Harvard's revised Army ROTC program has influenced similar changes in many other colleges throughout the country, it was learned yesterday. These have taken place in both Army and Air Force ROTC programs.
The basic idea of the new plan--to integrate ROTC courses into a liberal arts curriculum--has been adopted by Yale, Princeton, Ohio State University, and Kenyan College. In addition, it is reported under serious consideration at Colgate, Illinois, and Wisconsin Universities.
At Harvard, Col. Waldo B. Jones, professor of Air Science and Tactics, said he was studying the Army ROTC plan with an eye toward recommending its adoption for the AFROTC here. The Army plan, as put into effect this fall, has "liberalized" the ROTC curriculum by having certain College courses made compulsory for ROTC men and a military history course opened to all students.
At Yale, a military history course which is compulsory for all Army ROTC men, has been made a regular elective for the student body, but it was learned that this course is rather technical, tailored more for the military student.
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Princeton, which has always had a military history course, has revised it to follow the lead of Harvard, and is also allowing all students into the program.
After reviewing the Harvard plan last spring, Ohio State decided to adopt a modification of it for its AFROTC. Under a grant left by the late Col. Marshard of Ohio for improvement of military education at that school, eight civilian instructors have been teaching AFROCT classes there.
Harold F. Harding, professor of Speech at Ohio State, and a leader in ROTC activities, said the instructors are teaching in such courses as Global Geography and International Tensions and Security.
Harding, who was at Harvard two weeks ago for the Field Marshal Montgomery seminar, said he was very impressed at that time with the Harvard ROTC set-up. He said there "was a very good chance" that the Harvard plan might be tried in full at his school.
A variation of the plan is currently being used at Kenyon, and is being considered at Colgate, Illinois, and Wisconsin, Harding added. "The program is definitely popular in the mid-West," he said, "but the only drawback is finance."
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