Editing Ford Foundation (section)

=== Fund for Adult Education ===
Active from 1951 to 1961, this subsidiary of the Ford Foundation supported initiatives in the field of [[adult education]], including [[educational television]] and [[public broadcasting]]. During its existence, the FAE spent over $47 million.<ref name="edelson" />{{rp|1}} Among its funding programs were a series of individual awards for people working in adult education to support training and field study experiences.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=Ford Fund to Give Aid for Adult Education |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/06/28/archives/ford-fund-to-give-aid-for-adult-education.html |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 June 1953}}</ref> The FAE also sponsored conferences on the topic of adult education, including the [[Bigwin Island|Bigwin]] Institute on Community Leadership in 1954 and the Mountain Plains Adult Education Conference in 1957. These conferences were open to academics, community organizers, and members of the public involved in the field of adult education.<ref name="sundayherald">{{cite news |title=Adult Education Unit Drafts Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5AyAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Fund+for+Adult+Education%22&pg=PA97&article_id=5633,3776804 |access-date=10 May 2023 |work=Sunday Herald |date=25 July 1954 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="deseretnews">{{cite news |title=U. Conference to Look into Adult Education |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWEzAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Fund+for+Adult+Education%22&pg=PA5&article_id=7215,3555145 |access-date=10 May 2023 |work=The Deseret News |date=19 March 1957 |language=en}}</ref>

In addition to grantmaking to organizations and projects, the FAE established its own programs, including the Test Cities Project and the Experimental Discussion Project.<ref name="edelson">{{cite journal |last1=Edelson |first1=Paul J. |title=Socrates on the Assembly Line: The Ford Foundation's Mass Marketing of Liberal Adult Education |journal=Annual Conference of the Midwest History of Education Society |date=October 1991 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED340885}}</ref>{{rp|2}} The Experimental Discussion Project produced media that was distributed to local organizations to conduct viewing or listening and discussion sessions. Topics covered included [[international affairs]], world cultures, and United States history.<ref name="stpetersburgtimes">{{cite news |title=New Discussion Programs Offered |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IpaAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Fund+for+Adult+Education%22&pg=PA37&article_id=4196,1746384 |access-date=10 May 2023 |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=19 October 1952 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="goldschmidt">{{cite book |last1=Goldschmidt |first1=Walter |title=Ways of Mankind: Adult Discussion Series |date=1954 |publisher=Experimental Discussion Project of the Fund for Adult Education |location=Pasadena, CA |url=https://archive.org/details/naeb-b073-f06}}</ref>

Educational theorist [[Robert Maynard Hutchins]] helped to found the FAE, and educational television advocate [[C. Scott Fletcher]] served as its president.<ref name="edelson" />{{rp|8–9}}