Earl James McGrath is one educator who would rather be an administrator than a teacher (“I like to make the wheels go ’round”). In his 46 years he has turned a lot of wheels, held many titles. He has been a dean at the State University of Iowa, wartime head (lieutenant commander) of the Bureau of Naval Personnel’s educational services section, and part-time University of Chicago professor. Last week, subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, Harry Truman gave him his biggest title yet: U.S. Commissioner of Education.
The $10,000 job is one that not all educators would want. The Office of Education, now one of several leaves on the Federal Security Agency’s vine, is little more than a great statistics bureau, and a sponsor of worthy projects. It publishes two dry-as-dust education journals, puts out bulletins on better teaching methods, worries about U.S. school enrollments. Though it handles funds for land-grant colleges, its function is more to counsel than command.
Previous commissioners have not always had a good time. Commissioner George F. Zook quit in 1934, after one year, for a job as president of the American Council on Education. The last commissioner, John Ward Studebaker, held the post for 14 years, then (after policy disagreements with new FSA Chief Oscar R. Ewing), resigned in June with the explanation: “I can no longer afford to remain in the Federal Government.” Ewing had spent eight months searching for somebody able and willing to fill the job. In spite of all that, Earl McGrath is looking forward to the commissionership. A man who finds relaxation in flying planes and playing Mozart on the piano, he thinks he will have “a great opportunity for leadership.” He was one of the authors of the report of the President’s Commission on Higher Education (TIME, Dec. 29, 1947), calling for doubled college enrollments by 1960; believes the government should play a big role in bringing that about. “I’ll have,” says he, “an interesting life.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- Home Losses From L.A. Fires Hasten ‘An Uninsurable Future’
- The Women Refusing to Participate in Trump’s Economy
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- How to Dress Warmly for Cold Weather
- We’re Lucky to Have Been Alive in the Age of David Lynch
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Column: No One Won The War in Gaza
Contact us at letters@time.com