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Ford Foundation Annual Report 1966
Language
and Linguistics
Despite an
increase in the number of American scholars who are qualified to
fill government and university posts in Chinese affairs, training
and research in Chinese language and linguistics have lagged. As a
prerequisite for accelerated research and training in Chinese
studies, the Foundation granted funds to Princeton and Stanford
Universities to improve Chinese-language training.
Princeton
will undertake linguistic research and seek to attract more
talented students to careers in Chinese-language teaching. It will
also develop new teaching materials and testing methods. Stanford
will expand enrollment and improve instructional materials at the
Inter-University Chinese Language Training Center in Taipei, which
it administers on behalf of nine participating institutions.
Advanced American graduate students receive training under native
speakers at the center.
A complete
list of 1966 grants in the International Training and Research
program begins on page 85; appropriations, page 65.
Economic
Development and Administration
Economic
Opportunities for Minorities
The
Foundation made four grants to help fill the great gaps in
knowledge about the economic status, problems, and prospects of
minority groups, with the over-all aim of increasing their
opportunities for employment:
-
The
University of California (Berkeley) received $150,000 for a study
of job skills, knowledge of job openings, and attitudes toward work
among unemployed Negroes in Berkeley. The pilot effort is designed
to show cities how to gather and organize data for community action
on jobs.
-
The
University of Pennsylvania received a grant of $180,000 to analyze
factors in employers' responses to pressures for integrated work
forces, including the type of labor needed, relations with unions,
and the personal backgrounds of management personnel.
-
Educational
Testing Service will study employment tests to determine whether
they unwittingly discriminate against minority groups and serve
poorly as predictors of job performance.
-
The Chicago
Small Business Opportunities Corporation received a grant to
prepare a manual assessing the chances for success of small
businesses in poor neighborhoods. While centers in more than forty
cities screen loan applicants and provide technical advice, their
staffs need help in weighing the prospects for success in a given
location or business field.
Grants to
improve business education in predominantly Negro colleges were
made to Atlanta and Texas Southern Universities. Atlanta will use
its grant for new graduate faculty, scholarships, consulting
services by businessmen and educators, and faculty released time to
build a better curriculum. Texas Southern received assistance for
remedial reading for business students and summer internships with
industry in Houston.
Economic
Performance of Government
State and
local government has grown faster than the Federal government in
the past twenty years. To help