Educom was established in 1964 by a small but remarkable group of people
who had an idea and a vision as to what computing and resource sharing
might mean to higher education. They were mostly medical school deans
but they included James G. Miller, who became the leading activist in
developing the idea, which was to form the Interuniversity
Communications Council, Educom.
The members of the group deserve to be named because they not only
founded Educom but also remained loyal and active throughout the early
and uncertain years: Dean William N. Hubbard Jr. of Michigan, who was
the first chairman of the council; Dean William G. Anlyan of Duke
University, who was the first chairman of the Board of Trustees; Edison
Montgomery of the University of Pittsburgh, who was the first president;
Ward Darley of the Association of American Colleges; and Chancellor
Thomas Hunter of the University of Virginia.
These founders were missionaries both in their own institutions and with
their colleagues in other institutions. Within two years there were 45
institutions, each with its active institutional representative.
Besides semiannual meetings and publication of the Educom Bulletin, a
major enterprise in July 1966 was a month-long working conference in
Boulder, Colorado. It brought together 181 specialists in communications
and information sciences from government, industry, medicine, and higher
education. The resulting report, entitled "Edunet," written by James
Miller, George Brown, and Thomas Keenan, was a prophetic landmark, but
the multimillion-dollar, multimedia pilot network never was able to
attract the necessary funding.
During the next half dozen years, Educom functioned as a catalyst.
Through its spring and fall conferences, through its publications,
through its research projects, and through its periodic letters to
presidents of member institutions, the goal of resource sharing and
networking was kept alive. It was the one organization to bring together
all the interested parties on each campus.
Membership dues by no means covered expenses. Various means of
increasing income were developed, such as consulting and research
projects, but the outlook was bleak. Fortunately, the Kellogg
Foundation, which had given a large initial grant, was responsive a
second time to a request for general support. Chancellor Hunter, who
made the long trip to Battle Creek, Michigan on crutches, was able to
tip the decision of a somewhat skeptical foundation official in Educom's
favor.
During those years there were many trustees who labored on Educom's
behalf far beyond the call of duty. To mention only a few would involve
distinctions in commitment that are unfair. Nevertheless, some should be
mentioned: J. C. R. Licklider of MIT, IBM, and the ARPA Network, who was
knowledgeable, realistic, and a prophet; Martin Greenburger of Johns
Hopkins and later UCLA, who chaired the Educom conference in
Philadelphia that gave the organization renewed momentum and who also
planned, chaired, and wrote the report on General Working Seminars that
led to the formation of the Planning Council; and Donald Katz of the
University of Michigan, who served as chairman of the board and also as
chairman of the council during Educom's most difficult years.
This article is part of an occasional series on Educom's early history.
Henry Chauncey, Educom trustee emeritus, now lives in Shelburne,
Vermont.