Roanoke College - Rawenoch Yearbook (Salem, VA)

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by th ' adoption of the elective system, giving choice to the students among the ancient and modern languages and also many branches of science. Yet the curriculum and standard for graduation iskept high, and .3 high standard of qualification for members of the faculty is required, Five of the younger professors have had in the aggregate seventeen years of post-graduate study in the best American and Euro- pean universities. Two of the professors are authors of college text- books which have been adopted by many high schools, colleges and universities throughout our country. Students from all religious denominations attend Roanoke Col- lege. VVithin the past decade young men lrom more than twenty-Eve states and territories, and from Mexico, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Vlfest Indies, England, japan and Korea, have been enrolled. In june 0f'98, the first Korean to take the degree of A. B. in the world was graduated from Roanoke. In the session of '99, the son of I-Ion. Chin Pom Ye, the minister from Korea to the United States attended Roan- oke, and later even the Prince himself became a student. Several years ago, three japanese boys, whose fathers were members of the Imperial Privy Council for Cabinetj were students of the College. For twenty-five years the Choctaw Indians have sent students to Roanoke, some of which have graduated with honors. Many distinguished foreign visitors have been and 'Korean ofhcials having The total number of 458 are living. The most attracted to Roanoke, japanese, Chinese attended commencements here. graduates up to this date is 520, of which excellent training which the College has given them is attested by the high and responsible positions in the various professions and in general business, which they now hold. Little need be said here, for they speak for themselves. Partial train- ing has been given by the College to more than 2,500, many of whom are filling prominent and useful positions throughout the country. These are the greatest advertisements that can be given for the Col- lege. Roanoke men stand high in the various callings of life, and when they take a post-graduate course or special work at some univer- sity, they are among the foremost, as is attested by Ur. lllells in an his- torical address at a commencement several years ago: A large num- ber of these are college presidents, and professors in colleges, in semi- naries for young women, in academies and high schools of other grades. lllany have entered the Christian ministry, and are honored workers in different churches. Many have entered the professions of law, medi- cine, or journalism. Others are bankers, civil engineers, men of affairs, and successful farmers. The College through others, has had repre- sentatives on the benches of the County, State and Federal judici- aries-in the State and National legislative bodies, in the State and Federal departments, in the army and navy. ln a word, in every arena where strong men, where trained men are contending, the sons of Roanoke may be found. These representatives have gone forth from its lecture rooms to other nelds of chosen work into nearly all the states of the Union, to Mexico, to Brazil, to the llermese empire, to far off India and to the gateway of the sun, japan. For years the greatest need of the College was larger buildings and better equipment for the Scientific department. Accordingly, in

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Hall proving altogether inadequate to meet the pressinof demands. Many of the students who entered the College in the segion imme- diately following the close of the war were ex-soldiers who bore the scars of many battles and of the hardships of military life. 'fFr0m that time on its progress has been comparatively steady, the number of students gradually increasing with no serious fluctuations except in the years immediately following the death of its first president, Dr. D. F. Bittle, in 1876. 1 In 1877: Rev. T. W1 Doush, D. D., was elected to the presidency of the Institution, but served in this capacity only one year, fOr in the following year he accepted a professorship in the Lutheran Theological Seminary then located in Salem. Prof Julius D. Dreher, who had been the hnancial agent of the College for several years, and who had secured many friends and fren- erous benefactions for the College, was chosen by the Board of Tzirus- tees as the next president, Accordingly, At the beginning of the ses- sion of 1878-0 President Dreher entered upon his duties, and bv the wise administration of his office, supported by a faculty of moreithan usual ability, he raised the standard of scholarship, brought to its finan- cial support a large number of liberal-minded and generous-handed friends of education, and greatly enlarged the influence of the College. Having caught the emblems of authority so soon after they fell from the dying hand of the Founder of the College, and having steadily, for a quarter ofa Century, carried forward his aims and plans, the success and triumphs of the living have been of themselves constant tributes to the memory of the dead. The success of tl1e College in the hands of Dr. Dreher has been remarkable. Taking charge, as he did, of an institution without endow- ment and against much strong opposition, he has made it one of the great institutions of the South. To be specific, he freed the College from its debt, accumulated a considerable endowment fund, made a notable improvement in the teaching equipments, and remodeled the buildings. The Bittle Memorial and the present main building of the College stand as fitting memorials of Dr. Dreher's indomitable energy and devotion to the College. The College has a library which contains over 22,000 volumes, the oldest of which are from 100 to 200 years old. But the Library is up-to-date, and is one of the best in the South. The reading room, which, as an annex to the Main Library, is commodious and attractive, and is much used by the students. More than 12,000 mineralogical and geological specimens have been collected and placed in the Museum. Some of these specimens are very rare and valuable. Roanoke has a moderate endowment. Fifteen bequests have been left the College, eight in Virginia, six in New England, and one in Philadelphia. The largest of the endowments was left by Henry Steere, of Providence, R. I., 325000, and the next in amount, that of Col. Green B. Board, of Salem, fI0,000. Bequests have been made to the College for the establishment of scholarships to be given to needy and meritorious studentsi Other generous gifts and bequests are con- tinually being made for the general support and welfare of the College. The curriculum of the College has been made somewhat flexible

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1902 the Alumni Association set on foot a movement to supply this need, and as a result we have today a handsome building, containing Up-to-date physicial and chemical laboratories, commodious lecture moms and a greatly improved museum, a building of which every- one is proud. n I Last june the Semi-Centennial of the College was celebrated in an appropriate and impressive manner. On Commencement day, Dr. Dreher, having served in the- capacity of President for twenty-five years announced to the public the fact of his resignation. It was a surprise to all and in the hearts of many there was a feeling of sadness, but Dr. Dreher had performed his work nobly, had stood by the Col- lege, and had led her forward at all times, so all felt that, at his request, he should be allowed a rest from h1s duties as President. Dr. john Alfred Morehead, a graduate of Roanolfe, ofithe class of 1839, has succeeded Dr. Dreher. l'he intense devotion with which he is serving the College and students are marks of his sure success as President. ' n . i As the years wing their flight into the past, may the College prosper and accomplish even greater good for God and manif B P x. . .