St Edwards University - Tower Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Whatever the trials of those early years, the school showed enough promise to be chartered by the state in 1885 as St. Edward’s College. The earliest catalog to be found, that of 1885-1886, presented a fairly sophisticated educational model. The prospectus printed in it noted that, “the system of education and discipline is that of the celebrated University of Notre Dame, Indiana, con- ducted by the same congregation.” Subjects listed range from “Evidences of Christian- ity” and “Moral Philosophy” to commercial law, bookkeeping, and telegraphy. Rhetoric, elocution, foreign languages, mathematics, and history were also listed. At the end of each month, reports of progress were made to parents. “Strick” examinations were given in all classes at the end of each session. Incentives for doing well were provided in the ‘“honord and premiums... publicly awarded” at the end of the school year to those who deserved them. The moral dimension of education was clearly expressed in an early statement of purpose: ““The object of the Institution is to impart a thorough secular education based upon religion and morality, and to imbue the students with Christian principles while adorning their minds with useful knowledge and developing their Mental facilities. A few years later, the catalog declared that the aim of the school was “to give its students a thorough business and moral training, to form their characters to develop a well- balanced mind in a sound body,—in a word, to prepare them for success in life, and to make them Christian gentlemen. From the beginning the college advertised the salubrity of its location. It overlooked the city and the valley of the Colorado from a hill about three miles from the State Capitol. “Far enough from the distracting influences of the city, yet not too jremote to profit by the advantages it affords, students have that seclusion which is so necessary for the successful prosecution of their studies.”” The climate moreover, was salubrious—genial yet invigorating. It was supposed to be “unsurpassed in the United States.” And there were ample grounds around the college for healthful outdoor exercise. It was truly a situation for realizing the classical ideal of “mens sana in corpore sano” (A healthy mind in a healthy body) A strong statement was made on the discipline of the school, which was characterized as ‘“‘mild but firm.” Good behavior followed, ideally, more from a “sense of honor and justice than from fear of punishment.” Parents were invited to inform the college authorities of the “habits, tastes, and dispositions of their children ... and to specify the course of studies they wished them to pursue.” Thereafter they were not to interfere with the school’s “mode of discipline or instruction.” The number of students, as Joe Byrne recalled, was very small in the late ’70’s and early 80’s, but the modest improvements were made in facilities on the Doyle farm which allowed the school to take boarders. Fr. Robinson gave the number of them as sixteen for the fall of 1883 and said it was about the same as the year before. Their ages ranged from seven to fifteen that year. With the acquisition of the charter in 1885, enrollment rose to over fifty, most of them being from places outside of Austin and Travis County. San Antonio, Taylor, Laredo, and Galveston were prominent among the sending cities. With the accession to the presidency of the German-born Fr. Peter J: Hurth in 1886, a period of vigorous growth began. Joe Byrne who returned to the college in 1889 as an older student testified that Hurth, “was a man of splendid executive ability and the College made wonderful progress under his guidance.” By 1887 the effects of his leadership were evident. Whereas almost everyone had been following a commercial course before, a prepatory course of three years now became available with such solid subjects as Latin, Greek, English, and Mathematics. With a prepatory certificate a sutdent could enter the classical course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. More vocationally-oriented courses, of one and two-years duration, were also available. In addition, there were electives in modern language, telegraphy, and typing. For small fellows primary instruction was given in a separate “minim” department. The number of extracurricular organizations was increasing. St. Edward’s was now ‘“con- nected with Austin and other cities by tele- phone.” The young institution was on the move.

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