BE REPORT ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE CENTER FOR DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 7, 1961. The Honorable the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. SIR: I transmit_herewith_pursuant to the provisions of section 704 (c) of Public Law 86-472, the report on the operations of the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West for the fiscal year 1961. The report summarizes activities carried out at the Center during that period. Since there is at present no need for a revision of the enabling legislation, no recommendations to that effect have been included in the report. Very truly yours. Enclosure: Report on East-West Center. DEAN RUSK. REPORT ON THE OPERATIONS OF THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL AND TECHNICAL INTERCHANGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, FISCAL YEAR 1961 LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY In the Mutual Security Act of 1959, Public Law 86-108, the Congress expressed its intent to establish in Hawaii a Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West. Chapter VII of the Mutual Security Act of 1960, Public Law 86-472, which was signed into law on May 14, 1960, authorized the establishment and operation of such a Center, "primarily in support of the objectives of the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, as amended, title III of chapter II of the Mutual Security Act of 1954, and other acts promoting the international educational, cultural, and related activities of the United States." More specifically, the law authorized the Secretary of State to (1) provide for the establishment and operation of the Center "through arrangements with public, educational, and other nonprofit institutions;" (2) provide for grants, fellowships, scholarships, and other payments as might be necessary to attract to the Center outstanding scholars and students "from the nations of the East and West"; and (3) make the facilities of the Center available for study to other qualified persons. On August 31, 1960, $10 million was appropriated to the Department of State to start the Center, the money to be made available "by grant to any appropriate agency of the State of Hawaii" (Public Law 86-678). The appropriation was described in the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriations as being "the amount re quired as the first year's cost of a 3-year program involving a total cost of approximately $31 million" (S. Rept. 1777, 86th Cong., 2d sess.). GRANT-IN-AID AGREEMENT The $10 million appropriation was in support of a plan submitted by the University of Hawaii, with the endorsement of the Hawaiian delegation in the Congress and the Governor of the State, which called for the university to carry out the provisions of the authorizing legislation. Accordingly, the Department of State entered into a grant-inaid agreement with the University of Hawaii on October 25, 1960, and, pursuant thereto, made the first payment of funds to the institution about 10 days later. As of June 30, 1961, the University of Hawaii had committed $9,459,000 but had expended only $1,404,234 of the $10 million made available by the grant-in-aid. The Department requested $6,850,000 for the Center in the supplemental appropriation bill of 1962. The Center was planned as an educational institution composed of three major divisions: the International College, for students; the Institute of Advanced Projects, for senior scholars; and the International Training Agency, for persons accepted for inservice and onthe-job training. Provisions were also made for a translation bureau and for a substantial increase in the acquisitions and the staffing of the oriental collection of the university library. As envisaged, the International College was to provide special health and welfare services and offer special programs in language training and area studies. The university proposed as components of this division an English Language Institute, an American Studies Institute, an Asian studies program, and an overseas operations program. For instruction in other fields, student grantees who were to be selected on the ratio of four Asians to one American-would attend the regular courses offered by the university. The purpose of the Institute of Advanced Projects was to bring together a number of senior scholars, leaders, and specialists from the Asian and Pacific countries and the United States, to participate in joint research efforts, special conferences, and discussion meetings. About 200 scholars were to be admitted annually to this division. The International Training Agency would expand the training programs that the State of Hawaii had carried on for some years through its educational facilities, industries, and governmental agencies. These programs, supported by funds received by the State under contract with the International Cooperation Administration, were conducted by the International Cooperation Center. On April 17, 1961, the International Cooperation Center was transferred from the Office of the Governor, to which it had been attached organizationally, to the administrative control of the University of Hawaii, where it was designated as part of the International Training Agency. The physical facilities immediately proposed for the Center consist of an administration building, a laboratory-classroom building, a theater-auditorium, two dormitories, and quarters for conference delegates and others who visit the Center for short periods of time. By June 30, 1961, competitive bids had been received for the six buildings and contracts awarded; the university reported that construction would be started in July 1961. The State of Hawaii has made substantial contributions to the project; the State legislature appropriated $852,000 for buildings and administrative expenditures in connection with the planning and operation of the Center, and the University of Hawaii provided a land area of 21 acres, with a market value of about $2,740,000, on its main campus for the special facilities of the Center. ADVISORY GROUPS Considerable study has been devoted to the shape and direction the Center should take in order to become a nationally significant focal point for educational, scientific, and cultural relations between the United States and the Asian and Pacific areas. On February 27, 1961, the university convened a group of educational leaders and other specialists in relevant fields, to consider the opportunities and challenges in education that would lead to increased understanding among peoples, with emphasis on the interchange of information and ideas between the peoples of Asia and the United States through the Center. Five major topics were discussed during the 3-day meeting: joint East-West research and cultural pursuits; Asian and Pacific students in America; technical training academic and inservice; educational and cultural relations with Asia and the Pacific; and Center relations with mainland institutions. The university subsequently prepared a report of the meeting, entitled "Summary of Proceedings of the National Consultive Meeting.” At the invitation of the board of regents of the university, a committee of consultants1 reviewed the program, organization, and administration of the Center during the latter part of May and early June. In its report to the board of regents, submitted June 14, 1961, the committee made a number of recommendations, which may be summarized as follows: The Center, which is soundly conceived, should be vigorously developed as an important national resource capable of making a significant contribution to international understanding. A new position, that of Chancellor, should be established for administration of the Center. The board of regents of the University of Hawaii should appoint an advisory council of qualified persons from Asia and the United States to advise the Chancellor in the direction of the Center; the Department of State should be invited to nominate one council member. The Center should focus its programs on those subject areas where the State and the university offer present or potential strengths and advantages. The Center should assist in the development of a university program that will attract highly qualified graduate students and senior scholars to Hawaii. The Center should administer directly the Institute of Advanced Projects, the International Training Agency, and the translation bureau. The formal education of students and the provision of student services should be the direct responsibility 1 The consultants were Dr. Clark Kerr, president of the University of California; Dr. John W. Gardner, president of the Carnegie Corp. of New York; and Dr. Herman Wells, president of the Indiana University. Dr. Glenn Taggart, director of international programs, Michigan State University, assisted them. 78304-62-16 of the University of Hawaii and of other universities, through contractual arrangements with the Center. To meet Asian needs, great emphasis should be placed on the program of the International Training Agency, that part of the Center which will provide technical training. Award of student scholarships should be the responsibility of the Center, and greater emphasis should be placed on the training of graduate students. The ratio of American students should be increased to onethird of the total number of students. Asian students should be integrated into the general university student community. The number of senior scholars accepted annually should be approximately 50 from Asia and 25 from the United States. The Center should sponsor and publicize a series of international conferences with distinguished participants from various parts of the world. A more appropriate name, such as the Asian-American Center, should be considered. The Federal Government should commit itself to indefinite long-term support of the Center. In May 1961, Dr. Sudhir Sen, Program Director, Technical Assistance Board, United Nations, conducted a survey of the fields in which new or expanded technical training programs should be initiated. He recommended that sizable programs be carried on in three areas: tropical agriculture, vocational training, and public health. In his report on his findings, Dr. Sen pointed out that Hawaii is the only State in the Union that can offer training in tropical agriculture—and, indeed, occupies a preeminent position in this field among all the areas of the world; that it is well equipped with technical schools for providing vocational training; and that it has available substantial opportunities for training in public health, one of the most pressing needs of all developing countries. He also stressed the need for longterm training and urged the Center to set up programs in appropriate fields in other Asian and Pacific countries. MODIFICATIONS IN ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF CENTER The recommendations of the committee of consultants have been approved by both the Department of State and the board of regents of the University of Hawaii. Even before acting formally on the committee's report,2 the board of regents took steps to modify the original plan for the Center in accordance with the recommendations contained in it. The university's first annual report on the operations of the Center, issued at the close of the fiscal year 1961, carried an announcement of a number of changes in the Center's organization, programs, and activities. A new position, that of Chancellor,3 had been created, the incumbent to be under the general supervision of the president of the university but to have considerable autonomy in the Center's development and administration. The International College had been 2 On July 6, 1961, the board of regents unanimously approved the consultants' report and adopted it as a policy document for the Center. 3 Dr. Alexander Spoehr, director of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, accepted the appointment as Chancellor of the Center on July 13, 1961, effective Jan. 1, 1962. disbanded, leaving the formal education of students to be carried on by the University of Hawaii and other universities, through contractual arrangements. (The Center will continue to administer directly the Institute of Advanced Projects, the International Training Agency, and the translation bureau.) The quota for senior scholars in the Institute of Advanced Projects had been reduced, and the Center had been given greater flexibility in fiscal and personnel matters. Other changes recommended by the consultants will be reflected in the development of the Center during the fiscal years 1962 and 1963. In order that the International Training Agency may more nearly meet Asian needs, the programs of that division will be both expanded and intensified. Two pilot training projects, one in tropical agriculture and the other in vocational training, have been planned for fiscal year 1962; the agency will continue to carry on inservice training programs under contract with the International Cooperation Administration (now the Agency for International Development). All Center programs will be focused on subject areas in which strong facilities for study already exist; scholarships for fiscal year 1963 have been allocated to those areas. The ratio of American students to the total number of students will be increased from onefifth to one-third beginning with September 1962. In support of this increase, additional graduate programs will be developed in Asian fields of study, including linguistics, and the Oriental collection of the library will be enlarged substantially. The library will add materially to its holdings in American studies, also. The overall result of the modifications in the original plan for the Center will be at a less rapid rate of growth than that first anticipated in the interest of developing a superior program. EXCHANGE ACTIVITIES One hundred and six persons were awarded scholarships by the Center during fiscal year 1961, of whom 11 were Americans and 95 were visitors from the Asian and Pacific countries. The number of exchanges with each country was as follows: Number of exchanges with each country In addition, two seminars for Asian school officials, of 3 months' duration each, were conducted by the center. The first, held during the fall of 1960, was devoted to school curriculum development; 19 educators from Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaya, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam attended it. The second was convened in February 1961, and dealt with school administration; the 18 participants represented Pakistan, |