Battiata, Mary

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University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URICurran, Edward: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1985)Education: National Endowment for the Arts andHumanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)1985Curran, Edward: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1985): News Article 06Mary BattiataFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I(1973-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985) byan authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationBattiata, Mary, "Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985): News Article 06" (1985). Curran, Edward:Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985). Paper 35.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21/35http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21/35TuESi>A,Y. FEBRUARY 26, 1985 The· Curran· Controversy.· Reagan's Cheice f0r NEH Chi~f f.~ces Opposition From: Me~erates '·' 1By Mary Battiata Washinston'Post Staff Writer ': · President Reagan' lhas chosen Edward1 A. Curran, deputy director:of the Reace €orps:and former National Cathedral School 1headmaster, to be the next chairman ,c)f the National Endowment for the Humanities, accord-ing to .administration and endowment sources. 1But the nomina tion1is being 1 stalled :by ·administration moderates lobbying for·a les&:controversialiand conser:vative alter-native, they say. :· Publicly, administration officials .blame routine se-curity checks for. the· delay in forwarding the nomina-tion to;the 1Senate. . , · Privately, however, they and congressional sources say that a campaign is under way to give the.· nomination to one of a 1half-dozen or more scholars· whose :names have circulated since former endowment chairman William Bennett left the post earlier :this year toibecome.secretary of1education~ . · :. . Leaders of the museum, university and scholarly groups ·that represent many oflthe recipients of ·endow· ment money also have· expressed fears that 1Curran, with his masters' degree in English and brief but stormy tenure at the National Institute .of Education, lacks the experience and temperament required to pre-. side;over the endowment. ' · · : . "lhave nothing personally against Mr. 1Curran, but 1his qualifications so far as I 1know them are unrelated to What is re-.quired in ,the job~" said10.B~ 'Hardison, formerthead of the Folger Library and chainnan of 'the 1boanl:of the Human-ities Alliance; a trade 1association. The hwnanities endowment chair-. man, say Hardison and others• must oversee an operation responsible for choosing between a· profusion of. fre- . quently esoteric grant :proposals. "All these things require someone who is thoroughly knowledgeable about high· er education, and that's not Mr~ Cur-ran, .. :Hardison said. · ·Curran:s friends scoff at that no-tion. "From my point of view .that's,no handicap; that's a blessing; said Charles Martin. Jormer headmaster at SL Albans School Curran, 51, made headlines at the Institute 1three years ago when he wrote the president suggesting that the agency be abolished. "After seven · months here: Curnm wrote the pres-ident, 1 have concluded that the best · way to advance your goals is to abol· ish this agency • • • The taxpayers ·. simply do not need a $90,000.survey · on the political attitudes' Of college · professors,,or a $37,000•study of the 1973, :New York City [sdiool) Board elections: C::urran clashed with bis boss. then- · Secretary of Education Terrel Bell, who friends say did' nc:it know .about :the letter until after Curran sent iL Curran resigned shortly after, ending a 'tenure· that 1had' made 1him :the dar- .. ling of conservative Pliblications and ·.· columnists. · The lnsti~the research arm of the Departinent . of Education-has been a· .target of conservatives who have· charged it. with a bias ·toward ]HE 'WASHINGTON POST bberal research. Curran terminated a . number of lOngtime research con-.tracts and advocated'proposals•to stu• dy conservative themes including tu-ition tax credits for:privatuchoolS.. iffis stint at the Peace Corps has ,~. 1been stormy, too, according to ·ac- . · quaintances who.say he has1disagreed1 with Peace Corps director Loret M. Ruppe on agency policy. "He's not a compromising fellow when he's mar- . ally certain that something is true;• said Eugene Dell Gaudio, executive director of the conservative 'E!ublic Advocate group. . · FriendS:say, however, that raising a ruckus is 1not the traditional Curran style. At · the National Cathedral · . Schooli where he served.as headinas~ ter from 11968to1980,.heiis remem· bered as an· able administrator who steered the school safely through ·the turbulence of the late '60s and early '70s, liberalizing the· curriculum and abolishing the.dress code. . . . In 11980, the Massachusetts-born cumui beaded a1political group calledl Professionab for Reagan. According to·friends, he is.a friend of Vice Pres-. ident Bilsh, 'Rhose family he became acquainted with· dilring his early ac-ademic career in t'exas. "TI!ey. shared babysitt~" says driend. · ·The National Endowment 1for ,the · Humanities1is a· federal agency with an impact and .visibility far greater than · <its relatively small $140 million· bud~ get, and the periodic search for its chairman usually produces political fireworks. Former president funmy :Carter once comp!lined that finding· a chairman for the humanities endow ... ment was harder than finding some-. one, to run. the Department of De-fense. . . . . The endowment awards thousands -of grants and fellowships to scholars, museums and univerSities for re-. search and preservation. The diair-~P has ~en :served as ~ .pulp,it for administrations' views·on the.role· . of liberal arts schOJarsrup in:American, . life. . . ·. Reagan• appointee Bennett, for ex-.. ample, used the endowment to call for · airetum toithe study:of the classics,of western 1history, literature and phi· )Qsophy. Critics;and1admirerS'agree he has steered the endowment away ·from· the cultural pluralism that marked the Carter years. · <::urran has1declinedlto1comment on ·the. chairmaruihip, but friends and as-sociates on both· ends of the political spectrum ·take issue with the 'notion • that his credentials, 1political philos-Qphy -and persorulllty are inadequate for the1job. . · "ffe!s no dyed-in-the-wool conser- . vative," said.SL Albans! Martin. "He!s a very moderate per&on, and very easy to live with." Leaders of numerous. humanities groups, while conceding that they dor . not :know €urran personally, say ·they · · fear he Will be too .ideologica1 for the job. That, and not Curran's creden-itiaJs, they say, is 1the real objection· to his nomination. "To some extent the real question is: are we looking for someone who will treat the ·NEH as a means of en-. coUiagihg fine. scholarship in a wide number·of areas or someone who· will treat it as a'moral;mission to tell,us all what is 1great and noble in American and western heritage?" said Joseph Duffy, chairman of the· humanities endoW111ent during the Carter admin- . istration and now chancellor of the University of Massachusetts. • . . ·-- ·, According to 'administration . offi-cials,. some Of :the leading alternatives to Curran include Charles Ritcheson. a history scholar and head of the li-1brary system at the University of Southern California; William All~ a prominent black Republican and PJO-fessor of history at Claremont College in California; Gertrude Himmelfarb, a scholar, and wife of neo-conservative theoretician Irving Kristo!; and 1Ri:Jbin Winks, a1 history ,professor at Yale .University and former cultural. atta-che at the U.S. embassy in;London. ,.. 

Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985): News Article 06

University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URICurran, Edward: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1985)Education: National Endowment for the Arts andHumanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)1985Curran, Edward: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1985): News Article 04Mary BattiataFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I(1973-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985) byan authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationBattiata, Mary, "Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985): News Article 04" (1985). Curran, Edward:Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985). Paper 37.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21/37http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_21/37The·Curran Controversy Reagan's Choice for NEH ·Chief Faces Opposition From Moderates By M~y Battiata Washington Poot Stall Writer. President Reagan has chosen Edward A. Curran, deputy director of the Peace Corps and former National Cathedral School headmaster, to be the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, accord-ing. to administration and· endowment sources. ·But the nomination is being stalled by administration moderates lobbying for a less controversial and conservative alter-native, they say. Publicly, administration officials blame routine se-~urity checks foi: the delay in forwarding the nomina-tion to the Senate. Privately, however, they and congressional sources say that a campaign is under way to give the nomination to one of a half~dozen or more scholars whose names have circulated since William J. Bennett left the post earlier .this year to become secretary of education. · · · Leaders of the museum, university and scholarly groups that represent many of the recipients of endow-ment money also have expressed fears that Curran, , with his master's degree in Ehglish and brief but stormy tenure at the National Institute of Education, lacks the experience and temperament required to pre-side over the endowment. "I have.nothing personally against Mr. Curran, but See NEU, CS, Col l ~-; ·ce .TUESDAY. 'FEBRUARY 2,6, 1985. ~Curran L " . . e-~..__-..-~~~__,..~-"-~_._~ :, NEH,'From Cl ; ~~~~~..;.._,,___~~~~~ $ his quaJJfications iso (ar ·as { know ., ·them' are WU"elated to what is re· ~ -q~~d in th,e job," said 0.B. ·Hardison, ~ fOrtner head of the Folger Library and · charrman of ·the board of the Human-. ~ ities Alliance, a trade.association. 1973 New York Cit.Y [schooij Board efectlonli.'' ' Citttari clasb~d with his boss, then-. Secretary of Education Terrel Bell, who. friends say did not know about . the . letter until after Curran sent it.. Curran resigned shortly ·after, ending a tenure that had made him the dar-llilg of conservative publications and columnists; The Institute-the research arm of · · ;. The humanities endowment chair~'· · 'f ·man, say HardiSon and others, must ~·oversee an Qperation responsible. for ; choo'sing between' a profusion· of fre-. the Department of Education-has been a targef of conservatives who have charged ·it with a ·bias foward liberal research. Curran tertninated a number of. ·longtime research con-tracts a,nd advoeated proposals to stu-dy conservative themes including tu-ition tax credits for private schools.· : quently esoteric grant proposals. "All ~ the$C trungs require S9meorie who is $ tho~otighly knowledgeable about high· ~ er education, and that's. not Mr .. Cur-.~ ran," Hardison said.· Curran's friends scoff at that-no-, 'tion. "From my point ot view that's no handicap, that's a bles8ing," said Charles Martin, former headmaster at St. Albans School. Curran, 51, made headlines at the Institute three years· ago · when he wrote the president suggesting that the agency be abolished, ·~After seven months here," Cman wrote the pres-lden_t, '1 have concluded that the best '" way to adva~ce your goills is to abol-ish · this agency . . . The taxpayers : simply do not need a $90,000 survey ~. -0n the . political attitudes of c1>llege : professors, or a $37 ,000 study of the His stint at the Peace Corps has been stonny, too, according to ac-quaintances'who say he has disagreed with Peace Corps director Loret M. Ruppe on agency policy. "H~s not a compromising fellow when he's mor-ally certain that something is true;" said Eugene D~I Gaudio, exe,cutive director of. the conservative Public Advoeate group. · · : Friends say, however, that raising a ruckus is not the traditional Curran style. At the National Cathedral_ School, where he served as headmas· ter from 1968 to 1980, he is remem-bered as an able administrator who ' steered ~e school safely through the turbulence of the· late '60s and early '70s, liberalizing the curriC\llum and abolishing the dress code. In 1980, .the Massachusetts-born . , ' /II( '.! -)';. ,, , ()' / THE WASHfNCTON POST '. I ! ',' I ' ) / ' .Curran headed a p0litical group called Professionals for Reagan. According to friends, he is a friend of Vice Pres-ident Bush, whose family he became acquainted with during his early ac- · ademic career in Texas. "They shared babysitters," says a friend. . . The National Endowment for the Humanities is a fedend agency with an impact and visibility ·fa( greater thail its relatively .small $140 million bud-get, and the periodic search for its chainnao usually produces political fireworks. Fonner president Jimmy, Carter once complained that finding a chairman for the' humanities endow-ment-was harder than finding some· one to run the Departrrient of De-fense. · . The endowment awards thousands of grants_ and fellowships to scholars, inuseums and universities for re· search and preservation. The chair· manship has often served as a pulpit for administrations'. vieW& on the role of liberal arts scholarship in American ·· life. Reagan api>ointee BeMett, for ex· ample, used the endowment to call for a return to the study of the' classics of western history, literature and- phi-losophy. Critics and admirers agiee he has steered the endoWment away . from the cultural . pluralism that Jll8rked the Carter years. Curran has declined to comment on . the chainnanship, but friends m:id as-sociates on both ends of the politiCal · spectrum take isslie with the notion that his cr~dentials, . political philos· ophy and personality are iQadequate for the job • "He's no dyed-in·the-wool conser-vative," said St. Albans' Martin. "He's a very moderate person, and very easy to live with." . · Leaders of. numerous humanities groups, ~bile conceding that they do not know Curran personally, ·say they fear he will be too ideological for the jo)>~ That, and not Curran~s credenl. tials, they say, is the rea!'objection to his nomination. "To some extent the real question "is: are we looking' for someone· who will treat the NEH as. a means of en· couraging. fuie scholarship in a wide number of areas or someone who will ' treat it as a moral mi9Sion to tell us all what is great and noble in American and western heritage?" said Joseph Duffy, chairtnan of the humanities endowment during the Carter admin-istration a'nd now chancellor of the University of Massachusetts. . , According to administration offi-cials, some of the leading alternatives to Curran· include. Charles Ritcheson, a history scholar and head of the Ii· brary' system at the University of Southern California; Wil&m. Allen, a· prominent black Republican and pro-.fessor ol history_at Claremont College· in California; Gertrude Himmelfarb, a acholar, and .wife of neo-conservative· theoretician Irving J<risto(; •and Robin Winks, a history prQfessor at Yale · University and former cultural attil· . die et the U.S. embassy in London. 

Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985): News Article 04

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Curran, Edward: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1985): News Article 06

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