Invest in Higher Ed to Shorten the Recovery and Transform the Economy: Lincoln and FDR Show Us How
Investing in higher education during crisis leads to social mobility and economic strength. But, the investment has to be bold and focused. This article uses history to recommend three investments based on the most successful, transformational policies of the past, the Land Grant Act and the G.I Bill, transformed our economy and nation.
In the darkest days of the Civil War and World War II, with victory anything but assured, two of America’s most visionary presidents were already thinking about the future.
Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt knew they could not wait for victory to begin planning for post-war America. While still fighting, each president signed laws that created tidal waves of economic growth, strength, and innovation. Doing so ushered in generations of post-war prosperity.
Both former presidents invested in higher education to create a prosperous future. Today, as the global fight against the COVOD-19 pandemic rages, President Trump and congressional leaders have a similar opportunity.
Our leaders must embrace a long view and use the power of higher education to develop the talent and innovation needed to repair and rejuvenate our economy. Those of us who work in academia, understand this kind of transformation.
It’s been my experience that leading strong partnerships across higher education, economic enterprises, agencies and government can lift institutions, our economy, and our people.
Current coronavirus legislation is weighted more toward relief than stimulus. While this is understandable, it is not enough. Leaders should look to Lincoln and FDR for examples of bold federal investments that fueled not just economic recoveries, but expansions.
In 1862, Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, providing states the opportunity to fund public institutions that focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts. Nearly 70 colleges and universities were born, including name-brand institutions such as Ohio State, University of Florida, Purdue, and Texas A&M.
Lincoln’s decision brought universities to the people. It gave them hope and provided Civil War veterans and working-class citizens access to higher education at a time when higher education was mainly for the privileged.
The Morrill Act created a new population of educated, talented people from a variety of incomes and backgrounds. It also stimulated knowledge and talent in ways that fueled the economic expansion and growth of the Industrial Revolution.
About 80 years later, Roosevelt introduced the G.I. Bill (Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944) to preempt the type of economic downturn that followed World War I. Many newly minted veterans of World War II faced unemployment and homelessness.
The G.I. Bill, however, provided them hope — and a way not just out, but up. The bill created opportunity for all veterans, regardless of income or background, to earn a college or university degree. By 1956, almost 10 million veterans had received GI Bill benefits.
Infused with a massive injection of new science, engineering and technology talent, the United States workforce transformed into a high-tech economy, the precursor of where America is today.
Now, nearly 80 years after the G.I. Bill, lawmakers face their own opportunity to invest in the future. We must develop a massive wave of talent — drawing from all levels of the economic spectrum — to focus on areas that will drive the United States’ competitiveness forward.
The Administration and Congress should consider injecting $50 billion into higher education to:
Take universities to the people. We don’t need new campuses; instead, we must invest in robust digital platforms that allow more students the opportunity to learn, wherever they are and whenever they can.
Develop the next new wave of talent. Lincoln and FDR showed that investments across the economic spectrum lifts the entire country. We must pursue tuition relief for the unemployed and underemployed, and those trapped in the bottom half of the income sector. As we learned with the Morrill Act and G.I. Bill, the key is real, practical opportunity for all.
Invest in areas that drive competitiveness like digital transformation of businesses, biosciences and healthcare, and intelligent energy and manufacturing. We must pivot the economy by investing in areas where research, innovation and talent will pave the path for long-term growth.
In a crisis, we must survive and address urgent needs first. But every crisis also provides opportunities. Driving transformation means collectively setting targets that cannot be reached by continuing the status quo. Change and growth come from responsible and inclusive long-term thinking and planning.
Those of us with academic leadership experience know that investing in access to higher education leads to social mobility and economic strength.
The United States can learn from the most successful, transformational policies of the past and use them to guide bipartisan investments in higher education, a proven tool to transform our economy and nation.
Dale Whittaker is a Senior Program Officer in Postsecondary Success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A former executive at several of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing public research universities, he now works with other rapidly growing institutions with national and global footprints to help them innovate at scale to provide more degrees for more people with greater equity.
