Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

Page 19 text:

■cjei S3S k SS k SSS URDUE UNIVERSITY first became a reality Qp r - M in 18 - tlle - ear in which instruction was first [|3» r V 1qJ5 begun with a faculty of six members, and build- §3 [ £ 3 m S s aggregating the same large total. This fllj L J £$ bumble beginning stands in sharp contrast with sS5 ?3Sg3£3 the strength of the institution today, boasting, as she does, of faculty and assistants numbering 175 and build- ings totalling 25. Twelve years before the first instruction was attempted the university ' s foundation was laid in the Land Grant Act of Congress, passed July 2, 1862. The State of Indi- ana, three years later, obligated itself to establish a university by the acceptance of the gifts and conditions of this act. When the citizens of Tippecanoe County gave the State $230,000 for the project, the Legislature of 1869 located the institution at Lafayette, and in consideration of a donation of $150,000 by John Purdue, his name was given to the embryo institution. From the earliest work rapid expansion has been the watch- word of the growing institution ' s guardians. Buildings were the first requisite and by 1874 Ladies ' Hall, the Dorm. the Chemistry Laboratory, the Military Hall and the old Boiler and Gas House had been erected. Enthusiasm over the work was not allowed to lag, and, on the average, one building was erected each year. Such was the increase in attendance that the faculty members increas ed more rapidly than the buildings, and today the pay roll is a much more serious thing in size than even the fondest hopes of early presidents could picture. The presidents of the university have numbered to the pres- ent time five. The first was Richard Owen, who, during the first two years of the institution ' s existence, guided with great expectation his thimble full of faculty in their administration of three courses — Science, Agriculture and Engineering. The

Page 18 text:

1907 1908 Registration Days— Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, September Holiday Vacation ends Monday [anuary 6 8 a in 9, 10, 11. First Semester ends Saturday, February 1. 12 m. Entrance Examinations begin Tuesday, September 10. 8 a. m. Second Semester begins Monday, February 3, 8 a. m. Examination of Delinquent Students — Tuesday, September 10, 8-30 a m Examination of Delinquent Students— Saturday. March 28, 8 a. m. First Semester begins Wednesday, September 11. 10 a m Entrance Examinations begin Monday, June 8, 8:30 a. m. Thanksgiving Recess— Wednesday. November 27, 12 m., to Monday, December 2. 8 a. m. Commencement— June 10. II. Vac; sgins Saturday, I )ec

Page 20 text:

latter course was then of a very general nature, but was the be- ginning of the school ' s three great engineering departments. The second president, Abraham C. Shortridge, directed the university for only one year, from 1874 to 1875. It was an eventful year however, and saw the completion of the first six buildings and an addition of two members to the faculty, while the Students increased from one to .sixty-four. Emerson E. White was the next president during whose superintendence of eight years great progress in the systcmiza- tion of courses was realized, possibly because of the introduction (if Military Science the first year of his presidency. This man saw the completion of the main building, extensive additions to library and laboratories, and the building of the Agricultural Hall, now known as the Experiment Station. His faculty in- creased from eight to twenty and the students reached the alarming total of 254. From 1883 to 1900 Purdue was fortunate enough to have one of the strongest men of the age as president, James H. Smart. The growth of the university under the leadership of this man was nothing short of phenomenal. It was during these seventeen years that the school of Pharmacy was estab- lished, the junior preparatory class abolished, shops erected and equipped, schools of Civil and Electrical Engineering estab- lished, the Experiment Station founded with an annual appro- priation of $15,000, and a general permanent appropriation by the Legislature obtained. During this period, too, the first Mechanical Engineering Building and Shops were completed only to be burned to the ground on the eve of dedication. When, at chapel next day, Dr. Smart announced that the building would be immediatelv rebuilt on exactly the same plans as be- fore, people wondered and began to realize that an exceptional man was guiding the destinies of the proud university. Most ably is the work of Dr. Smart being carried on by our president of today. Winthrop E. Stone. Under his direction the strength of the University is growing not only materially and in quantity of students, but, what is more important, in the quality of the graduates. Dr. Stone has seen the erection of the Agricultural Building, Eliza Fowler Hall, the Central Heat- ing Station, the Physics Building, the Civil Building and the latest Chemistry Building. One building, dear to the hearts of us all, is being carefully planned for the best needs of our students and it is voicing the general opinion that no man will work harder for the best possible Memorial Gymnasium than Dr. Stone.