St Louis University - Archive Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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AROUND THE WORLD correlate re in the Geo- p xsics office ocated ' G acluate Sc ool. the o l of the geopl 5 . A T 1 U A - ..,. fn' ' 'N W r 1 1 'si- f . T s s is carried on. Their com- W -,- -, ' pl X records, the voluminous I . 1 d ta acquired in their work, . 1 d he 4- l in the ' h 4 V- 9 vw . W ,r is , T UNIVERSITY is an organism in which various schools, faculties and disciplines co-operate, or should co-operate, in the production of the scholar-one who will take his place in the long line of torch-bearers who have passed from generation to generation the ever-brightening flame of Christian civilization and culture. It should never be forgotten that the center around which educational activities revolve is the student. There is danger at times, in the ever-growing complication of modern educa- tional methods and techniques, that this may be overlooked, that means may be mistaken for ends 5 that attention may be centered on the process itself so as to obscure its objective -the production of scholars. Knowledge, after all, is transmitted only from mind to mind, and knowledge advances only as those who know increase and mature. The development of scholars must, of course, take place by stages. The preserva- tion of the past, the transmission of accumulated treasures of man's intellectual achieve- ments in an ordered synthesis is a function shared by all the schools of the University and is perhaps emphasized more particularly by the undergraduate schools. The Gradu- ate School claims as its peculiar prerogative the creation of the future, the gradual pushing back of the frontiers of ignorance by the research and experiment of trained specialists. V These ideals are interdependent, but their coordination in practice requires vision and mutual respect on the part of students and teachers in all the schools of the University. The role of the graduate school in any university is as important as it is unobtrusive. It furnishes no candidates for the football team 5 none of its students are prominent in the social activities of the University. Nevertheless, the Graduate School is the center about which the intellectual life of the University revolves. It sets the norm for the undergraduate students who aspire to higher education, it extends the frontiers of knowl- edge, ever seeking farther horizons. The role of the Graduate School, then, is that of a highly specialized expert. It caters only to students who give promise of achievement vl5v

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WB 65 1 , . , T H it if rf Q - f N i f ft ' , 0 i '1 we-vf ma... 1 , v THE DEGREES . . . for which a graduate student works are awarded him at the annual commencement exercises, held in the gym- nasium. BIOCHEMISTRY . . . is an important field of work, an experiment in the medical-school laboratory. v STUDENT AND SECRETARY . . . are Combined in Miss lVlary Louise Mug, seen at work in the Graduate School offices. A HAVEN OF QUIET REFUGE . . . is found in the second tier of the library, open only to the graduate students and their instructors. 2 , in one or another field of learning. It guides these students, who are presumed to have a wide basis of knowledge, and aids them in projecting some phase of that knowledge into virgin fields. Thus pushing back the frontiers of ignorance, the Graduate School makes accessible to future generations knowledge heretofore unknown. V The Graduate School must build upon the foundation laid in the undergraduate schools. Unless these foundations are laid well, the Graduate School is forced to spend much time on tasks not properly its own. It does not seem extravagant for the Graduate School to expect that the students who come to it should have control at least of the skilled tools which advanced work presupposes 5 that they should have the ability to read and to write their own language reasonably well 5 that they should have such a knowl- edge of other languages as will give them access to the records of intellectual activities of other peoples. Of course, the function of the undergraduate is not merely to prepare for graduate work. Still a training that results in a reasonable skill in the use of scholarly tools, which inspires a respect for facts as well as the ability to synthesize them and to appreciate their relative value is not only the best preparation for graduate work but also is the fulfillment of the undergraduate objective, namely, to produce men and women who are able to bear witness to the hierarchy of true values in life. On the other hand, the Graduate School can help in the development of the undergraduate scholar by bringing him into contact with its standards, points of view and methods, through his contact with graduate students in advanced classes and with faculty members who possess research ideals and an enthusiasm for intellectual exploration. After all, the training of vl6v