Indiana University - Arbutus Yearbook (Bloomington, IN)

Page 17 text:

Iiidianci Ui iversity !M(). ' G the twcMitv-fivc leading colleges and uni- versities of the nation, ranked by total attendance, Indiana L ' niversitv stands nineteenth, according to statistics gathered by Professor Rudol])h Tonibu of rolunibia L ' niversitv in Science , December 2?. l ' ' OS. lly this same authority and on the same liasis lit cc iniparison. Indiana ranks eleventh among the state uni- versities of the countr . Considering the size of the city in which she is located, her age, the wealth and poinilation of the . tale in which she is the university, and the number of colleges and univer- sities in the . tate, this ])osition is not remarkable. Wlien all these facts are taken in account, Indiana L ' niversity seems to have main- tained about the ranking in si e wliich she would be expected to maintain. However, by the statistics above quoted, Indiana University- stands eleventh among the twenty-five leading colleges and uni- versities graded according to the total attendance in the Liberal Arts Department, and sixth, by the same standard, among all the State universities. This much higher proportional rank, and especially this higher numerical position, among all the institutions of the land which oflfer liberal arts courses, is noteworthy, and should be a matter of considerable pride to the alumni of the university and the citizens of Indiana. In the last quarter centur the chief concern of the educators of this country has been the establishment and promotion of the technical and professional departments and .schools. The argu- ments raised at the beginning of the last century by some of the scientific .giants of that ])eriod greatly influenced college curricula, especially in . nterica. . ince the beginning of the utilitarian cam- ])ai,gn we have ielded more and more to the demands for useful education, for education that will fit men and women for the par- ticular kind of work which is to be their vocation in life. This is the day of specialists has been the cr , and the universities have listened to the cry. I ' levdud (| icstion. this utilitarian tendencv in the education of the worl.l and this temlency to s])eciali e in the unrld ' s work, have had splendid material results. l ' oo(l has been ])urihecl. homes have been made more sanitar and conifcprtable. cities have been rendered decently inhabitable. Disease has been robbed of much of its terror. The soil has been made to yield a .greater increase, the value of forests has been enhanced, mines have been made to enlarge the size and the worth of their output. The efficiency of transportation, both by lanil and sea, has been vastly improved. Applied ])liysics have wrought miracles with steam and with electricity. Many of these im|)royi.-nients, to which Indiana and Indiana University have made their conlrilaitions, have come from the specialh- equipped