Philip Hall Coombs
Encyclopedia
Philip H. Coombs was born in 1915 at Holyoke, MA
; he died on Feb 15, 2006 in Chester, CT
. His undergraduate study was at Amherst College
and post-grad work was at the University of Chicago
. He taught economics at Williams College
and was a program director for education at the Ford Foundation
.
He was an appointed by President John F. Kennedy
to be the first Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture in February, 1961. He was an advocate for overhauling the educational system, saying that every school district should put 2% of its money into educational research and hire a "Vice President in charge of heresy. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873275,00.html?iid=chix-sphere During his stint in this post, he went to live in Paris, organizing the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning
. This UNESCO
-created group advised countries on improvements to their systems of education
. Being dissatisfied with the pace of change, he resigned from the State Department in 1962 and from 1963 to 1968 held the post of Director of the IIEP. He served as vice-chair and chair of the International Council of Economic Development until 1992, when he retired.
During his career he wrote several books on foreign policy and education. He was married to Helena Brooks for 65 years and had two children, Peter B. Coombs and Helena H. Weeks.
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
; he died on Feb 15, 2006 in Chester, CT
Chester, Connecticut
Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2000 census. The town center is also defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place .-Geography:...
. His undergraduate study was at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and post-grad work was at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He taught economics at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
and was a program director for education at the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
.
He was an appointed by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to be the first Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture in February, 1961. He was an advocate for overhauling the educational system, saying that every school district should put 2% of its money into educational research and hire a "Vice President in charge of heresy. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873275,00.html?iid=chix-sphere During his stint in this post, he went to live in Paris, organizing the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning
UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning
The International Institute for Educational Planning is an arm of UNESCO created in 1963 in Paris, France.- Mission :IIEP's mission is to strengthen the capacity of countries...
. This UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
-created group advised countries on improvements to their systems of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Being dissatisfied with the pace of change, he resigned from the State Department in 1962 and from 1963 to 1968 held the post of Director of the IIEP. He served as vice-chair and chair of the International Council of Economic Development until 1992, when he retired.
During his career he wrote several books on foreign policy and education. He was married to Helena Brooks for 65 years and had two children, Peter B. Coombs and Helena H. Weeks.
Published works
- Problems of economic mobilization (Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. Economic mobilization course), by Philip H Coombs, 1947
- Education and Foreign Aid: Ways to Improve United States Foreign Educational Aid (from the Burton Lectures) by Philip H. Coombs, 1965
- The World Educational Crisis-a System Analyze, Oxford University Press, 1968
- Managing Educational Costs, by Philip H. Coombs and Jacques Hallak. 1972
- Attacking Rural Poverty: How Nonformal Education Can Help, A research report for the World Bank. Edited by Barbara Baird Israel, by Philip H. Coombs with Manzoor Ahmed, 1974
- Education for Rural Development (Praeger special studies in international economics and development) by Manzoor Ahmed and Philip H. Coombs, 1975
- Meeting the Basic Needs of the Rural Poor: The Integrated Community-Based Approach (Pergamon policy studies on international development), by Philip H. Coombs, 1980
- The World Crisis in Education: The View from the Eighties, by Philip H. Coombs, 1985
- Education and Foreign Aid: Ways to Improve United States Foreign Educational Aid (Burton Lectures) by Philip H. Coombs, 1988
- Fourth Dimension of Foreign Policy, by Philip H Coombs, 1990