Colby College - Oracle Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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fc CDLEYEQKQQ Qoilolqaxcl .EE obtaining from the State in 1864 a grant of two half-townships of land, the last gift from that source. In July, 1.872, Dr. Champlin tendered his resignation but remained in office at the request of the trustees one year longer, when he retired 'to devotehimself to literary pursuits. Rev. Henry E. Robins, D.D., of Rochester, N. Y., came to the presi- dency in 1873. He aroused new interest in the College. New courses of instruction were added and those long established infused with new life. The South College was renovated, the gymnasium made an important factor in college training, and the library, in the year of the great awaken- ing of library interest, was placed in charge of a paid librarian. The collection of the two literary societies, the Literary Fraternity, which was maintained from 1824 to 1878, and the Erosophian Adelphi from 1836 to 1876, were united with the College library. A gratifying increase in at- tendance followed, the highest number being 157 in 1879. On the death of Mr. Colby in 1879 the College received a bequest of EB120,000. The arduous labors of President Robins so undermined his health that he was obliged to spend the year 1880-81 in foreign travel, leaving Prof. S. K. Smith, D.D., as acting president, and in 1882 he resigned his position. Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D.D., succeeded President Robins in 1882 and administered the affairs of the College with great fidelity until failing health compelled him to resign in 1889. The average attendance during this period was about 120. Dr. Pepper developed measures for the im- provement of the work and finances of the College and advanced its repu- tation. Hon. Richard C. Shannon, who was graduated in 1862, erected in 1889 the brick building called the Shannon Observatory and Physical Lab- oratory, for the department then in charge of the eminent astronomer, Dr. William A. Rogers. President Pepper, in 1885, obtained the establish- ment of a new professorship of geology and mineralogy, to which Dr. W. S. Bayley of the U. S. Geological Survey was called. The professor of his- tory, Dr. A. W. Small, devoted a year's leave of absence to university study in Baltimore, supplementing an earlier course in Berlin. At Dr. Pepper's retirement the endowment funds had risen to S5505,767. His unexpected resignation was accompanied by a strong recommendation that Prof. Albion W. Small, Ph.D., be appointed his successor. The suggestion was at once ratified by the board of trustees and President Small, the first graduate of the College to be chosen to that oiiice, assumed his duties in August, 1889. His intimate knowledge of the conditions and limitations of the College enabled him to devise measures for improving its educational facilities and exerting a wider influence. To meet the growing demand for the higher education of young women Dr. Small conceived the plan which was at once put into successful operation of arranging for the instruction of the young women in separate classes, thus forming a co-ordinate college system. The plan of giving to the students some participation in the government of the collegiate body, proposed by Dr. Pepper, was developed and set in operation by President Small. In 1891 the number of students was 184. 25 Centennial Number

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ic 0 LJBY 1119335 20 11Q1QAoI.,1.-ij The University of Chicago called Dr. Small in 1892 to be the honored head of its department of sociology. An able successor to President Small was found in the young pastor of the Free Street Church in Portland, Rev. Benaiah L. Whitman, D.D., in whose first year, 1892-93, 206 students were enrolled. Courses in uni- versity extension work were oiered by several of the Colby professors between the years 1892 and 1900. The gymnasium was enlarged and fur- nished with baths and modern equipment in 1893, and physical training became an important adjunct to the curriculum. The vigorous and effi- cient administration of President Whitman attracted the notice of Colum- bia University in 1895, and he was called to the presidency of that institution. A second graduate of the College, Dr. Nathaniel Butler, whose father and grandfather had served as trustees of Waterville College, was induced to leave an important position in the University of Chicago to become president of Colby. Dr. Butler entered upon his duties in January, 1896, bringing a wide experience in college instruction and high ideals of the function of the college in the American educational system. Under his competent direction, intellectual, physical, and social education each received due consideration. The misleading title of university, assumed when our country had no real universities, was exchanged in 1899 for that of College at his instance. A subscription to raise 860,000, for new buildings and other purposes, received the approval of the citizens of Waterville at a public meeting called by the Board of Trade. The desired amount was obtained, Rev. N. T. Dutton acting as financial agent. The Alumni Chemical Hall was erected in 1898 at a cost of 830,000 A pledge that in due time a building for the Women's College should be built and furnished was received from a friend whose name was not yet made public. Rev. C. E. Gwen, after the decease of Mr. Dutton, was given charge of a second subscription of 860,000 and his appeals have met with favorable response. President Butler gradually brought the manifold details and diverse interests of all departments of college activity into harmonious and sys- tematic working. A marked improvement in College spirit and loyalty was awakened in the student body. His scholarly addresses at many lit- erary and educational gatherings reflected great honor upon the College and made its name more widely and honorably known. But the University of Chicago, which reluctantly parted with Dr. Butler in 1896, again claimed him in June, 1901, to take charge of an important division of its work. His resignation seemed like a public calamity, affect- ing not only the College, but the entire community, which had through him been brought to take an unusual interest in the welfare of the College. The trustees elected as the successor of President Butler, Rev. Charles L. White, D.D., of Hampton Falls, N. H., a graduate of Brown University, who entered upon his duties September lst, 1901. During his adminis- tration, although the endowment was not materially increased, yet, by the liquidation of certain outstanding debts of her fitting schools, the finances of the college were strengthened and stabilized. In 1903, Prof. Laban E. 26 Centennial Number