Pusey Sees Need for Increase In Financial Aid From Business

Business is not contributing enough financial aid to higher education, President Pusey told a meeting of Wall Street brokers Tuesday.

Pusey cited Harvard's situation as an example of the financial problems confronting most colleges and universities. Although the University is the wealthiest in the country from the standpoint of endowment, he observed that this was not necessarily true in terms of its operating costs. Operating expenses last year came to nearly $42,000,000, while contributions from corporations and corporate foundations during the same period totalled only $1,100,000.

He warned that a continuing supply of college graduates was needed to operate the country's vast and complicated technological systems. He stated that the universities were the recruiters and suppliers of trained personnel for business and therefore contributions should be considered as investments in "one of the most important things we have" rather than charity.

"Contributions from business are increasing," Pusey admitted. But he quickly asserted that they still were not enough and were distributed unequally, most of them going to the Graduate School of Business Administration or to the departments of natural sciences. "Other areas of education are equally important to business and such restrictions are unwise," he added.

"The country's welfare depends on scholars who are working in the fore-front of knowledge and research. No one should have any hesitation about helping this kind of enterprise," Pusey declared.