Charles Wedemeyer


Charles A. Wedemeyer was a pioneer in the field of independent and distance learning. He challenged university administrators to expand access and opportunity to autonomous learners. "Educational change is evolutionary, and its tempo is glacial," he wrote.

Early years

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1911, to parents of modest means, Charles Wedemeyer developed a sense of excitement for what he described as “self-initiated” learning. His parents, Adrian August Wedemeyer and Laura Marie Marks Wedemeyer strived to provide books and magazines and an environment conducive to learning. An avid reader, the young Wedemeyer made great use of his local library in his quest for knowledge. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with a major in English, later pursuing a master's degree in English, both from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Northwestern University. As a young educator, he taught English and Science to disadvantaged youth. It was at that time that he began to formulate his progressive ideas on extending educational opportunities as integral to the democratic project.

Career

YearEvent
1930sEnglish teacher—used WHA radio to expand access
1942-1946Naval instructor WWII
1954-1964Director University of Wisconsin’s Correspondence Study Program
1958USAFI contract for course development for 250,000 service men and women
1961Ford Foundation grant to study correspondence schools in Europe
1961Chair Committee on Criteria and Standards ; Kellogg Fellow UK
1963Criteria and Standards document — endorsement of 86 university-sponsored institutions
1963-1966Brandenburg Memorial Essays on Correspondence Instruction
1965Carnegie Corporation AIM grant
1966World Trends in Correspondence Education
1967William H. Lighty professorship in Education
1968-1971Governor's Task Force on Open Learning
1969-1973UK Open Univ; ICCE/ICDE President; Institute on Independent Study
1969-1976Research organisation EDSAT
1972UNESCO Consultant at HSI University Ethiopia
1975Doctorate Honoris Causa British Open University

1954-1964

Wedemeyer considered that "independent study in the American context is generic for a range of teaching-learning activities that sometimes go by separate names."
A lifelong advocate for independent learning, his best known project was the Articulated Instructional Media initiative, which proved influential in the establishment of Britain’s Open University, now known as the UK Open University.