the foundation of segregation of missions among three kinds of institutions:

the university (ultimately with eight branches),

the state colleges, and the two-year community colleges.

This had been,

perhaps, the direction of Tugwell's ideas about university planning in 1941, when he proposed júnior colleges to guard Río Piedras for higher level work,

especially for research and gradúate education.

It was superficially touched

by the five commissioners in providihg for regional colleges.

But their

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repprt and thé 1966"láw which very ciósely followed the'tépb'rt áid ñót cón-

froñ't -éhe issüé of• différential miissions bet^e'eh'ünivérsity, state'Cóllege,

and'' cfeiiihunity' ébileg'é-. ■ As a result, thé va|ii'e'épécificatiÓTíi8-'for the'té'éional colleges abodt two years of univérsity éducatioh'and eduéation forcarreras' cortas máke'no useful definition of the différénce bétwéen theéé

cóllegéS attd the Río Piedras "campus": In'contfast," the 1960 Cálifornia'iaw specifiéd thaf thA univérsity ^ould be restticted tn 12 1/2"%'bf alT'high school graduates, the state colleges to 33 i/3% of thesé graduatés, and'the

' coin6'Íé¡ihity''cóÍleges would accept any'high school gradúate. Reseafch and preparation of professional persons were to be done only at the uniVe'fsity.

As á result, the univetsity vas not ovérwhelibed hy'á mass of Uhdergfaduate studehts ahd could give Adecúate attention to résearch and to graduaté/pro-

fessional education. > llie ®hiversity. of California could, Vith thls" proitection, continué to be one of the féw great universlties óf thé world.

The 1965 re-

port and the 1966'statutei hovevef, failed to make the diS'tlnction.' - The'

Rió Piedras univérsity, in conseqúence, continued iis Kugé-increáse in úndetgraduate enrollment (fron a total ehrolltaent of 18,006 in the year of

the 1965 report to 26,041 nine years later.) (Hansén, 1975, p. 149) Thé p'ropottion of regular stúdents at Río Piedras engaged in gradúate education

in 1970 was only 3t or less, and practically no stúdy at the PhitK üievel existéd. '

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The 1966 statute tried to resolve the first sOurce of trouble- thé five

coannissionets idéntified (lack of undétstanding in conimutticátfon between

the univetélty administration and' iniporthrit sectrors of'faculty and stúdents) by incréáhíttg thé'top adrtinistrátion from One chancelior to a presidentj

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chancellors at Mayaguez and the medical sciences campús, and provlding for a director ofrégional colleges.

It is hard to estimate whether there

.carne to be better understanding between administration, facuityV and s۟-

dents. Butit is at least obvious that in the eight years following enactment jof the reform law, two presidenta have been fired, with lit'tle time for the. usual courtesies, and four chancellors have been-fired.' After

the 1942 statute, .Chancellor Benitez had held his post until h'e became president under the 1966 statute.

• As to the impact on the university of a inass society, the new law had no useful provisión.

The 1966 law continuad the university missions intludéd in the 1942 statute, aIthough according to the five commissioners, these \tfére "re-'

J formulados v aún repensados al prepararse la nueva levV (Cordero et al, 1965, p. 9) The question of style is not easily anfewered; I find the language of 1942, however, much more clear and pointed than that óf 1966.

(The translation of the 1966 law into English, furtheriiíore, suggests that the resistance to that language which has been growing since the time of Agapito's Bar may have unhappy effects. The Spanish versión states that

the missions of the university "implica el más amplio goce de la libertad

de cátedra y de investigación científica," whereas in English the phrase reads "with which is consubstantial the fullest freedom of professorship and Scientifíc research,"

Not included among the missions proposed by the five commissioners, is a new mission which can be used, as in 1975 it had been used, to skew

the university away from the best possible learning towards entrante

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discrimin^tióh favorable to the less fortan'áte; The missibh is foíind iri Section 2 (B) (4):-'

"Fully tó develop the ittteílectual and spiritual weálth latent in our people, so that the valúes of the intelli-

.

genfcé and'spífít of the éxceptioria'l persónalities tÜát arise from all social sectors, especially those least

favored in econoinic resources, máy bé put to thé service of the Puerto Rican conununity;"

The question is how to define "exceptional persónalities." If they are

intellectually exceptional, there is little probability that, given 12 years of free education, they vill have low scores on the entrence examinations.

If that is true, then special discrimination for then in the

scores would be unnecessary.

If exceptional comes to mean potentiallv

exceptional. however, then the law can be put to the use of lowering

entrence requirements for poor students. This can only mean that such students will be given compensatory, remedial help at the university to

acquire intellectual skills and knowledge they failed to acquire in 12

years of public school education. That compensatory, remedial work is not at university level although its costs are.

The public authority in collaboration with the administration,

faculty, and students of the University of Puerto Rico has done an incomplete job. The necessary, standard university missions have been

announced and included in legislation throughout this century: knowledge, professional education, instruction in the higher learning. But missions which weaken and frústrate the achievement of these necessary missions

have, also, been proposed and permitted: school work at the university, provincial avoidance in academic work of world performance standards.

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breaches of university autonomy permitting political and individual uses .

of the institution, discrimination for the poor in entrance requirements^ . and student. searches for identity, friends and mates, and personal pleasure instead of searches for knowledge, professional education, and the higher learning. The.task remains uncpmpleted.

References

Ashby, Eric, 1971. Anv person. anv studv - an essav on híeher education in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Benner, Thonas E.

1965.

Fíve Years o£ Foundation Buildíne

The üniversitv of Puerto Rico 1924-1929. with a preface by Chancellor Jaime Benitez. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: UniBerelson, Bernard. 1960. Gradúate education in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Cordero, Rafael de J.; Millas, Jorge; Morales, Juan E.J Illich, Ivan; Cintrón, Jorge N. 1965. Informe de la Comisión de Educadores sobre la Reforma Universitaria. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Asamblea Legislativa.

Hansen, Millard W.

1975.

Educatlcn for comoetent particioa-

tion. Cambrige, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Co. 1975.

Missions of a university in a small

countrv. Río Piedras: University of Puerto Elico.

Helfeld, David M. 1974. Informe de la Comisión del Goberna dor para estudiar relaciones del trabajo en el servicio páblico en Puerto Rico. 3 volúmenes. San Juan.

Junta de Planificación de Puerto Rico, marzo de 1972. Infor me económico al Gobernador 1971. San Juan. e£janómico al Gobernador 1974.

Nieves Falcón, Luis.

1965.

mayo de 1975.

San Juan.

Informe

Recrultment to Hieher Education

in Puerto Rico 1940-1960. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Editorial Universitaria.

Rivera, Pedro José.

1973.

Informe anual 1972-73.

Río Piedras:

Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras:

31 de

Julio de 1973.

Spurr, Stephen H. 1974. Academic degree structures: innovative approaches. principies of reform In deeree structures in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Tugwell, Rexford G, 1946, The_Stricken

. Chicago: The

University of Chicago Press.

The Archivo General of the UPR/RP has severa1 papera in the history of the university, usually without date or author.

I have used two of these papera, namely; Apuntes Histórimia sobre la Universidad de Puerto Rico and La Universidad de Puerto Rico.

j ;