Philip Hall Coombs (1915 at Holyoke, MA – February 15, 2006 in Chester, CT), is an American teacher. An undergraduate study was at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

and post-grad work was at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He taught economics at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

and was a program director for education at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

. Coombs was appointed by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

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.

During his stint in this post, he went to live in Paris, France, Paris, organizing the

UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP – UNESCO) is an arm of UNESCO created in 1963 in Paris, France. It develops the capacities of education actors to plan and manage their education systems through its programmes of trainin ...

. This

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

-created group advised countries on improvements to their systems of

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. Being dissatisfied with the pace of change, he resigned from the U.S. 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 Systems Analysis, 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

External links

*
New York Times obituary

Obituary from the IIEP newsletter
Apr-June, 2006
International Institute for Educational Planning website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Philip H. 1915 births 2006 deaths Amherst College alumni University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American educators Politicians from Holyoke, Massachusetts Assistant Secretaries of State for Education and Culture People from Chester, Connecticut