Diversity and the End Of Eminence
In the 19th century, the sun
“never rose nor set” on the
British Empire, it was so vast.
In the 20th century, the United
States emerged as the world’s greatest power, not because of its vast
landholdings but because of our
nation’s influence and eminence in
the rest of the world. We helped
win World War II, then helped
rebuild Europe, using the Marshall
Plan to direct at least half a percent a year of our GDP to our
war-torn allies. We fought a “cold
war” with the Soviet Union and
empowered despots all over the
world—in Africa, Latin America,
Asia, and Eastern Europe.
While the sun, indeed, rose and
fell on the United States, it neither
could rise nor fall on our sphere of
influence. Part of that influence was
educational. We developed the
finest system of higher education in
the world and drew graduate students from all over the world to
study in our institutions.
Now, our influence is waning
and our public higher-education
system is frayed, with per-student
expenditures dropping 18 percent
between 2001 and 2005.
International students still come to
the United States if they can get the
proper immigration documents, but
matriculation from natives, especially in math, science and engineering,
is not what it once was. According
to the National Center for
Education Statistics, the sole decline
in the most popular degree fields
between 1989–1990 and
2003–2004 was in engineering and
engineering-related fields.
So how can the United States
hope to compete in a global econo-
my that is increasingly technology-
based? China and India are produc-
ing more engineers than the United
this with the non-growth trends for
engineering enrollment in the
United States and this does not portend a positive future in a world
ever more driven by technology.”
The pipeline for technical education is narrowing,
with 15-year-olds in this
country trailing students
around the world in mathematics and science literacy.
The National Center for
Educational Statistics
reports that graduating seniors saw their science performance drop between
1996 and 2005. The space
race prompted the United
States to pour millions of
dollars into education,
through grants, scholarships and National Defense
Student Loans (later called
“President Bush spoke of competitiveness in
his State of the Union Address this January. The
day after, he submitted a federal budget that cut
higher-education spending by $16.9 billion.”
States. Some compare the quality
of education between engineers
trained in the United States and
those trained in India or China,
but China produces 100,000 more
engineers a year than we do, and
they work for lower wages, creating
employment problems in the
United States. China is not the
only competitor.
Georgia Tech President Wayne
Clough explains it this way:
“Europe joins Asia in producing
more engineers than the
United States. Combine
BY DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX
National Direct Students Loans)
that allowed students to borrow for
their education and repay at heavily
subsidized rates. Loan programs still
exist, but the repayment terms aren’t
as favorable as they were in the
1960s, and the focus on education
has shifted because of budget limitations triggered by tax cuts and heavy
federal spending in Iraq. President
Bush spoke of competitiveness in
his State of the Union Address this
January. The day after, he submitted a federal budget that cut higher-education spending by $16.9 billion.
