Mass Excellence: The Making of Modern Penn State
Open Access
- Author:
- Shaver, Robert Davis
- Area of Honors:
- Interdisciplinary in History and Science, Technology and Society
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Steven Walton, Thesis Supervisor
Jesse F Ballenger, Thesis Honors Advisor
Catherine Wanner, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Penn State
mass excellence
Commonwealth Campuses - Abstract:
- Penn State’s current status as the seventh largest employer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, not to mention its largest provider of degrees annually, can be traced back to decisions that were made more than six decades ago, during the years following World War II. As higher education changed nationwide with pivotal documents like Higher Education for American Democracy; Science, the Endless Frontier; and the Harvard Report for General Education shaping a new dialogue, plus legislation like the GI Bill providing new funding, Penn State also underwent tremendous changes during that period. The development of Penn State during the postwar period was the result of many factors, but it was personified by one man whose career had, arguably, a greater effect on the institution than any other: Dr. Eric Walker. Coming to Penn State from Harvard after the war, Walker brought a great deal of government research work with him in the form of what would soon be called the Ordnance Research Laboratory and Garfield Water Tunnel. Walker also got to know Penn State President Milton S. Eisenhower rather well working underneath him for nearly a decade; Eisenhower had been part of the Truman Commission, which composed Higher Education for American Democracy under the leadership of George Zook, US Commission of Education and former Penn State professor of history. All of these experiences contributed to Walker’s thinking when he became President in 1956 – he wanted mass excellence, quantity and quality. During Walker’s time as Penn State’s president, research expenditures grew 500% from $7 million dollars in 1956 to nearly $37 million dollars in 1970. The quantity of education provided grew as well – total enrollments across the Commonwealth grew 300% from 16,000 to 48,000 over the same period. Walker was one of Penn State’s foremost leaders along the road to mass excellence, and for that reason he can be largely viewed as the architect of Penn State today.