Milestones of TRIO History, Part I Reprinted from Milestones of TRIO History, Part 1 is the first in a series of Opportunity Outlook TRIO History Short Papers that will trace the evolution of the The Journal of the TRIO Programs. This fascinating history details the stories and Council for Opportunity struggles that have made TRIO one of the most unique and successful educational opportunity programs in the United in Education States. Part 1 discusses the initial creation of the TRIO January 2003 Programs in 1964 through the regionalization of TRIO Programs on a national level. — by John Groutt This reprint is one of a series of TRIO History Short Papers commissioned by the National TRIO Clearinghouse 1025 Vermont Avenue, Suite 1020 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-638-2887 Email: [email protected] Milestones of TRIO History, Part I JOHN GROUTT The history of TRIO is a ilestones of TRIO History, The War on Poverty fascinating story of unique Part I is the first in a contin- In 1961, President Kennedy had uing series of National TRIO appointed Walter Heller, a midwestern Federal Government experiments Clearinghouse TRIO History populist economist to serve as chairman MShort Papers that will trace the develop- to address the problems of of the Council of Economic Advisors. ment of TRIO Programs. The purpose of The President charged the Council to poverty by providing educational the History Short Papers is to provide an study the problem of poverty and make opportunities in higher education. historical framework for the TRIO pro- recommendations for action.4 grams. These Short Papers will be avail- Within a few days of Kennedy’s Paralleling that story is the able as reprints and archived in full text assassination, President Lyndon Johnson history of the professional under Publications at the National TRIO summoned Heller to a meeting at which Clearinghouse website at www.triopro- educators who worked to become Heller described the plans being consid- grams.org/clearinghouse. ered to combat poverty. Heller reported active participants in the design later that Johnson spontaneously replied, and survival of the TRIO A Growing Awareness of Poverty “That’s my kind of program; I’ll find the money for it one way or another.”5 A programs. The Milestones of Until the mid 1960’s the Federal gov- ernment was only minimally involved in month later, in his first State of the Union TRIO History, Part I, will review the education of America’s youth. With the speech, the President declared “an unconditional war on poverty that…we the initial creation of the TRIO notable exceptions of the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 and the Serviceman’s cannot afford to lose.” A few weeks later Programs, beginning with Readjustment Act of 1945 (“G.I. Bill”), he appointed Sargent Shriver to head a TRIO Upward Bound in 1964, education was considered the domain of Task Force on Poverty. Barely six weeks state and local governments. However, later, the Task Force had prepared legis- on through the regionalization during this period a new rationale devel- lation, in record time, to begin the attack of TRIO Programs nationally. oped to justify Federal involvement in that the Johnson administration declared education. Widespread, but hidden, would “forever eliminate poverty from poverty was suddenly recognized as a the richest nation on earth.” severe national problem. Michael One of the earliest volleys in that war Harrington’s book, The Other America: was The Economic Opportunity Act of Poverty in the United States,1 and a 1964 that established the Office of lengthy article by Dwight McDonald in the Economic Opportunity (OEO) to coordi- New Yorker entitled “Our Invisible Poor”2 nate and administer the poverty pro- alerted the public to this issue. These grams. Sargent Shriver was appointed works helped form a national consensus National Director. that poverty was a serious problem, afflict- One of the more interesting sections ing at least one-third of the population in a of that unusual law established a country that John Kenneth Galbraith had Demonstration and Research office to described a few years earlier as the “afflu- fund experimental programs. Shriver ent society.”3 It was now no longer possi- was eager to make the agency quickly ble to deny the extent and devastating visible throughout the country. To do so effects of poverty to the nation. he established “national emphasis” quite different.11 James Moore, in OE, was responsible for administering the National Defense Student Loans to col- lege students. Samuel Halperin, Assistant Commissioner for Legislation in OE, and also closely aligned with the Johnson White House, was given the assignment to draft educational legisla- tion. These two men helped develop the bill that would become the Higher Education Act of 1965. As a part of that Act, a large amount of money would soon be appropriated to students in the form of new Educational Opportunity Grants (EOG). This was the first time ever that Federal scholarship monies would be distributed based on low-income status. In the United States, a system of higher education had emerged that pri- marily served the children of the upper- income families. This educational elit- ism had been challenged over the years by several programs that progressively opened the doors of higher education to new populations. The GI Bill, passed in 1945, made it economically possible for President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Higher Education Act of 1965. World War II and the Korean War veter- ans to attend colleges and universities. programs. A program for high school crusade to eliminate poverty though edu- The National Defense Education Act of students called “Upward Bound” was cation. They shared an acute sense of 195812 opened the door a little wider by one of the first demonstration programs creating something new and exciting, providing loans for higher education to to be developed. Its purpose was to and of challenging the system. One thing financially needy students. However, identify secondary school students from that stands out in discussions with per- with the exception of the Historically low-income backgrounds who were sons involved in Upward Bound during Black Colleges, collegiate education was underachieving, and to motivate and pre- its earliest years: everyone, at all lev- limited almost exclusively to whites.13 pare them to pursue postsecondary edu- els, describes it as the most exciting The staff at the Office of Education (OE) cation. Seventeen pilot projects began period of their professional life.9 reflected the same racial composition. operation in the summer of 1965 serving The first national Upward Bound Moore and Halperin knew that very 2,061 students.6 Program was organized on two levels. A few low-income students participated in Stanley Salett deserves most of the miniscule staff of two persons in the higher education. No one expected them credit for designing Upward Bound.7 A Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to. Neither high school nor college per- scholar and activist, he brought together set policy. The actual program adminis- sonnel had experience working with ideas from experimental pre-college pro- tration was done by a private contract diverse populations of youth in higher grams being funded by several colleges, agency that processed applications, education. The two men saw that a large the National Science Foundation, small- monitored the programs and sent fre- pot of money would go largely untouched er foundations and the giant Rockefeller, quent site visitors to check on the pro- due to lack of experience on the part of Ford and Carnegie Foundations.8 The grams that were situated in colleges and the students, high school counselors and Upward Bound projects were filled with universities across the country. This colleges. Yet both knew there were large innovative educational ideas and teach- arrangement lasted four years until numbers of low-income potential college ing. Students, instructors and adminis- Upward Bound was removed from OEO students who needed money if they were trators at both the local and national lev- and transferred to the Office of to enter and remain in college. They els were excited over the imaginative Education (OE) at the insistence of quickly inserted a few lines into the pro- materials and methods being tried. Most Congresswoman Edith Green of Oregon.10 posed bill. Section 408 of the Higher of the adults involved as teachers and The beginnings of Talent Search, the Education Act set up a new program, administrators were firm believers in a second of the “TRIO” programs were Contracts to Encourage the Full tion.15 When the programs were imple- mented, many of the results took the country by surprise. The “maximum fea- sible participation” of the poor, included in Title II of the Economic Opportunity Act, occasioned the greatest conflict. It empowered persons at the grass roots level to effectively oppose the entrenched local political powers, espe- cially the mayors and their long-standing patronage systems. It caused havoc with- in the Democratic Party and between local and federal officials.16 The Higher Education Amendments of 1968 The second “milestone” in TRIO history is the Higher Education Amend- ments of 1968. This Act transferred Upward Bound from Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to the Office of Education (OE) in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare where it joined Talent Search and a newly Sargent Shriver, National Director for the Office of Economic Opportunity, left, and Dick Frost, first designed and funded program called National Director of Upward Bound Program. Special Services for Disadvantaged Students (SSDS). The first “TRIO” of Utilization of Educational Talent advantaged. In other schools it was not educational programs to help the disad- (CEFUET, later called Talent Search), as unusual for EOG monies to remain vantaged enter college was in place.