Tulane University - Jambalaya Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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CENTURY O F PROGRESS GIBSON HALL Housins the oFfice of the President and two Colleges of the University, Gibson Hall is the main building on the campus

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PAUL TULANE Gfcat benefactor whose gcneroui donations made possible our univcrsily fl Oentu ry o f p rogress

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u A N U N R Y Ih ENIU P. FISHER ULANE UNIVERSITY today has a productive endow- ment of 10,055,419.76, an enrollment of over 4,000, arge faculties, a spacious campus with well equipped build- ings, and an international reputation. One hundred years ago, in September, 1834, it made its humble but honorable beginnings as the Medical College of Louisiana, with no definite income, eleven students, a faculty of eight, and no home except lecture rooms in the statehouse. The infant college ' s early growth was steady but not phe- nomenal. In 1836, it bestowed upon twelve students the first degrees in medicine ever conferred in the Southwest. Two years later, it began to issue degrees in pharmacy. In 1843, it moved into its first real home, a medical build- ing erected on Common Street between Baronne and Univer- sity Place. The students had access to Charity Hospital and the State Law Library. In 1875, the Law Department, with a faculty of four, and the Academic Department and a preparatory school, were or- ganized after the university had been chartered bv the state constitution in 1845. Dr. Thomas Hunt was dean of the first medical faculty and Dr. Francis Lister Hawks first president of the university. In 1850, Dr. Hawks was succeeded by Theodore Howard McCaleb and a building on the corner of Baronne and Com- mon, erected with a small appropriation from the State, was completed. A part of this building was leased and in turn sublet as ice-cream saloons and club rooms, with music, dancing, beer, and wine, and for other inappropriate purposes. This prac- tice was discontinued, however, as it became an intolerable nuisance and began to injure the reputation of the university. The university, closed during the Civil War, reop ened in 1865. The Academic Department was not reestablished until thirteen years later, after the state constitution promised sup- port up to 10,000.00 annually. Dr. Thomas Hunt, who. as dean of the first medical faculty, may be regarded as the founder of the university, was unanimously elected president Colonel William Ptes ' .on Johniton First President Tulane University