POOR BY COMPARISON

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 9, 26 January 1937, Page 9

POOR BY COMPARISON

Prepa Associ ation. I

University Facilities In Domimq>n UNITED STATES METHGDS

(B* Telegrapb-'

AUCKLAND, Jan. 25. "Some university teachers on returaing to New Zealand make unfayourahlc eomparisons between university facilities here and in other countries. I regret to have to endorse those eomparisons." This statement was made on the Niagara this morning by Professor H. Belshaw, professor of economics at Auckland University Oollege. He Jei't the Dominion in December 1934 on a Bockefeller Fellowship and spent ume months in the United States in close contact with Cornell, Harvard, New Y ork, W ashington and Calif ornia universities. "In the mattor of university staffiug, iibraries, finance, accommodation and equipment, New Zealand compares unfavourably indeed with practically * every institutiop I visited," said Professor Belshaw. "I visited no universities in which the ratio of staff to students was as low as in New Zealand. I feel very etrougly that our policy in New Zealand ahouid he diraeted te ' strengthening existing departments m every way rather than to extending new departments and entering into new fields. "By way of illustrating the provision that is made for some institutions I might mention the college of agriculIture at Cornell University, Ithaca, New |York State. This college has an annual grant of over 2,000,000 dollars from the New York State and Federal Governments. The college is responsible for expansion work in agricultural districts, but even if allowancg were made for this I should imagine that the amount left over for university pur, poses would be greater than the amount provided for the whole of the univer, sity work in New Zealand. The department of agricultural economics, which is oue seetion of the college of agriculture,. has a uiugh larggr stali' and better equipment than Auckland, "Despitq the difficult Dominion conditions my general impression is that the standard reached by students df economics in New Zealand compares very favourably with that at the majority of American institiitions. "