Education
is a powerful resource for understanding the present and shaping
the future. It gives individuals the means to grow, to realize
their own potential, and to contribute to the wellbeing of others.
Moreover, in the United States as in many other parts of the world,
the schools, colleges, and universities that educate students also
provide institutional support that enables scholars to conduct
research and advance the state of knowledge. For these reasons, a
productive, just, and secure society requires an effective and
accessible system of education.
To
strengthen the capacity of educational institutions to serve
society, the Foundation supports programs that enhance the quality
of scholarship and teaching in selected fields, strengthen and
diversify the teaching profession, and broaden educational
opportunities for disadvantaged students. Along with efforts to
expand the reach and enhance the quality of education, the
Foundation encourages new forms of creativity in the performing
arts and fosters cultural diversity by broadening opportunities for
minority artists and supporting minority arts institutions. In
developing countries, the emphasis is on preserving and
interpreting traditional cultures, enhancing their contributions to
contemporary society.
In 1990
Education and Culture grants totaled $49.0 million.
HIGHER
EDUCATION
The
Foundation's programs in higher education have three principal
goals: to expand educational opportunities for minority and
economically disadvantaged students, to enrich curricula and
advance scholarship in ways that deepen understanding of social and
cultural diversity, and to strengthen research and teaching in the
social sciences and international studies, including foreign
languages. These three goals grow out of a belief that intellectual
excellence, economic vitality, and social responsibility require
higher education to broaden both its human and its curricular
reach. The Foundation is convinced that colleges and universities
should not only equip as many students as possible for high levels
of achievement; they must also prepare students to live creatively
and responsibly in a world of growing economic, social, and
cultural diversity. In pursuing these goals, the Foundation focuses
on the role of faculty as teachers, scholars, and role
models.
Access
and Opportunity.
One of the
most important challenges facing higher education today is the
disproportionately small number of blacks, Hispanics, and Native
Americans among the faculty, administrators, and students of
America's colleges and universities. This underrepresentation
deprives minority students of opportunities for advancement and
growth, and thereby diminishes the contribution they can make to
the nation. It also diminishes the cultural diversity of
educational institutions and reduces the scope of intellectual and
curricular life. The Foundation has two major programs designed to
enlarge minority participation in higher education.
The first
and largest is a national program of doctoral and
postdoctoral