Committee looks to UA for education conference focus

This is the first time the group has requested proposals from the UA.

"We decided ... to offer grants to departments and units on campus," said Bowen Dees, the first provost at the UA under Harvill.

Dees said the endowment committee chose the first conference's theme, "The Universities of the Future: Roles in the Changing World Order."

About 100 people attended the 1992 conference, including the president of Princeton University and the vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong.

The committee was formed after the 1988 death of the former University of Arizona President Harvill.

Dees said that after Harvill's death, a group of his friends set up a memorial endowment.

He said the group expects a $40,000 return every two years on its investment, and the money will support the Harvill conferences.

"The important thing to emphasize is that the department that receives the grant is expected to put a great deal of its own effort into it. The grant is not expected to pay each and every penny of costs," Dees said.

Dees said the conference is important because it brings experts to Tucson from a variety of places to share their ideas on education.

"It is intended as a way of sharing the best practices in education, whether it is keeping grounds, registering students or teaching them," he said.

"The direct participation of the people, plus the publication of the proceedings could have an impact on higher education as a whole.

"During his (Harvill's) presidency, the UA saw its greatest period of growth," Dees said.

"When he took over in the '50s, there were around 5,000 students. It had grown to over 20,000 by the time he left."

Dees was Harvill's friend and serves as a member of the R.A. Harvill Memorial Endowment.

"He was a man who worked harder than anyone else around him. He was a major figure in the development of the UA. Many would say he's the most significant president the UA has ever had," he said.

Proposals must be received by the Richard A. Harvill Endowment Committee by April 1.