"A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car, but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad."
- Teddy Roosevelt, 1907
"Every child must be encouraged to get as much education as he has the ability to take. We want this not only for his sake -- but for the future of our nation's sake. Nothing matters more to the future of our country: not our military preparedness -- for armed might is worthless if we lack the brainpower to build world peace; not our productive economy -- for we cannot sustain growth without trained manpower; not our democratic system of government -- for freedom is fragile if citizens are ignorant."
- President Lyndon Johnson, while declaring a national goal of full educational opportunity
"Men may be born free; they cannot be born wise; and it is the duty of the university to make the free wise."
- Adlai Stevenson, "What I Think"