McGill University - Old McGill Yearbook (Montreal Quebec, Canada)

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19 5 1 Im j I 1 9 5 4r prepared in this capacil ' to supply service that was greatly needed. Finally, he had an out- standing name, and, as it was to prove later, an outstanding personality that was to bring wide- spread lame and recognition to the university which he headed. The progress that McGill made in the thirteen years under his leadership can only now be measured from the point of view of actual accomplishments, as in the wider field of reputation, prestige and national and international influence in education, the results cannot be estimated until the passage of years gives a clear perspective. A comparison of McGill just before and just after the war with the university as it stands today will serve to show the changes in staff, in curriculum and standards, in students, in buildings and equipment, in finances, and in general activity, that have taken place under Sir Arthur. In noting the growth and development in the student body, it is fair to make the com- parison between the year 1913-14 and last year, as conditions after the war, with the great influx of soldier-students after a period in which the university was almost deserted, offered particular problems that were not met with at any other time. Just before the war there were 1,478 undergraduates as against 2,600 in 1933; with 396 students in Arts as compared with 1,172 last year; in Engineering, 583 as compared with 398, the drop here being largely because of over-crowding of the profession rather than any deterioration in McGill ' s standards; in Law there were 76 as compared to 89; in Medicine 383 to 481 ; in Dentistry 34 to 40. But in graduate studies, and of this r eorganization Sir Arthur was always most proud, there were 115 students, about half of them non-residents working by correspondence, in 1913-14, while last year there were 288 men and women attracted from all over this and other countries by McGill ' s reputation as an outstanding centre for higher learning. Meantime, along with the growth in the student body, it had been possible continually to raise standards. Years of pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-engineering and pre-law work were introduced; and standards in all courses and years stiffened and adjusted. In two of the larger faculties it was decided that only a limited number of first-year students would be taken in, and this made it possible to select only the best qualified men. Steadily and progressively, the curriculum has been improved all along the line. Many new departments and studies were introduced, and many old ones given new life under the Currie regime. Under him came Dr. J. B. CoUip and his assistants to make McGill known the world over for its work in ho rmone research and general biochemistry; under Tait and Babkin notable strides have been made in physiology; then there has been Dr. Wilder G. Penfield, opening up a huge new field for advance in neurology; less spectacular, but of out- standing merit, has been the work in bacteriology; while in physics and chemistry the university has more than sustained a reputation long held. These recall but a few of the developments of recent years. In other spheres of university life, there was the organization of the Department of Chinese Studies and establishment of the Gest Chinese Research Library at McGill, the introduction of the McGill Library School, the opening up of such departments as social science research and public health and preventative medicine, and a broad expansion of extra-mural work. McGill was not only advancing herself, but offering a helping hand to the wide community which she served. The strength of a university must be measured to a great extent by the calibre of the men on its staff, and this was a fact that Sir Arthur held ever in mind. A list of a few of the leading professors brought to McGill during his principalship shows clearly how he helped in this regard to increase McGill ' s prestige: Dr. C. P. Howard, Dr. J. C. Meakins, Dean P. E. Corbett, Dean {conlimied on page 371) 11

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Photos by the Associated Screen Neivs. Limited

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In Memoriam GEORGE ELI ARMSTRONG Emeritus Professor of Surgery Died May 25th, 1933. WILLIAM WALTER BEATTIE Lecturer in Bacteriology Died April 13, 1934 BEATRICE BENGOUGH A member of the Library Staff Died June 11th, 1933. AUSTIN HERBERT BOURNE Second Year Student in the Montreal Diocesan Theological College Died June 30th, 1933 DR. A. B. CHANDLER Lecturer in Paediatrics Died February 13th, 1934 EDNA MARION CRAIG A member of the Library Staff Died August 9lh, 1933 SIR ARTHUR WILLIAM CURRIE Principal and Vice-Chancellor Died November 30th. 1933 THOMAS FORTIN Emeritus Professor of Law Died March 31st. 1933 J. FERDINAND GAUTHIER First Year Student in Law Died January 16th. 1934 EDGAR ARCHIBALD HILTON Third Year Student in the School of Agriculture Died June 27th, 1933 ETHEL HURLBATT Ex- Warden, Royal Victoria College Died March 22nd, 1934 ARCHIBALD BYRON MACALLUM Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry Died April 5th, 1934 ERNEST HAMILTON WHITE Professor of Oto-Laryngology and Chairman of the Department Died June 15th, 1933 12