"There would seem to be great advantages.... in preparing now
for the time, only a few years hence, when the flood of college stu-
dents will be at hand. And those preparations, to my mind, should
consist primarily in the establishment of many local two-year colleges.
They should be planned to attract the large majority of the youths
who now enter a four-year course of study. "

To its credit, Maryland heeded Dr. Conant's prophecy and advice,
and today there are in operation in our State twelve community
colleges, with eleven others in varying stages of planning.

In addition to this important development, first steps already have
been taken for the conversion of the teachers colleges into liberal arts
colleges. The General Assembly this year, you will recall, enacted
legislation changing the names of the five colleges, placing them under
a single board of trustees and in general setting up the machinery for
broadening their spheres in compliance with the Curlett Commission
recommendations. Although quite obviously these colleges have not
as yet attained full status in liberal arts education, they are well under
way on that course and we may expect that these objectives will be
reached within the next few years.

This, then, is the system of public higher education that Maryland
has established. Wrapping up the whole, and providing unity and co-
ordination to a largely decentralized system, is an agency created by
the General Assembly called the Advisory Council for Higher Edu-
cation. The principal virtue of the system, as I see it, is in its func-
tional diversity. We have instead of a monolithic system a pluralistic
system, which in my opinion is, as have said, one of its virtues.

On this theme, let me quote from the report of the Curlett Com-
mission.

"The State of Maryland, " the report states, "has diverse needs in
the field of higher education — a need for graduate and professional
training at the highest level, for liberal arts and teacher education
programs, and for two-year colleges which can perform a screening
function for the entire system of public higher education, sending
some students on for further education and equipping other with
vocational skills through terminal programs. "

It goes on to say:

, 'The Commission believes that the organization of public higher
education in this State should mirror and the need for diversity of
function

And still quoting from the report:

220