New York University - Violet Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Mathematics Department Chairman-Professor Hor- ace A. Giddings: llfliflf, XXX, lltlld, Allflr, New Hampshire, B.S. 1923, M. l. T., Ph.D. 1934. parliaments to give the students necessary training in procedures. By 1930 the school had grown to one of high standing in the country, expanding from thirty students in 1859 to twelve hundred and thirty. The post- World War ll expansion of the Law School necessitated construction of a new and larger Law Center, despite the protests of the ten- Music Department Chairman-Professor Alfred M. Greenfield: Director of NYU Glee Club and Asso- ciated Organizations, Conductor, Oratorio Society of New York, Associated Honorary Member, New York Historical Society, Institute of Musical Art, N. Y. 1925. ants in buildings located on the proposed site in Greenwich Village and ground was broken in early 1950. 0 Training men for the medical profession through the establish- ment of a School of Medicine, whose purpose was, in Charles Butler's words, to promote the cause of medical science-to give eleva- tion and dignity to the healing art, was considered one of the necessary phases of a university, and in 1841 the new division was opened. Lectures included dogma and theory, and the lecturers were demanding in wide outside reading. The recipient of the medical degree in 1841 was required to have com- pleted two lecture courses and have served three years with an instructor, in addition, he could choose among English, Latin, or French as the language in which to write his medical thesis. U Another medical school developed in connection with the Bellevue Hospital, creating a situation heretofore un- known in the United States-medical stu- dents being given the opportunity of contact with the practical side of the field while simultaneously learning theory. ln 1898 the two medical schools were united under the title of the NYU-Bellevue Medical Center, and according to the terms of the union, all equipment and the buildings of the Bellevue College were transferred to the University, while the staff of the college constituted a large part of the new faculty. The amalga- mation of these two schools, which had maintained an intensive rivalry, into one insti- tution was a great step forward in the cause of education. Since that time, a steady in-

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situation was aggravated by the withdrawal of the annual state subsidy and the resig- nation of two outstanding professors, one of whom was Professor Mason, who insisted on taking with him much of the endowment he had contributed. Under this strain Chan- cellor Frelinghuysen resigned to become president of Rutgers College. 0 The next three years were filled with disappointment and melancholy, as the University Council searched in vain for a replacement. ln the deepest condition of financial disrepute as Henry Young threatened to foreclose the mortgage on the building at Washington Square, leaderless and abandoned by most of the Council, the University survived this critical time almost solely through the efforts of Myndert Van Schaick, one of the original founders and a shareholder in the school. He suggested that professors forego their salaries for a short time and that those parts of the building not being used should be rented to obtain money to pay off the in- terest on the debt. With a few loyal sup- porters and the help of the new chancellor, Dr. Isaac Ferris, he organized a campaign to raise funds. By June, 1853, enough money had been accumulated to liquidate financial obligations, with the final S2500 being con- .4 Engineering Mechanics Department Chairman-Pro- fessor of Hydraulics and Mechanics Glen N. Cox: EE, TBII, 'l'A, KIIK, Iowa, B.E. 1925, M.S. 1926, Wisconsin, Ph.D. 1928. Speech and Dramatics Department Chairman-Prm fessor Ormond John Drake: '-DISK, CTIKA, CIIMA, Per- stare et Praestare, Michigan, A.B. 1930, M.A. 1931. tributed by Van Schaick himself. When Chancellor Ferris' administration ended in 1870, the school had an endowment of S175,000. O In the reminiscences of Pro- fessor John Stephenson, delivered in an address at the commencement exercises in 1894, the original idea of a school for the study of practical science was mentioned as being set aside for the more accepted curriculum of classical study. However, be- cause of its renowned faculty, the University occupied a position of prominence in the scientific fields. Outside of the classics and sciences, one man, Professor Martin, kept himself busy teaching philosophy, ethics, economics, logic, and history, and supervised essay writing and declamations in his spare time. An illustration of its scholastic emi- nence was the establishment at NYU in 1858 of the second Phi Beta Kappa chapter in New York State. O Operations of the Law School also began in 1858, although it was officially inaugurated in 1835. The reason for the late success of the branch was the pre- vailing practice of apprenticeship to a law- yer to learn the profession. A distinguished faculty of recognized lawyers and iudges were hired to teach the one-year course, while textbooks and regular lecture methods were supplemented with mock trials and

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crease in the quality of the equipment, and the length and complexity of the curriculum has culminated in a drive for the construc- tion of a modern Medical Center which is expected to rank as one of the finest in the world. The names of Reed, Gorgas, and Goldberger, known even to laymen, are on the roster of graduates of the medical school. O Under the chancellory of Howard Crosby the trend towards specialized and advanced study, leading to enlarged graduate and undergraduate colleges, was furthered. In his inaugural speech Chancellor Crosby said, lf the university scheme were fulfilled, we should see our students pursuing the higher studies of Language, Philosophy, and Mathe- matics, and following these studies to their remotest lengths in comparative philology, metaphysics, psychology, and literature. Dr. Crosby immediately undertook to increase the endowment and to expand the existing departments of the University. I A distinct scientific course was organized, from which ancient languages were excluded, and new professorships were established in the fields of geology, French, and German. During the winter of 1871-72 the University Chapel be- came the scene of free public lectures at which many leading dignitaries spoke. The bubble of optimism that was built up by this vigorous program was pricked in 1873, when the promises for the increased endowment were found to be no more than promises. C The government bonds held by the Uni- versity were sold in order to make an invest- ment yielding a higher rate of interest, but, in spite of this action, the financial situation 2 M . Chemical Engineering Department Chairman-Pro- fessor John Happel, Jr.: IE, AXE, M. I. T., B.S. 1929, M.S. in Ch.E. 1930, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Dr.Ch.E. 1948. became increasingly worse, ending in a des- perate proposal to mortgage the University property. Over the energetic protests of the Chancellor, the resolution was adopted, but it did little to ease the difficulties. Conditions deteriorated to such an extent that Chan- cellor Crosby suggested the closing of all schools except the Medical and Law colleges, but with the aid of the faculty, which offered to accept reduced salaries, the University re- Administrative Engineering Department Chairman- Professor Joseph M. Juran: E37 MinneS0l0, B-5- in E.E. 1924, Loyola, J.D. 1935.