The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1955-12-15
S71, 800 In Ford Foundation Grants
Awarded Blufton College And Hospital
Local Institutions
Share In HiStOry'S
Biggest 'Give-Away'
$500 Million In Grants
Will Aid Nations Education,
Hospital Systems

~ @Au 4NdtAOu . GuuSoSAOAi,
Hospital Systems
The entire community was elated
Tuesday with the announcement from
New York that two Bluffton in
stitutions, the college and the hos
pital, will share in the distribution of
a gigantic $500 million Christmas
gift" of the Ford Foundation to aid
education and the non-profit hos
pitals.
For Bluffton College, fighting a
constant battle to make both ends
meet financially, it will mean a
$61,S00 endowment grant, the pro-
ceeds of which are to be used to I'M
prove the salaries of its faculty.
For Bluffton Community hospital,
it meant gift of $4,000 to be used
for any program of improvement or
or extension of hospital service.
The gigantic gift, largest single
sum ever distributed in the history
of philanthropy, was $3.50 million
more than the foundation had given
previously in its 10 years of exis-
tence.
A total of S210 million was distrib-
uted in grants to 615 regionally ac-
credited, privately support d
liberal arts and science colleges
and universities in the U. S. to help
them raise teachers salaries. This
supplements the $50 million appro-
priated last spring for the same pur-
pose.
The hospitals, $500 of them, are
to receive 5000 million and 800 million
was distributed to privately support
ed medical schools.
In a statement last March, Henry
Ford ii, chairman of the board OF
trustees for the Foundation, said:
"All the objectives Of higher ed
ucation ultimately depend upon the
quality of teaching !. Nowhere are
the needs of the private colleges
more apparent than in the matter Of
faculty salaries. Merely to restore
professors salaries to their 1895
purchasing power would require ar
average increase of at least 20 pei
cent. Even this would not bring
teachers in our private colleges tt
their economic position before Worlt
War ii in relation to that of Other
professions and occupations. They
have not begun to share the benefit:
of the expanded productive power Of
this nation, and the whole educational
system suffers from this fact.
Industry, commerce, government
the arts, the sciences and the pro
fessions-indeed our whole way o.
life depends heavily upon the quality
of our education. Recognizing thii
fact, the trustees of the Ford Found
alton want to do everything they cal
to emphasize the cardinal importance
of the college teacher to our society
The Bluffton college grant O.
SCI, 800 was sum approximating thu
colleges 1954-55 payroll for in
struction in the liberal arts ant
sciences. This was the basis on whicl
the grants were made to all the col
leges.
A. odJ;t;orol S,,ro opnroximatini
one-half of last years faculty sal
aries in the liberal arts and science
was given to 126 colleges "whicl
have led the way in their regions il
improving the status and compen
sation of American college teachers.
Rluffton college did not share i
the latter distribution, and on tn
basis of the previously mentione
plan received the smallest amount o
any Ohio college. Ursuline college
Cleveland, was next low with $6S,SOl
Lake Erie college, Painesville, re
ceived S7O,7OO, and Wilmington CO.
lege, received $7s,700 among .th
smaller schools.
The largest grant made to an
Ohio college went to Oberlin, a
endowment of $1,236,600. Case II
stitute of Technology, Cleveland, WI
receive $679, 900; College of Wooste
S615.OOO; Western Reserve universit,
S666,8OO; Denison university, $6OS,2O
and Ohio Wesleyan universlt
$526,40o.
The computation of grants to no
pitals was based on reports 1ro
each hospital to the American no
pital association. The amounts range
from $4,000, the least amount, to &C
gifts of $25O,OOO which went to Il
Akron City hospital; Good Samarlt'
hospital, Cincinnati; University do
pitals of Cleveland; and the Miar
Valley hospital, Dayton.
-1n~n raDEE