NOMINATIONS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1974

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met at 10:15 a.m. in room 4232, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Harrison A. Williams, Jr., chairman of the committee, presiding.

Present: Senators Cranston, Javits, and Taft.

The CHAIRMAN. The Committee on Labor and Public Welfare hearing will come to order.

Our meeting this morning is to hear testimony with respect to nominations that have been submitted to the Senate for confirmation. First we will have Dr. Terrell H. Bell who has been named to the position of Commissioner of Education.

Senator Wallace F. Bennett of Utah is recognized.

STATEMENT OF HON. WALLACE F. BENNETT, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH

Senator BENNETT. Thank you very much, Senator Williams. It gives me great pleasure today to introduce my good friend, Dr. Ted Bell of Salt Lake City, who has been nominated by the President to the post of U.S. Commissioner of Education.

Dr. Bell is probably already familiar to most of the members of the committee. He served in the Office of Education for 18 months beginning in April 1970, until September 1971, holding various positions including Acting Commissioner of Education, Deputy Commissioner, and Acting Commissioner in charge of regional offices.

Since September 1971, Dr. Bell has been superintendent of the Granite School District in Salt Lake County, which is Utah's largest school district. Prior to that he served for 7 years as Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction and executive officer for the State board of vocational education. He served for 1 year as associate professor and chairman of Utah State University's Department of Educational Administration, and for 5 years as superintendent of Weber County Schools in Ogden, Utah. Dr. Bell has also been superintendent of two other school districts in Wyoming and Idaho.

He received his bachelor of arts degree from the Southern Idaho. College of Education, his master's degree from the University of Idaho, and his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Utah. He has studied at Stanford University and Georgetown University, and was a Ford Foundation fellow.

As you can see, Dr. Bell brings a wealth of professional experience and knowledge to the Nation's No. 1 education job. He has earned the highest respect in Washington, in my State and around the Nation for his administrative skills. We in Utah will feel a great loss at his departure, but I am pleased that the Federal Government will have a man of his stature directing the Nation's education programs. I am proud and happy to recommend Ted Bell to this committee, and I hope the committee will move quickly to approve this nomination. Thank you very much.

The CHAIRMAN. We appreciate very much your statement, Senator Bennett.

Senator BENNETT. Now, if you will excuse me, as with most of my colleagues, I have to move on to another committee.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very, very much.

We will now receive for the record the statement of Senator Moss who wished to attend but was unavoidably detained on another matter.

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK E. MOSS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH

Senator Moss. I would like to add my support to this nomination and urge every favorable consideration for the appointment of Dr. Bell as U.S. Commissioner of Education. I have been acquainted with Terrel H. Bell through his many long years of service to the education community in the State of Utah where he has served as Superintendent of two major school districts-the Weber County School District and the Granite School District, both of which prospered under his effective leadership. He also served as the Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction and executive officer of the State Board for Vocational Education from 1963 to 1970, a particularly difficult period of rapid growth and expansion in the Utah State school system. Under his able leadership and implementation, both the public school system and the vocational school system in the State of Utah achieved national stature and recognition as educational institutions. Thanks in great part to Dr. Bell, the public school children in the State of Utah are receiving educational instruction which is consistently considered to be above the national average of instruction. Dr. Bell has been a continuous innovator and an indefatigable administrator. Little can be said that would add to his illustrious record of achievement which stands as an inspiration to all educators. He is a man who began as a rural school teacher and because of his aspirations and ideals has proven himself to be truly exceptional in a profession of public service.

I also have had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with Ted Bell, the man, for more than 10 years and would certainly hope to be counted as one of his many friends. My relationship with him has been an extremely fruitful one in which I have found him unquestionably to be a person of the highest character and integrity. He is a man who dedicates himself to the service of the betterment of his profession.

With Dr. Bell as Commissioner of Education, I am sure that we can look forward to new concepts in education management, teacher requirements and school programs at all levels, including post and preschool education. This Nation can be assured that the personal background and the record of Dr. Bell in his service to the State of Utah will be continued in service to the United States. We can look forward to new ties between the community, the school, and the family and, ultimately, better use of educational funds under his able direction and administration.

Again, I urge the favorable recommendation of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare for the appointment of Terrel H. Bell as U.S. Commissioner of Education.

The CHAIRMAN, I wonder, Dr. Bell, if you would mind if we heard Senator Hruska, who is here to introduce Dr. Virginia Trotter, who has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Education of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

STATEMENT OF HON. ROMAN L. HRUSKA, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA

Senator HRUSKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and with me is Congressman Thone from the First Congressional District of Nebraska, of which Ms. Trotter is a resident and constituent.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to introduce a very fine lady from the University of Nebraska, Dr. Virginia Trotter.

She has been nominated, as you indicated, to be Assistant Secretary for Education of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Dr. Trotter is certainly well qualified for this position.

In 1972 she became the first woman in the Nation to assume two administrative posts in a large multipurpose land grant university. At that time she became vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebr. In addition to her administrative jobs she also holds a professorship in education and family

resources.

Although not a native of the State of Nebraska, Dr. Trotter has spent much of her academic career in the State. She was born in Boise, Idaho, and received her bachelor and master's degree from Kansas University, and her doctorate from Ohio State University.

She began her teaching career in 1948 at the University of Utah, and in 1950 first joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. There she held a teaching and research appointment as assistant professor and head of the family economics and management division of the department of home economics.

In 1955 she went to the University of Vermont to be assistant to the dean of agriculture and home economics, and was chairman of the home economics department. She returned to the University of Nebraska in 1963 as Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. In addition she was director of the school of home economics, associate director of the experiment station, and professor of family

economics.

In 1970 she was responsible for the school of economics becoming college, and became its first dean. She continued to hold several othe administrative positions in related fields.

Dr. Trotter's special interests include the quality of family living the welfare of the consumer, rehabilitation of the handicapped an emotionally disturbed and mentally retarded. She is highly regarde as an administrator generally in the field of education and especiall in our State.

We will be sorry to lose her great ability. However, she is going to position where the entire Nation will be able to profit from her educa tion, her experience, and her outstanding talents.

Mr. Chairman, my colleague, Senator Curtis, was called to the Com mittee on Agriculture to preside over the testimony that was to b given. He wanted to express his very keen interest in this nomination and his full and unqualified support of it.

Congressman Thone is here to speak for himself.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Hruska.
Congressman Thone.

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES THONE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA

Mr. THONE. Senator. I have the privilege to represent Nebraska' First Congressional District which includes the University of Ne braska in Lincoln. I am here to endorse Dr. Virginia Trotter who is well qualified for the highest educational post in the Nation.

Dr. Trotter has served the University of Nebraska since 1950. She was director of the university school of economics, and when her lead ership helped bring about that school's evaluation to a college, she was named dean. In 1972 Dr. Trotter was named vice chancellor. She is the first woman to achieve that high position in a land grant university

Dr. Trotter is amply qualified. She is an extremely competent acad emician and at the university she proved to be an excellent adminis trator. She is a person of quality, she has wide knowledge and a broad outlook. She is dedicated to education.

I believe that Dr. Trotter will be excellent in this position of Assistant Secretary for Education in the Department of Health. Edu cation, and Welfare, and that Dr. Trotter's work in that position will benefit all the areas of education in America.

She has our unqualified support, and we hope that she receives yours Thank you, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. We are grateful for your statement, and it will be helpful to us in speeding this nomination to the Senate for confirmation.

Thank you very much, Senator Hruska, and Congressman Thone. At this point I wish to include in the record the biographical sketches of the nominees plus the duties of the office for which they were nominated.

[The information referred to follows:]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VIRGINIA Y. TROTTER

Virginia Y. Trotter, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was nominated by President Nixon on April 22, 1974 to be Assistant Secretary for Education in the Department of Health, Education, and

Welfare. Upon confirmation by the Senate she will succeed Sidney P. Marland, Jr. who resigned in late 1973.

In 1972, Dr. Trotter became the first woman in the Nation to assume the numher two administrative position in a large multi-purpose land-grant university. In addition to her administrative post, she also holds a professorship in Education and Family Resources.

Born in Boise, Idaho, in 1921, Dr. Trotter attended Kansas State University for both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees. She received her Doctorate from Ohio State University in 1959.

Dr. Trotter's teaching career began in 1948 at the University of Utah, where she served as Instructor and Director of the Home Management Laboratory. In 1950 she joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as Assistant Professor and Head of the Family Economics and Management Division of the Department of Home Economics, a research and teaching appointment she held until 1955.

The University of Vermont became Dr. Trotter's home from 1955 until 1963. There, as Assistant to the Dean of Agriculture and Home Economics and Chairman of the Home Economics Department, she was responsible for teaching, research and extension programs.

Returning to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1963. Dr. Trotter was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at the University. In addition to this administrative position she was Director of the School of Home Economics, Associate Director of the Experiment Station, and Professor of Family Economics.

In 1970, Dr. Trotter was responsible for the School of Home Economics becoming the College of Home Economics and became its first Dean. She retained her positions as Associate Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Professor of Education and Family Resources, while taking on added responsibility as Associate Director of the Cooperative Extension Service. As such, she was responsible for teaching, research, and extension programs in the Departments of Education and Family Resources, Food and Nutrition, Human Development and the Family, and Textiles, Clothing and Design. In addition, her responsibilities included appointments on a number of university policy committees. Dr. Trotter has served on many national and state committees, including the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, the Nebraska Governor's Commission for Status of Women, as president of the Nebraska Home Economics Association, and as chairman of several American Home Economics Association committees. She is currently Co-Chairman of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Task Force, a public member of the National Advertising Review Board, and a member of the Nebraska Governor's Committee for Employment of the Handicapped.

Universities in the United States and abroad have consulted Dr. Trotter in their efforts to establish or improve nutrition and family life program. She has advised such institutions as the Universities of West Virginia and Minnesota: Hacettepe and Ankara Universities in Turkey; the United States AID Mission in Columbia, South America; and the Greater Anchorage Schools in Anchorage, Alaska.

Dr. Trotter, author of numerous journal articles and bulletins in her field, has special interest and concern for the quality of family living, the welfare of the consumer, the rehabilitation of the handicapped, emotionally disturbed, and mentally retarded, and for today's woman in our changing world.

In May 1973, Dr. Trotter was awarded an honorary degree from Kansas State University. She received a Distinguished Service Award from The Ohio State University and the Melvin McArtor Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to rehabilitation in Nebraska in 1971. She also has been honored as a distinguished professor by the Cornhusker Yearbook.

She is a member of Omicron Nu, Phi Upsilon Omicron, Mortar Board and Sigma Xi honoraries and Altrusa International and is listed in Who's Who in Education, Who's Who among American Women and Who's Who in American Education.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TERREL H. BELL

President Nixon on April 22, 1974 nominated Terrel H. Bell, 52, to be the 21st Commissioner of Education in the 107-year history of the U.S. Office of Education. Upon confirmation by the Senate, Dr. Bell succeeds John R. Ottina, Commissioner of Education from September 18, 1973, who has been appointed HEW Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management.