College access and affordability appear to be high on the agenda for the 110th Congress. But will more federal aid for higher education really help make college more affordable? Or, has federal funding contributed to continually rising tuition? Moreover, has the general effect of federal assistance on colleges and universities ultimately served students well?
Panelists Larry Arnn and Richard Vedder discuss the real costs of federal aid for the economics, freedom, and quality of American higher education. Moderated by Bradley Fellow Gene Hickok, the panel considers these questions in the context of a general inquiry into the capacity of higher education to equip the next generation of United States citizens for the blessings and responsibilities of freedom.
Bio
Larry P. Arnn
Larry P. Arnn is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College. He received his B.A. in Political Science and Accounting in 1974 from Arkansas State University, graduating with the highest distinction. He studied at the Claremont Graduate School and received his M.A. in Government in 1976, and his Ph.D. in Government in 1985. He studied in England from 1977 to 1980, first as a research student in International History at the London School of Economics, and then in Modern History at Worcester College, Oxford University.
He has received numerous fellowships and awards, among them a two-year fellowship from the Alcoa Foundation in 1972; a Richard M. Weaver Fellowship in 1975; a Rotary International Fellowship in 1977; Earhart Foundation Fellowships in 1978, 1979, and 1980; and a Winston S. Churchill Association Fellowship from 1977 to 1980.
Eugene W. Hickock
Dr. Eugene W. Hickok is a leading advocate for public education reform and an expert in constitutional law.
President George W. Bush nominated Hickok as his Under Secretary of Education on March 30, 2001 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2001. Hickok served as both the Under Secretary of Education and Acting Deputy Secretary between July 2003 and November 3, 2003 when the President nominated him to become Deputy Secretary. The deputy secretary is the chief policy advisor to the Secretary. In this position, Hickok oversaw and managed the development of policies, recommendations and initiatives that help define a broad, coherent vision for achieving the President's education priorities, including the No Child Left Behind Act.
Hickok was Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, responsible for overseeing the state's education system - kindergarten through college. He was an advocate for parental choice and accountability in education and introduced standards for students and teachers. He was an early advocate for public charter schools and worked to pass Pennsylvania's law to allow for the creation of locally designed charter public schools.
Hickok also was a founding member and chairman of the Education Leaders Council, a group of reform-minded education chiefs who oversaw 30 percent of the nation's K-12 public school students in 2000.
For 15 years, Hickok taught political science at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and served as director of the college's Clarke Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Issues. He also was an adjunct professor at the Dickinson School of Law. He was recognized as an outstanding teacher and was twice awarded Dickinson's prestigious Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching in 1985 and 1990.
John Hilboldt
John Hilboldt oversees Heritage's Lectures and Seminars Program which annually hosts over 100 public programs at the Foundation's headquarters.
Before becoming Director of Lectures and Seminars, he served for four years as Deputy Director of Coalition Relations, editing two issues of the Policy Experts guide and its accompanying policyexperts.org web directory as well as coordinating other outreach endeavors.
Additionally, he is a member of the Advisory Council of the Young Britons' Foundation of London.
Richard Vedder
Richard Vedder is the Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity--an independent higher education think tank in Washington, DC. He is also Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio University and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Vedder served on the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education and has authored eight books, including Going Broke By Degree: Why College Costs Too Much. Vedder's upcoming book is tentatively titled Universities and Human Welfare.