From Persuasion to Accommodation in Public Two-Year College Development

Abstract

This was the ürst of a series of papers presented February 20, 2001 at a national conference sponsored by North Texas State University held in the Omni Hotel Dallas, TX. The author relates the 1950 status of two-year college development, numbers and locations of university professors specializing in the üeld, and the need to persuade citizens they should have a public two-year college in their midst. Events are traced which led up to the overwhelming demand by the public in the late 1960s and early 1970s to have their own two-year college. This condition precipitated the untiring work of university faculty specialized in this üeld to accommodate the need for assistance at both the state level planning and for local college establishment. The citizens participatory comprehensive study involvement developed initially as a way of overcoming resistance and persuading citizens they needed a college is a viable approach today for periodically evaluating and future planning to meet changing societal manpower needs. The author urges continued use of action research tools to accommodate evolving local area educational needs.

Editor's Choice Essay

“…Young's 1950 doctoral dissertation, An Analysis and Evaluation of General Legislation Pertaining to Public Junior Colleges, is seminal to understanding his later efforts to start junior colleges. Endorsed by the Research Committee of the American Association of Junior Colleges (AAJC; Young, 2002), it begins with a review of demographic, economic, social, technological, and political data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the federal National Economic Bureau, and other sources. From this analysis, which foreshadowed his citizen's participation studies, Young concluded that prospects for the future development of junior colleges were bright.…”

“…Additionally, the junior colleges had provided the secondary districts with a supplemental revenue stream that generated profits far beyond the costs associated with operation of the two-year programs. (Krebs et al, 1999, p. 25) Young also recommended sound planning in the establishment of separate junior colleges, a theme emphasized by leading experts at the time, including L. V. Koos, S. V. Martorana, and James Wattenbarger (Young, 2002). Writing in 1996, Young recalled that up until the mid-1950s, 2-year college establishment had been erratic, haphazard, and largely without plan.…”

“…No institutions of public higher education existed on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis; the nearest were nearly two hours away-Centralia Junior College and Southern Illinois University. Illinois law at that time permitted junior college establishment if the school district had obtained permission from the state superintendent of public instruction, if the district served a population of at least 10,000, and if the local citizenry had approved creating the college in an election (Young, 2002). The Wood River school leaders were advised that "there should be a study of the need for programs, potential enrollments, facility requirements, and cost of operation, and capital requirements" prior to asking taxpayers in an election to fund the college (Young, 2002, p. 561).…”

“…The Wood River school leaders were advised that "there should be a study of the need for programs, potential enrollments, facility requirements, and cost of operation, and capital requirements" prior to asking taxpayers in an election to fund the college (Young, 2002, p. 561). Young also advised that the nearby town of Alton be included, so that the minimum population requirement would be met (Young, 2002).…”

“…The first occurred from 1947 to 1955, when he completed his graduate degrees and subsequently held appointments at Oklahoma State University (1950 to 1953) and the University of Oklahoma (1953Oklahoma ( to 1955. At this time, few programs in higher education existed, and early junior college scholars, including Young, regularly taught in secondary education administration programs (Young, 2002). Young's formal education and extensive scholarly and professional field work in both secondary education and junior colleges prepared him for the second phase of his career, from 1955 to 1976.…”