In early October, a group of active scholars came back to campus.
These scholars were former participants in the Ford Scholars Program — a Ford Foundation experiment that selected mature and bright 15- and 16-year-olds to begin college early.
The program's goal was to increase the supply of professionals for the United States after World War II and to increase the number of college-educated persons in the military. Originally for men, the program expanded to include women.
UW-Madison was one of 12 universities that participated and the Integrated Liberal Studies Program was much touted to the Ford Scholars by UW Professor Herbert Howe.
Coming back to UW-Madison gave the scholars a chance to meet with current ILS student workers and administrators and share their stories, experiences and advice gained from the rare opportunity they took advantage of many years ago.
The Ford Scholars and the role of their undergraduate hosts —Howe and his wife Evelyn Howe (PhD) — was profiled by the UW Foundation and is available online.