Northwestern University - Syllabus Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

Page 23 text:

UD. Bonbrightn that, I have the honor to receive your communication informing me of my election to the professorship of Latin in Northwestern University. I have the pleasure hereby to signify my acceptance of election. In accepting the invitation, Professor Bon- bright stipulated that he should be free for one year to continue his professional pre- paration in Europe. He studied for two years at Berlin, Gottingen and Bonn, estab- lishing even in that early day Northwestern's tradition of extensive post graduate prepara- tion for its faculty members. In 1858 Bon- bright began his teaching of the classics which was for fifty-four years one of the principal elements contributing to the success of the Liberal Arts curriculum. He lived in the memory of one student as standing there with his hands beneath his coat-tails, with his eyes fixed on the cob-webs in the cornice, and in his rich bass voice repeating the Odes of Horace. As he spoke we could see the Gods upon Olympus and the snow-white mountain top of Soractef' Regulation of student conduct during these early years was necessarily strict. Gambling, drinking or habitual disorderliness incurred a punishment of dismissal, while absences from prayers, recitations or Sunday religious serv- ices as well'as the students' academic standing were recorded for presentation to anxious parents on request. Parents were urged to deposit funds for students' use with faculty members, who could oversee their expenditure. The University circulars could claim with some justification that: We have never seen a community anywhere in which so large a preponderance of opinion was strictly moral and religious. Parents may send their sons here with the utmost confidence that they will be placed at a distance from temptation. There is almost no record of extracurricular student life during these early years. The small numbers fregistration had reached only 36 by the fourth yearj should have made close association of students easy, but this was counterbalanced by the fact that all but four of the students were boarded with families in the town. The Hinman Literary Society, founded in 1855 and named in memory of the first president, was the first attempt at extra- curricular organization. It met in the after- noons Qto save candle-lightl, heard papers by the faculty or seriously debated such ques- tions as: Resolved, that the Pilgrim Fathers were justified in their treatment of the North American Indian, or, of more current inter- est: That literal translations of the Greek . . ,,. , . . 1 K-.m-mi... diff xnz GRHEUAEING oi-HSS li V -. , Musxc. , ' r as 1: N:-san . ' fafi ' . 5149-is -QE-' ' Wm. ONLY FOUR OF TEN original freshmen and one student who entered later held on long enough I ,V g to graduate at Northwestern's sszwsnxo-non. a - V first commencement in June, 1859. 19

Page 22 text:

1 Henry Sanborn Noyes Acting President 185-1 - 1856 PROGRAM OF 1865 DEBATE between Hinman and Adelphic R literary societies. Exciting topics W include Spartacus to the Glad- iators and On Being Found Guilty of High Treason. V1 fa??i?iiif'7lil 'za' rr? Prlze Declamatlon 1 BINMAW .fig AQEL 'WEB SQ' lV'W'IE5 Evanston une 30th 1865 at 8 P M PROGRAMME Eavmyelr O b II R XY CROS C I OFF ELD :L u 'J '. :xslt-1' S ii 'i S o' I ie 0 ' i , 5 C. C. SNYDER. l - .7 ' . ' le vu 1 'elm y, - - - ------- Go. xv. C. CUMSTOCI . 'i .1 ., -,r 9 . , I . 1 . .,L.g,.-.gi gmusiv. ,g ,M '-' is Irish Aliens, ------- - --' 9 EU-- ts-sf' , ff- YY'-1-.-'3'a'E'vr ' . If x wgkgh . M. HIL, lr..4,.fM-. 1.. -... -a ., . . t . ...J . F. X. 'av iv . e . ' 1 -' ' Qlnttlt-aliiralerii eblitiiwtaiitg. 1 A .kg if? l-..-.?- , ' 5, 'I f n I5 fp I . . I ' 'Alf .il i .1 1 av rn W U . :L 'f Y , A 3 1 I 13,5-gh E , - 2. . .. D--L. 5 Q, L-D , . E 5157.1 V 1:11, ' j.,'jI v .l 1 1 . . I. J rl -KI ' 1 12.555 . Q . 1. I ,if ,. 1 p ' iafg? 1 E y, 1 , , .iid 3 1 .' i i-. 1 fl. n ving tbunil Guilty of - igh Treason - - ExnlE1'r. 7: Q 1 . f. . s. Qlffii' i 3 pt. Sp:n'timus to the Glzxdiaitors. ------ KEIl.DG4i-E iv' Tl: I-in WI ll! f l YV ill :V ' l ,C -A 1'l IJ tl I lt Hu A, 4: X K? i S. B. RfXX'BION'D, ' . , -. , --,Ta '. 'I'111J h-, 4 - ll M W' J. COl'PJL1kND. LL 4 7, Spartacus to tht- Romain Envuys, fi T. R. STROBRIDGE. .ni . t'c Speech, ----'---- Dlciussox. 'J' 1 R. D. SI-IIWJP.-XRD. v Qmullrtluu. , ' ' Randolph Sinks Foster -' A 1' r 'n'W'f 'f'1f'a H 1 President 1856 - 1860 The first college year was uncertain and precarious. Classes were conducted in the classical, elective and scientific departments. Une thousand dollars, appropriated for a library, was allocated to the natural science department. The year was divided into three terms of thirteen weeks each and public examinations were held at the close of each term, and at the end of the sophomore and senior years. Entrance requirements for all three departments included a rigorous drill in the classics and higher mathematics. It was soon discovered, however, that the majority of young men within the limits of our patron- age are not prepared for the college course. It was not until a preparatory depart- ment was definitely established in 1859 that this handicap was overcome. Another disadvantage to the University was the fact that most of the first class attended on scholarships. As the tuition was 5545.00 a year, the revenue of the University from fees was only 8175.00 for the first year, of which 871.75 was paid to the janitor. Dis- bursements were on a similarly modest scale, since the faculty had only two members. Pro- is , --A-,A- Wm- , M, ,i ,Qg,,,..L--,,g,..-.-4L.Aa.15:lfJ fessor Henry S. Noyes, in customary Prince Albert and silk hat, fulfilled the functions of acting president, professor of mathematics, acting professor of moral philosophy and rhetoric, treasurer, and teacher of the Sunday Bible class. Professor VVilliam D. Godman, similarly garbed, was professor of Greek, acting professor of Latin, secretary, and librarian in charge of 1,917 volumes, 21 catalogues and 16 pamphlets. ln 1856 Dr. Randolph Sinks Foster, a prominent Methodist clergyman ofNew York City, was invited to H11 the vacancy left by the death of President Hinman. After stipulat- ing a year's leave of absence, he accepted. As a scholar and clergyman, no less than in his understanding of and sympathy with youth, Foster was suitable for the post. He set and maintained high standards of teaching, and was a leader in what little social activity there was on the campus. His chief drawback in the eyes of the trustees was his complete in- ability in money matters, but fortunately these could be left to Philo Judson and Pro- fessor Noyes. In 1856 the Trustees were informed by A'

Page 24 text:

:aff .- FIRST BUILDING of Northwestern Female College. School was independently founded by YVilliam Jones, in 1855. t, - - eeee lsflzwffifisg 3-TPLQEF f I GRN FEM45 - A . ' +895 I ' 000 1. NURTHI I .YQZLEG '- ' J' Ll?l?i.fg.z:L' f, '4 ff .'i'l f'Q i ,' ' l . -'Hifi-,,,, '54 w gg ii' .X .. .Q 1 , QU' Y,l.l,g.iiQ1,f 54:pg,:.-i.- i I .gf .ai '- q'S'-s...- V Qiiimii :dl :Elm he Flyer 5-'l:nf.uiIs. l . I ,nf f M. ,...... 11 f mf. ... .:....,..4... ...,,...:N f...,..af4 ,M l l N0RTHiVTIfSII'ffNlFI53D!ALE COLLEGE, ' , . .4 , ,. ,.. .. . ..a . , 14.-. ,, .,.,, 41 f' - IGQ-eff-2 . . . ., L A f . . ,W Y V ' N , f .., ,a..... .. .Jai f 1. - nn, ima, k iz' ., - ...,- ,.,..., . .,,,. .. .,,, . .1 , ,., LA-r1nx:Afx':s: or scznsnvcn, . X 1 , v ll A lam' on Iflofovl flu... ..: 4...' ..1 fa 1.4, ,1..1 4....a yy..-. Lf... ... ll 14. 4.11714 .Mu 1,.......a-.z ww J.. 1 -1 :f H.. rl x .4 . 'J - -' . .lc L'..........r If K 2 Q-Jjl r ' I vw- U Q Yfrql. - '3 , , S Jw fmu. Q ll . ,Q J. Q .. ..: af E -9F4f5f4+ J ' SF'.f'Q'....f'.'l-- TT 1 x s cv- .L .arzfel pf- f-+1 ..a- .N at ..,- if A gk, Q . f- UPPOSITION BY Northwestern men who believed women belonged in the home did not deter brave ladies of Northwestern Female College, who received diplomas such as this for completing their course. 20 and Latin classics are injurious to college students using them in connection with their course of studies. Faculty families showed a kindly concern for the social life of the students, and organ- ized parties and church sociables, in which the students of the Northwestern Female College participated. Unsophisticated fun was the chief feature of these gatherings, although one student from nearby Garrett Biblical Institute pursued a young lady of the Female College with the thought-provoking theo- logical conundrum: XYhat, in your-iudgment, is the dividing line that separates sin from holiness? Cultural influences were expanding in Frances NYillard's Classic Town, and now Evanston had a college for young ladies and a theological seminary. In I855 XVilliam P. Jones began the Northwestern Female Col- lege. Its beginnings were inauspicious, since in addition to entrenched male prejudice against highereducation for women, the Female College had to struggle with a con- tinual shortage of funds and the early destruc- tion of its first building by iire. The College's academic standards were high for such a pioneer institution, comparable, in fact, to those of the University. The disciplinary regulations were also rigorous, as one junior recorded: Heard the rules and regulations of