Drexel University - Spartan Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 12 text:

I 1 L- I- .,.. Ju. ,,,, , 1115-4 A habitual reserve melted and you were charmed with that kindly urbanity which betokens the gentleman a.nd the scholar. He l1ad risen 'tto l'hnerson's idea of education, as broad as man and that its great object should be commensurate with life and he had provided in The D1'exel Institute for something lnore than the mere sharpening ol' the intellectual faculties? He was a. man whose whole lite and thought had been spent in contact with those things which have eternal value, worthless and tawdry things 'found nothing in him to alford them lodgment. This instinctive appreciation olf things olf 1'eal worth, was, undoubtedly, the basis otf his greatest service to The Drexel Institute. The home displays the manners and char- acteristics of those who preside over it, and it is undeniably true that much of what we value most in the peculiar charm of The Drexel Institute, can be traced to the inlluence of James MacAlistcr. The Institute made a tentative start in February, 1892, the tirst students having been registered on the fourth of January. Miss Lucina A. Ball, the tirst Registrar, was a woman much loved and esteemed by her colleagues ,tor her kind sympathy and wise counsel. She gave the most loyal and unsellish service to the Institute in the trying days of organization. To this task her trail physique was scarcely equal. She retired in 1897 broken in health and died two years later. Another ollicer of the Institute in those early days before the work of the classes had begun, was Alice Bertha Kroeger, Librarian, who later organized and directed the Library School. She was an able woman, recognized by all as standing at the head of her profession. The Library of The Drexel Institute was the tirst in Philadelphia to be classified and catalogued according to modern methods. Iler students later assisted in the cataloguing of the library of the University of Pennsylvania. Miss Kroeger con- tinued as Librarian till her death in 1909. A brass plate in the Library records the esteem in which she was held by her colleagues. When fully organized, the activities of the Institute were included under eleven de- partments. Only live of these, however, were of the nature of separate schools. These were the Department of Fine and Applied Art, the Department of Mechanic Arts, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Domestic Science and Art, and the Department of Commerce and Finance. Viewed from the standpoint otf the teaching staff, there were four major divisions of the Faculty, Art, Science and Tech- nology, Domestic Science and Arts, and Commerce and Finance. The Department of Fine and Applied Art developed very rapidly, a.nd speedily be- came the most flourishing department of the Institute. But owing to the competition of other Art Schools of the city, it began to decline, till in 1905 the work in Fine Art was discontinued. The courses in Architecture, however, were continued till 1914. The Department of Mechanic Arts offered a most excellent and substantial course of three years' duration which laid a splendid foundation for later lflngineering Courses as well as for practical work in any of the mechanic arts of the industrial world. It was 11

Page 11 text:

AN APPRECIATION OF PAST YEARS The recent celebration of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the founding of The Drexel Institute marked the end ot the tirst period of her life. The years that have gone form the first chapter of her history. The world now faces a new era.. The old formulas will no longer apply to the insti- tutions ot thc years to .come. Let us assure ourselves, therefore, that the principles upon which our Institute was founded are fundamentally sound, that we may press on with re- newed courage and enthusiasm toward the goal which its Founder has set before us. On the seventeenth day ot December, 1891, The Institute was dedicated to a. new type of education. Its courses of training were to converge to dehnite ends. The con- tent of its courses was to be determined, solely by the end to he accomplished. The stu- dent was not to be hampered and constrained by a narrow training i11 the present state off any art, but, on the contrary, he was to be trained in those fundamental principles and elements which would enable him to adapt himself to the most diverse phases of his art and to keep pace with its newest developments. No privileged subjects were recog- nized as having independent and absolute value for the development ot' competency. It was recognized that intelligence may find ample scope for its exercise in any field of en- deavor. The fair Humanities, the appreciation off the beautiful, were by no means negleetedg they were to be borne in upon the student by that best off all methods, constant but un- conscious association. The architectural plan of the building itselfg its museum, filled with the work of skilled artihcersg the library and its priceless collection of original manuscripts, the gallery of paintings, all these have a great influence on the develop- ment of those who live among them and come into intimate contact with them day after day. Principles and aims such as these will apply through all time. NVe can find none better. James MacAlister, the first President of the Institute, was chosen by the Founder to inaugurate his great project and carry it to fruition. Trained for the profession of the law, he had been led in early life to forsake a legal career, rich in its promise of material rewards, to devote his life to the cause of the education ot' the people. He was not an impressive man physically, being rather short in stature illld of spare form. He was undemonstrative and somewhat reserved in manner, not a magnetic personality and yet there are many who had come to know him, who still treasure in their hearts a. lively memory of the warmth off his affection. There were conditions and occasions when his 10

Page 13 text:

distinguished for the excellence of its training in shop practice tllltl mechanical drawing coupled with training in English, Mathennatics, Physics and Chemistry. The course in lfllectrical Engineering was announced in the summer of 1893, under the direction ot' Professor A. J. Howland. It correlated with the Course in Mechanic Arts. Those who entered from that course had had a thorough grounding in shop prac- tice and had unmistakably established their aptitude tor engineering work. As the years passed the engineering courses came to occupy progressively a more 'IJl'0lllillC!1t place in the Institute's activities. The Department ol' Commerce and Finance started its work in 1892, but received its real impetus under the energetic guidance of Seymour Eaton, who served from 1893 to 1898. He was succeeded by Parke Schoch, an able administrator under whom the Departinent continued to give excellent service. 'l'he Normal Course for the training of teachers of Domestic Science was definitely organized in 1893 and enjoyed a. steady and consistent growth under the able direction of Miss Helen M. Spring, who, by careful selection supplemented by thorough and pains- taking training developed classes ot' young women who added much to the prestige and reputation ot? the Institute. E Paralleling this Work in Domestic Science, there was a similar course in Domestic Arts which did most excellent work under the direction ol? Mrs. Caroline A. Mf. Hall, in training teachers otf dressmaking, 1nilline1'y, and the branches of Domestic Art work. With this organization practically unchanged, the Institute continued to the spring of 15113, when President MacAlister, NV01'll with years and b1'oken in health, retired from active service, becoming President-ldincritus. None of us will be likely to forget his last t.Tcmnnencement, when all the i1'on of his Scottish blood sustained him, broken as he was, in his resolve to see it through. His last farewell was the most eloquent, the bravest word, that has ever echoed through our halls. Wie are proud to llt1VC,Sl'l'VCtl under hiing glad to acknowledge the debt we owe him. Xlr. Horace t'hurclnnan, oi' the lioard of Trustees, served as President pro tem till the election olf ,l.'resident Godfrey in December, 1913. 'Before ns opens a new era. Our beloved Alina Mater needs wise guidance, faithful hearts, and willing hands. She has a. great wo1'k tio do and no one can doubt that the period of her greatest and most glorious service lies in the years to come. 12 i .L