Claiborne Pell's grants helped me get through college. Back when I started college (in the pre-Ronald Reagan days and before college costs really exploded), those grants made a bigger dent. Unfortunately, that's not so true now. A lot of us owe a big thanks to Senator Pell:
Claiborne Pell, 90, a six-term Rhode Island Democrat who rose to be chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, died Jan. 1 at his Newport, R.I. home. He had Parkinson's disease since 1994.
A Yankee Brahmin and former Foreign Service officer who was virtually unbeatable at the polls in a largely Catholic, blue-collar state, he was best known for his sponsorship of the 1972 program that has helped 54 million low-income and moderate-income students attend college. He also sponsored the legislation that founded the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.
