AAAS Resolution Urges National Science Foundation - Senate Discusses Membership-at-Large Report; Votes Study of Plan by Phi Beta Kappa Groups

Oct 13, 2026

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AAAS leaders meeting in Boston passed a resolution calling on the federal government to expand support for national scientific research, advanced scientific education, and civilian funding for areas such as medicine, national defense research, and basic sciences. The resolution initiated an inter-society committee to launch a National Science Foundation effort and sought participation from national educational and scientific societies, with President James B. Conant citing benefits for modern industry, medicine, and military security. The document also reports a Senate vote in December to study Phi Beta Kappa’s membership-at-large plan, including nominations, comprehensive examinations, fees, and the role of testing agencies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

AAAS Resolution and Federal Support

Inter-society committee and invited participation

Senate Vote on Phi Beta Kappa Membership-at-Large Plan

Proposed administration steps

Committee membership and next actions

.Q2口EP AAAS Resolution UrgesNational Science Foundation The Council of the American Asso-ciation for the Advancement of Science,meeting in Boston December 27-31,passed a resolution to seek governmentaid in establishing a national foundationfor scientific research.Prepared by acommittee that included Kirtley F.Mather,chairman,Harlow Shapley,Joseph Boyce,George A.Baitsell andStuart Mudd,the resolution read inpart: "For many years the Governmenthas wisely supported research in theagricultural colleges and the benefitshave been great.The time has comewhen such supports should be extendedto other fields of science and to ad-vanced scientific education.There isnot now in the governmental structureany civilian agency,receiving its fundsfrom the Congress,adapted to providingthe necessary supplementation of fundsor the necessary additional support ofbasic research in medicine,national de-fense research or basic sciences,oradapted to administering a program forthe support of advanced scientificeducation." In an effort to obtain action by thepresent Congress,the resolution appro-priated funds to initiate an Inter-societyCommittee for a National Science Foun-dation,and directed that invitations toparticipate be sent to other nationaleducational and scientific societies. President James B.Conant hadstrongly recommended establishment ofa national foundation in an address atthe opening session.Urging sciencewriters to make clear to the public theneed for such an organization,he as-serted that in addition to reasons ofmilitary security,Federal support ofscientific research is important becausethe development of modern industryand of modern medicine are closelyrelated to that of modern science.Healso declared he had"no fear there willbe any deleterious effects to the universi-ties even if they receive very large sumsof money for the support of scientificresearch by this route from the Federalgovernment." # Senate Discusses Membership-at-Large Report;Votes Study of Plan by ΦBK Groups At its annual meeting on December6-7 in Prihceton,the Senate voted tosubmit to all chapters and associationsfor study,a plan to establish membershipat large in Phi Beta Kappa.The planwill be submitted with a request fordiscussion,comments and suggestions, the A.A.U.,selection to be made incollaboration with the Committee onQualifications;(2)Candidates for ex-amination to be chosen by the facultyof the institution,with the number ofcandidates from each institution lim-ited between two and five;(3)A rea- sonable examinationfee to be paid byeach candidate;(4)Oral and writtencomprehensive ex-aminations designedto test ability as wellas attainment;and (5)The advice andhelp of testingagencies in pre-paring examina-tions,although PhiBeta Kappa shouldreserve to itselffinal authority in de-termining theircharacter. Bachrach FRANK AYDELOTTE After raisingquestions concerned partly with thedifficulty and expense of administra-tion,and partly with the desirability ofestablishing membership at large in theSociety,the Senate voted that it was"impressed with the advantages of theplan."The Senate motion also directedthat copies of a detailed plan be sentto chapters and associations for theirconsideration. TAST September Senator AydelotteL outlined the membership at largeproposal briefly to Council members inWilliamsburg [see the Winter KEYREPORTER].No report was submittedby the committee at that time.Sincethen the committee has discussed thematter further and presented its recom-mendations in this report to the Senate. In addition to Chairman Aydelotte,members of the Committee on Mem-bership at Large include Oliver C.Carmichael,president of the CarnegieFoundation for the Advancement of (continued on page 2) so that action maybe taken,if it isthought desirable,bythe 1949 Council. The vote followeddiscussion of a Sen-ate committee reporton membership atlarge.Presented bySenator Frank Ayde-lotte,committeechairman,the reportrecommended al-lowing"certa

FAQs

What did the AAAS resolution request from the government?

It urged government aid for establishing a national foundation to support scientific research and advanced scientific education, extending beyond existing support to agricultural colleges.

How was the National Science Foundation effort intended to be initiated?

The resolution appropriated funds to start an inter-society committee and directed invitations to participate to other national educational and scientific societies.

What key elements define the Phi Beta Kappa membership-at-large plan discussed by the Senate?

The plan involves selecting institutions, nominating limited numbers of graduates, charging a reasonable examination fee, conducting comprehensive oral and written examinations, and using testing agencies while reserving final authority for membership decisions.

Oct 13, 2026

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