Divided by Loyalty: The Debate Regarding Loyalty Provisions in the National Defense Education Act of 1958

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent D. Maher
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Federal Aid ◽  
Higher Education Act ◽  
National Defense Education Act ◽  
Free Inquiry ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Short Term Investment ◽  
The Cold War

The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 was the first federal investment in low-interest student loans and became a precedent for expansion of student loans in the Higher Education Act of 1965. In its controversial loyalty provisions, the NDEA required loan recipients to affirm loyalty to the U.S. government. Between 1958 and 1962, thirty-two colleges and universities refused to participate or withdrew from the NDEA loan program, arguing that the loyalty provisions unfairly targeted students and violated principles of free inquiry. This essay argues that debate over the loyalty provisions fractured a partnership between progressives who favored general aid to education and conservatives who supported short-term investment for defense purposes. Although debates over the NDEA loyalty requirements seem specific to the Cold War, a close examination of the arguments illuminates their alignment with long-standing ideological conflicts over legitimacy of federal aid to higher education.

The Public Policy Roots of Women's Increasing College Degree Attainment: The National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deondra Rose
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
National Defense ◽  
College Degree ◽  
Related Case ◽  
Higher Education Act ◽  
National Defense Education Act ◽  
Education Act

How do we explain the steep increase in women's higher educational attainment that began in the mid-twentieth century and has continued, unchecked, in subsequent decades? Although many point to the emergence of feminism and the creation of Title IX in the 1970s as the origins of this trend, I argue that two federal student aid programs—the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965—helped set the stage for women to surpass men as the recipients of bachelor's degrees. Using historical analysis of primary and secondary resources, I present two related case studies that demonstrate the central role that unique political contexts and nondiscriminatory program administration have played in lawmakers' capacity to promote equal opportunity through public policy. This study suggests that women's increasing college degree attainment has important, but frequently overlooked, public policy roots.

The National Defense Education Act, the American Association of University Professors and the dilemma of academic freedom in the mid-twentieth century

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Huimin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Defense Education Act ◽  
The Us ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Us Federal Government ◽  
The Cold War

PurposeThis study asks how American institutions of higher education defended the principles of academic freedom (or intellectual autonomy) during the 1950s, even as they became increasingly dependent on the federal government's financial support, their eligibility for which required an oath of political loyalty under the terms of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Universities whose students or professors resisted the oath faced a dilemma of institutional governance as well as intellectual integrity during the early years of the Cold War.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on documentary and archival sources, including the Congressional Record, the AAUP Bulletin, student pamphlets, newspapers and other publications of the US federal government, and on secondary sources.FindingsThe author finds that the US federal government began to invest heavily in higher education during the 1950s, but financial support was often accompanied by political oversight. Higher education institutions and their professors struggled to reconcile a sense of responsibility for national service with a desire for academic freedom. The findings show how the federal government treated institutions of higher education and dealt with the issue of academic freedom during the Cold War.Originality/valueThis study draws on a large pool of primary sources and previous research to offer new insights into an enduring ideological tension between academic freedom, public service and financial patronage.

Issues in African Academic Language Programming in the U.S.

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
David J. Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Higher Education Act ◽  
National Defense Education Act ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
Title Vi ◽  
The Us ◽  
Education Act

Support for academic African language programs (ALPs) in the US began at the national level with the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (renamed the Higher Education Act of 1965). The goal of this legislation was to establish a world-wide language and area studies knowledge base that could be called upon in the event of conflict, but in addition it has provided generations of students a wealth of knowledge about the less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) and the communities where they are spoken. Although the Africa region’s share of this support has hovered around 12%, its effect has been substantial. For example, based on a world-wide listing of Africanist linguists, approximately half of these specialists live in Africa, with the remainder being equally divided between the countries of Europe and the US, a remarkable fact given that the US has no colonial legacy in Africa. Title VI of this legislation supports a set of National Resource Centers (NRCs) that promote language and area study of a specific region including Africa.

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