CONTENTS B. Student participation in governing of the university. C. Student action in national politics.. D. Universities and economic development_ E. Relationship between public and private universities. F. Kinds and method of distribution of United States aid. Page LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D.C., September 15, 1961. Hon. ADAM C. POWELL, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This report is submitted to the Committee on Education and Labor by two of its members who were commissioned by you to visit Argentina in the early spring of 1961 to gather information on higher education in that country. The study trip was undertaken following President Kennedy's message on Latin America of March 13 in which he called for increased cooperation between universities in the United States and Latin America. JOHN BRADEMAS, Indiana. ROBERT N. GIAIMO, Connecticut. I. INTRODUCTION We believe that U.S. policies with respect to the role of the universities in Latin America must henceforth be considered in the context of the Alliance for Progress which President Kennedy outlined in his March 13th address. The rise of Fidel Castro in Cuba has brought home to the American people more than any recent event the great importance to our own country of what happens in Latin America. Castro's revolution has convinced Americans of the urgency of building strong democracies in Latin America. Our visit to Argentina persuaded us that the universities of Latin America are an indispensable key to the economic development and social reform which these nations must have if they are to create democratic societies and free political institutions that will endure. The universities of Latin America must produce the engineers, the agricultural specialists, and the technicians needed to fight hunger, poverty, and disease and to move the economies of their countries into the 20th century. Otherwise we can expect to see Castro-like movements spread to other parts of Latin America. Among the 10 points the President urged for stimulating economic and social development in Latin America were proposals for helping to strengthen Latin American universities in what have been called "the strategic fields." As the President said, "We must rapidly expand the training of those needed to man the economies of rapidly developing countries. This means expanded universities, graduate schools, and research institutes." We chose Argentina for study because of its economic and political importance and because its system of education is relatively advanced among Latin American nations. Most of the other countries in South and Central America cannot match Argentina's high rate of literacy or well-established public school and university systems. We are aware that observations of one Latin American country may not readily apply in others. It is clear, however, that similar economic and social problems exist in all these countries and certain common patterns of university education as well. Our findings are based primarily on our conversations, most of which took place in Buenos Aires, with a large number of Argentines, including the rectors of three universities, student leaders, professors, Argentine journalists and writers, the country's only Nobel Prize winner and Argentine Government officials, including the President of Argentina and the Minister of Education. We feel that the value of these conversations was decidedly enhanced by their being conducted for the most part in the language of the country, Spanish (Mr. Brademas), and also in the language spoken by a sizable minority of Argentines, Italian (Mr. Giaimo). We also profited from talks with our Ambassador, the Hon. Roy Rubottom, Jr., and members of his staff, as well as the director of the |