which was needed. The most recent study was the one done in 1961
by the Curlett Commission which recommended the establishment of
an advisory council to study the problems of higher education in the
State and make recommendations to the governor, the legislature and
the people of Maryland.

It was upon the recommendations of that Commission that Mary-
land in 1963 reorganized its system of public higher education, rec-
ognizing a tri-partite division of educational responsibility. The
major components of that division are (1) the University of Mary-
land, (2) the state colleges, including Morgan State College in Bal-
timore and five former teachers colleges, and (3) the community col-
leges. Behind this three-part organization is the theory that, as in
society in general, so in education a pluralistic system is more healthy
and constructive than a monolithic one.

The University of Maryland, with its branches and professional
schools, is governed, as it has been in the past, by a board of regents.
A new board of trustees was created for the five former teachers col-
leges, with provision made for the eventual inclusion of Morgan
State College under its jurisdiction. The community colleges oper-
ate under local boards of education with the State contributing sub-
stantially, in both operating and capital expenses, to their support.

To tie all these parts together, and to coordinate the functions of
the institutions within the pluralistic system, there was created the
Maryland Advisory Council on Higher Education. The Maryland Ad-
visory Council is a small agency but it is developing rapidly. It is
working through series of committees which have been established to
study particular problem areas such as the differentiation of the func-
tions which various institutions should perform, the financial needs
of the institutions, etc. These committees involve representatives from
public institutions, private institutions, and from the general public.
They not only serve the purpose of getting the needed studies accom-
plished, but they also held to insure that the final recommendations
will represent the best thinking of the people who are familiar with
the needs of the State. Since the Maryland Council is an advisory
body, these committees also perform the important function of put-
ting the Council into close contact with the institutions and other
groups which may later be influential in determining whether the Leg-
islature actually decides to take action to implement the Council's
recommendations.

These committees, important as they are, cannot operate without

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