UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #182
LIDDLE, CLIFFORD S.

LIDDLE, Clifford S. (1911-1990)
Professor of Education; Associate Dean of School of Education
At UW: 1939-1943; 1946-1967

Interviewed: 1979	
Series: School of Education
Interviewer: Mark Van Pelt
Length: 3 hours

Background; First teaching experiences; Early School of Education faculty; DPI; Extension education; GI students; Ideal of service; Chairmanship of Department of Education; Parker Pen grant; Graduate admissions process; Elementary Education program; ILS; AID; Experiences in India; CCHE; Work in Nigeria; Call to Korea; Resignation from UW; Overall impact of educational aid.

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:00	Introduction.

00:00:29	Liddle's childhood and early life; college years teaching in Wisconsin.

00:03:33	Specially influenced by Beloit College teachers and teaching peers; John Guy Fowlkes; principal of Madison elementary school after receiving Ph.D. degree.

00:07:21	Evaluation of early faculty of School of Education; how Liddle's research on the history of school districts was developed; Department of Public Instruction (DPI) interested in his thesis because of its pertinence to DPI's desire to consolidate school districts.

00:19:27	How Liddle came to UW staff; E.B. Fred; became coordinator of extension education, 1946; developed external graduate course work for Master's degree credit.

00:23:46	In 1948, came to campus faculty to teach school and society course; respect for GI bill students; comparison of GI student to those of 1930s; Fowlkes.   

00:29:36	End of side.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:29:38	Commitment to ideal of service.

00:30:42	How Liddle became Associate Dean of School of Education in early 1950s; experience in that position.

00:33:22	Experience as chairman of Department of Education in early 1950s: role of department chairman; Virgil Herrick: beginnings of push for research role in School of Education; Parker Pen grant.

00:42:38	Work as Associate Dean; nature of graduate admission process in early 1950s.

00:48:13	Development of elementary education program; Robert Pooley influential in pushing for Integrated Liberal Studies (ILS) program; coordination with elementary education incentive for excellence.

01:00:14	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 1

01:00:15	More on development of elementary education program.

01:02:52	How Liddle became involved in comparative education; work with visiting foreign scholars stirred his work with Agency for International Development (AID) in India; problem with getting two year leave of absence.

01:11:10	Fowlkes' appointment to India interlocked with Liddle.

01:13:06	Liddle back to India in 1959.

01:14:26	Details of Liddle's experiences in India.

01:22:28	Impact of India involvement on UW; Kurt Wendt-faculty discussions; E. B. Fred; influence of trip on his teaching; influence of Wisconsin on Indian education.

01:31:07	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 2

01:31:10	Evaluation of United States policy regarding education in 1940s and 1950s compared to 1960s and 1970s.

01:36:00	Appointment and work on Coordinating Committee on Higher Education in late 1950s: Ira Baldwin; E.B. Fred.

01:47:36	Liddle's appointment to work with AID in Nigeria summer 1962; Liddle told AID in 1960 that he was interested in working in former British colonial Africa; educational planning in Nigeria; Ashby Commission Report; importance of Nigeria; his experiences there; rationale for United States aid; Ford Foundation; nature of United States aid.

02:01:26	End of side.

Tape 3/Side 1

00:00:00	How UW became involved in Northern Nigeria Teacher Education Project (NNTEP) in 1964; Henry Hill; Lindley Stiles; $4.5 million from Ford Foundation; Liddle's role as liaison for various American universities.

00:11:24	Evaluation of UW's work in Nigeria.

00:13:30	Liddle returns to Wisconsin in 1966; called to Korea after only six months back home; Fred Harrington; Liddle did not seek this, but UW approved his leave to help in long-range educational planning; his resignation from UW.

00:19:20	Development of counterpart approach part of Wisconsin contribution to international educational cooperation.

00:24:00	Evaluation of overall impact of educational aid in nature of countries with which Liddle was associated; was education a democratic political tool, a means of exploitation?  India, Korea.

00:31:01	End of side.

Tape 3/Side 2

00:31:02	Continuation from Side 1; Korea, Indonesia.

00:42:11	End of interview.

END