Brown University - Liber Brunensis Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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,, Book I. The College Page 15 Luckily, however, this sore wound in the life of i i ' the college soon healed over. To be sure, there were ix other things that did not please the student mind, 1, among them being the ruling that students must not jj leave the college yard during study hours. Many of ill, 4 the two hundred and thirty men who graduated under M - President Maxcy scarcely knew the city of Provi- X dence until the end of their college course, only once Or twice a week were they permitted to Walk through , the streets of the city. And, too, doubtless another law caused not a few grumblings - a law which stated that the Steward shall not be permitted on so -A: 1 i any pretence to sell any Spirituous Liquors to the Students except Cyder ! Asa Messer, professor of languages, mathematics, and natural philosophy, became the third president of Rhode Island College upon the resignation of Jonathan Maxcy. He served in that capacity until 1826, his incumbency being marked not only by lfhysical expansion but by an easing of the financial difliculties that had been so haras- Sm! a check on progress hitherto. The generous gifts of Nicholas Brown were the happy cause of this, in all, his philanthropy expressed itself to the sum of nearly S200,000 3 hllge amount for that period of American prosperity, and in 1804 the Corporation showed its heartfelt gratitude by changing the name of the college to Brown University. Later, in 1822, Mr. Brown erected the splendid Colonial building, Hope College, at a Personal expense of about 325,000 .The administration was a successful one in every Way. The faculty had expanded 130 nine professors and two tutors, a medical school, which lasted from 1811 to 1828, sent out eighty-seven graduates, and the graduating class of 1825 numbered forty-eight men, ln addition to the medical students. .Reverend Francis Wayland, the fourth president, ushered in an era of progress lasting from 1827 to 1855. By the plans of the new elective system which he Sponsored, a bachelor's degree required a three-year course of study, while the master's degree could be obtained with four year's work. Graduate work was encouraged, the sciences were probed more deeply and thoroughly, many new subjects were introduced into the curriculum. In addition, President Wayland instituted a system of prizes and scholarships. But the University prospered financially as well as intellectually. In 1834 Nicholas Brown erected Manning Hall, an authentic replica, twice the size, of a temple in Eleusis, the cost amounting to 318,500 , six years later the people of Providence built Rhode Island Hall by a 330,000 subscription, and, in this ,,,9-,- ,:.- same year, the president's house, a wooden structure, was constructed on the land now occupied by the f th , I John Hay Library. Moreover, the permanent funds 0 9 University leaped to a new high figure, S200,000, a large sum for this time. ol-AQHA . lr

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Page 1.1, 1925 Liber Brunensis il' 1' ' rug IEIEIIEI Ellmlilslm s il W, ps ni in till El I-I s Ull li L , amusing nm f A a n 9 lil 1 ca bin And then came the Revolution, scarcely six years after the embryo college had graduated its first class of seven men 5 and the plain, noble University Hall that stood so isolated on the top of an unsettled pasture-land had to suspend its eager efforts towards enlightenment for the more grim needs of War. It became a barracks and hospital for American and French troops and not until May, 1782, were its educational functions restored. The onward struggle of the college was renewed with great vigor and courage. When President Manning died in 1791 the foundation of a permanent, liberal institution of learning had been laid - with what spiritual and practical suffering it is not diflicult to imagine. Rhode Island College then had a graduate roll of one hundred and forty-nine, and the faculty had become enlarged to the president, four professors, and two tutors. The faint spark kindled by James Manning and his colleagues had grown to a warm, vigorous fire that was very materially scorching the all too prevalent dry weeds of ignorance. A short time after the death of Manning, the Corporation selected Jonathan Maxcy, a man of but twenty-four years, as his successor. A poetic master of oratory, a deep and liberal thinker, an inspiring teacher -- in spite of these superb qualities it still seems that President Maxcy was not the man to live a public life. It is conceivable that in solitude and isolation he would have found himself more in his element, and that more lasting creations would have come from him. V His administration C1792 - 18025 was marked by a student rebellion that holds a rather pertinent interest for the modern undergraduate. The steward had raised his weekly board rate from 51.7 5 to 851.92 -- an unbelievable amount. The fluctuation of prices resulted in 1798 in the students refusing to attend classes. At this time the president signed a treaty 5 but again, two years later, the students declined to bother about any college duties until the steward should be discharged. Even the earnest pleading of President Maxcy in chapel one morning could not prevail against the hot-headedness of the undergraduates. They walked out of the chapel, quite unaffected by even the impassioned oratory of Jonathan Maxcy,

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Page 16 1925 Liber Brwnefnsis President Wayland is a memorable figure in the life of his administration. His tobacco-chewing habit laid him open to much amusing comment while his strictness in making certain that students were in bed at the appointed hour and in watching their every move with the full severity of his sunken, eagle-like eyes made it a joy to hoodwink him in any way. On one occasion his horse was painted with zebra stripesg again, his cow was carried up into the belfry of University Hall and tied to the bell. Indeed, the practical jokes of those simple, unsophisticated days seem quite endless. Not infre- quently the hay that grew on the front campus was collected by the undergraduates and stuffed into some disliked professor's room. Often immense amusement was procured by the rolling of big paving-stones the whole length of the corridors above the first floor in University Hall. One of the most distinguished scholars in the country took the place of Dr. Wayland upon his resignation. President Barnas Sears conducted the college with a masterly, yet gentle, power that succeeded in weathering not only the harrowing financial crisis of 1857 but also the intense, devastating Civil War. Of the two hndred sixty-eight graduates and students who fought in the War twenty-one were killed. 1 Under these adverse conditions even the executive brilliance of President Sears was unable to give the University that great growth that might have been expected. The odds against growth were overwhelming, and yet, so unconquerable had the vitality of the college become that it was found quite possible not only to increase the salaries of the faculty but, indeed, to erect one new building, now Rogers Hall, then called the Chemical Laboratory. And, in spite of a raise in tuition in 1864 from 8336.00 to S50.00, a class of seventy-three men enrolled in 1866. The more recreative phase of college life developed materially during President Sears' administration. Not only did a gay, festive new thing- called Class Day- eclipse Commencement, but organized athletics became a reality. In its first game the Brown baseball team was defeated by Harvard at the Dexter Training Grounds in Providence. The contest lasted four hours and the score was 26 to 17. In those early years the athletic teams had little success, and even a newly-organized crew, backed by a hitherto unknown enthusiasm, was badly beaten in the 1859 Intercollegiate race with Harvard and Yale. As yet there had been but low rumblings of football- class battles fought on the Middle Campus with many fair ladies who graced the windows of University Hall and Hope College. 1 i l