Adult Students in American Universities Post World War II: A Case Study of University Reforms by President Edwin B. Fred at the University of Wisconsin
2014 Volume 50 Issue 1 Pages 31-39
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2014 Volume 50 Issue 1 Pages 31-39
The passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, known as the G.I. Bill, created a boom for college campuses in the United States. Some elite university presidents worried that an influx of veterans would dilute academic standards. Edwin Broun Fred, president of the University of Wisconsin (UW), expected veterans to become good and patient scholars, because he considered adult learners to be mature and experienced. He wanted to maintain academic quality while accepting the maximum number of eligible veterans. He built a well-functioning university administrative structure and expanded student services to accept veterans.
Fred believed strongly in the Wisconsin Idea, which envisioned new relationships among university, government, and society. He oversaw the growth of university extension centers, which eventually resulted in the opening of the UW-Milwaukee campus in 1956 and the creation of UW System in 1971. He tried to maintain the university as a human institution, where each individual was equally respected. Adult learners gave him the impetus to demonstrate leadership in university reforms when he faced the political and economic challenges in the postwar period.
