St Josephs College - Footprints Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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This was due, in large measure, to the distin- guished educational experience of the College Dean, Sister Mary Celestine. and to the percep- tive and far-sighted leadership of one of its faculty who shortly became its President, Dr. Thomas Molloy. They made it their first objec- tive to enlist the assistance of a number of out- standing faculty members either on a full or part time basis, and. in conjunction with the Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Mother Mary Louis, to promote the further education of the Sister- members of the faculty. At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, which was held in the 245 Building on December 19. 1918. Mother Mary Louis requested Bishop McDonnell, then President of the College, to make one of the faculty members. The Rev. Thomas E. Molloy. S.T.D., a member of the Board of Trustees. This being agreeable, he was immediately admitted and became, as President of the Faculty, the spokesman for the immediate monetary neces- sities of the College, stressing the need for liber- ality even with a proportionately meager in- come. First class professors. he said demand high salaries, and their apparatuses and general equipment must be equal to their important work. Bishop McDonnell thereupon suggested that a study should be made of the means by which other colleges, such as Barnard and Adel- phi. managed to attract both funds and students. Then, having asserted that the Brooklyn diocese would back up the College as its work advanced, he immediately made a personal donation of one thousand dollars for a laboratory. The period of the twenties was one of growth and development. The College entered the dec- ade with just one building, namely 245 Clinton .Avenue, described in the early catalogue as a handsome and thoroughly equipped modern edi- fice in red brick and white sandstone, with large, lightsome and well-ventilated classrooms, sur- rounded by extensive lawns, and boasting an athletic field as well as a gymnasium. By 1925 student enrollment had increased to over two hundred. In that same year, the home of Herman Metz, former Comptroller of the Old City of Brooklyn, was purchased and used as an adjunct to the College building which was lo- cated right next door. In 1928. however, the de- cision was made to demolish the Metz house and to erect a large new building on the 253 and 257 properties, extending back to Waverly A enue. The new building was attached to the 245 Build- ing and its annex, bringing minimal changes in both. The architecture and landscaping of the new buildings was designed to harmonize with the original. Although it was not dedicated by Bishop Molloy until January 5. 1930. it was ready for use in September. 1929. This latter year was significant in the history of the College for another very important event — the granting of the permanent charter. In order to prepare for this, academic expansion and excellence has been as seriously cultivated as the enlargement of the physical premises.

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When in 1920. Dr. Thomas E. Molloy was made Titular Bishop of Loria and Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn, he gave up his teaching at the College but continued to be President of the Faculty. In his place Bishop McDonnell ap- pointed the Rev. William T. Dillon. This young priest, ordained on June 2. 1917 and assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Parish, now became a curate in Queen of All Saints Parish and professor of Philosophy at St. Joseph ' s College. From the first, he was an articulate member of the faculty, and then, very shortly, of the Board of Trustees. In this latter capacity he was sent, in October 1924. to Albany to get first-hand information on the requirements necessary for procuring a permanent charter. He reported what he had learned to the Board of Trustees at its January 1925 meeting. Bishop Molloy, who in 1921 had succeeded Bishop McDonnell as Bishop of Brooklyn, (and therefore, as President of the College ' s Board of Trustees), having great confidence in Father Dillon ' s exceptional ability, and especially in his legal knowledge, appointed him as Chairman of the Committee on the Per- manent Charter. Acting in this capacity Father Dillon was in- strumental in bringing about sweeping changes in all aspects of the College. Reporting to the Board of Trustees in January 1926. he said that during the preceding year the College had been re- organized, not just because it had grown in stu- dent population, but chiefly in order to raise standards before applying for the charter. On his own testimony it seems fair to say that this stock- taking was what led Father Dillon to the formu- lation of his basic educational ideals. Many years later, speaking at a convention, he told how he had suddenly become aware of the discrepancy between ideals and practices that existed in most educational institutions. This, he said, was at a time when many places, including St. Joseph ' s College, were toying with the new progressive objective of giving students an active role in their own education. He determined to go the whole way in a daring venture of real student govern- ment. Without question, this was the most con- troversial, and at the same time, the most notable aspect of Father Dillon ' s administration. For this he was praised and he was condemned; he was loved and he was mistrusted. The New York Stale Board of Regents voted the absolute charter at their meeting on February 22. 1929. thereby establishing the College on an independent basis. In June. 1929, for the first time, the College was able to confer its own de- grees by its own authority. An Undergraduate Association was created in the very first year of the College ' s existence. Naturally, this would be only a rudimentary or- ganization. But. with the admission of the fourth class in September 1920. the student body sug- gested that it was time for the four class presi- dents to draw up a constitution for an Under- graduate Association which would be adequate