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The paper contends that selection criteria should be aligned with the Secretary of Education’s periodic determination of national need in graduate education, and that reforming the program by removing such biases would better balance how President Truman’s legacy is honored.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program  \nAdam Kissel  \nKEY TAKEAWAYS  \nboth the rhetoric and the structure of the Truman Scholarship Program exhibit ideological biases favoring “social change”progressives.  \nThe program’s selection criteria should be aligned with the Secretary of education’s determination of the national need in graduate education.  \nreforming the program by removing its biases would also provide muchneeded balance to better honor President Truman’s legacy.  \nThe Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program  \nprovides up to $30,000 each for college stu  \ndents who planto attend graduate school and then engage in public service. The program, which is publicly funded and is operated within the executive branch by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, generally selects one student from each state and territory per year.  \nThe foundation’s board is about equally balanced between Republicans and Democrats bylaw. Two Senators (one from each political party), two Members of the House of Representatives (one from each party), and eight presidential appointees (no more than four from one political party) join the Secretary of Education on the board.  \nYet both the rhetoric and the structure of the program exhibit ideological biases favoring“social change”progressives. Recent critics have noted that very few  \nThis paper, in its entirety, can be found at [https://report.heritage.org/bg3945](https://report.heritage.org/bg3945)  \nThe Heritage Foundation | 214 massachusetts Avenue, Ne | Washington, Dc 20002 | (202) [546-4400 | heritage.org](546-4400 | heritage.org)[ ](546-4400 | heritage.org)Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.  \nconservative students apply successfully.1 This is likely duetothe biases in the program. This Backgrounder describes these biases and offers a solution: align the program’s selection criteria with the Secretary of Education’s periodic, consultative determination of the national need in graduate education.  \nThe Truman Program Steers Applications to the Left  \nThe Truman Foundation’s definition of public service and its “change agent” rhetoric steer applicants to the ideological left. The clearest evidence of this rhetoric occurs on the program’s website, which is the primary locus of communication among the program, potential applicants, and the institutions of higher education that nominate applicants.2  \nSample Application Responses. The program’s website provides many sample responses to application questions along with a brief analysis of the strengths or weaknesses of each response. This is where applicants are most clearly steered to the left. While some of the examples appear ideologically neutral, no example of a successful response is right-coded, while many are clearly left-coded.  \nHere are examples of left-coded responses:  \nl “I introduced students…to my studies in environmental racism.”  \nl “The Sustainable Society…involved weekly lectures on the social, political, and economic factors of our food system.”  \nl “The world currently faces the most unacceptable health disparities of the century.”  \nl “A decline in the value of the minimum wage, a weaker and smaller unionized workforce, and fewer high-paying manufacturing jobs; and growth in low-wage, service sector, temporary and part-time work all contribute to widening income inequality in the U.S.”  \nl “I would pursue a sociology minor, focusing on courses in metropolitan growth and development, urban ecology, social inequality, collective behavior and movements, and studies of organizational and political structures.”  \nl “I have met several activists who found that they were unable to have the kind of impact on issues that affect the homeless and marginally housed.… I have been inspired to pursue a","cbCaiixgYhSfvtFS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiixgYhSfvtFS","pdf",212530,11,"English","# Key Takeaways\n# The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program\n## Program funding and purpose\n## Board composition and governance\n# The Truman Program Steers Applications to the Left\n## Change-agent rhetoric on the website\n## Sample application responses and coding examples\n# Privileging “Change Agents”\n## Advisory focus and eligibility versus competition","[{\"question\":\"What does the paper claim about ideological bias in the Truman Scholarship Program?\",\"answer\":\"The paper argues that both the program’s rhetoric and structure exhibit ideological biases favoring “social change” progressives.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper say applicants are influenced toward the ideological left?\",\"answer\":\"It points to the program website as the main communication hub and notes that sample application responses show a left-coded pattern, with no right-coded successful examples.\"},{\"question\":\"What reform does the paper recommend to address the biases?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends aligning the program’s selection criteria with the Secretary of Education’s periodic, consultative determination of national need in graduate education and removing the program’s biases to improve balance.\"}]","Ideological Biases in the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program | PDF",1792054222,28]