University of Chicago - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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distance. Publication Work included the printing and publishing of all ofhcial documents, as well as journals, reviews, and books prepared or edited by University professors; but these were taken from the Publications Work and put on a departmental basis before the Uni1 versity opened. Laboratories and museums also were on a departmental basis. The work of the University Affilia- tions, whose purposes were later more adequately cared for by the General Education Board, was the result of Harpefs desire to help, rather than weaken, small nearby schools. Its existence has been indispensible in expanding and strengthening the University. In the original plan there was to be one general body, the Council, to consider and act, subject to the formal decision of the trustees, on matters of general interest to the University. This was soon succeeded by the General Administrative Board, but both prevecl to be unimportant and inefficient, and the Boards power was soon usurped by the Senate. The University Senate had not originally been included in the University's organization and its provision came about through the quick wit of President Harper. He was discussing an important educational ques- tion with Professors Laughliri and Hale when the former suddenly said it was not right for two professors in com! party with the President to decide so farlreaching a matter. Harper looked up and in a flash said That's right. It should be the Senate. ' The Senate was composed of the President, the Uni, versity Recorder, all head professors, the Librarian, and later all full professors. Now, its power extends to the regulation of all actions of the faculties, in that these actions are subject to the revision or reversal of the Senate, unless the trustees overrule its decisions. The proof that Dr. Harper's ideas and plans were sound is the fact that they are still closely followed. That they were revolutionary is shown by the contemporary news- paper head lines. The Heraldl' blared forth with To Up: root Old Plans followed by the subheading uDr. Harper's Scheme of Educationi The Tribunel' carried the head uDr. Harperls New Plan followed by subheadings Novel.ldeas for the Arrangement of the New Uni- versityii and uVacation at Any Quarter.n Dr. Harper himself stat- ed, My plan is going to revolution! ize education. He had come to Chicago not to organize just an, other University, not to work out tentative ideas. but to put a dehnite plan into action. Of necessity his whole plan was not entirely orig- inal. but nevertheless. there were fundamental differences between it and that of any other university in the United States. ' . ' ' Brains andiWealth The HPost'l- carried an interesting description of the President under thelhead HDr. Harper In Black and - White. Thispaper stated that Dr. . Harper was.a man whose face and manner would strike'the student of 'b'Hartief. the brains; Rockefeller. the. wealth. Our daxalogy of yore: llPraise John from whom oil blessings flow. Eight human nature at once though his physique was neither im' pressive not attractive. He had a pleasant personality, was five feet six inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, and was solid! ly built. Although a captivating and genial soul, he was imbued with a strong will WThere is a simplicity and modesty in his hearing . . . he is as unaffected as a child and with an artlessness that augments his native simplicity of character. One of his noteworthy characteristics was his great capacity for work. his inexhaustible patience and perseverance, so great that he could awaken students' interest in a dead language. He was known as the apostle of the inductive method of education. An understanding of the man largely explains why, two years before the doors of the institution opened, the fame of the University had spread so far that candidates were applying for admission. To obtain a faculty, Harper had immediately begun to approach eminent scholars throughout the country. Because of the great opportunity opened to them in formulating work in a new university and the high salaries OEeteCl, many accepted. However, there were some who declared that Chicago was a bubble bound to break. The hrst heads of departments secured after a long, hard. struggle were: W. G. Hale tLatinl; J. L. Laughlin iPolitical Economw from Cornell; President A. W. Small of Colby iSociologyl; H. E. von Holst from the German University of Freiburg tHistoryO ; E. Hastings Moore from Northwestern tMathematicsl; Charles 0. Whitman of Clark iBiologyl; and T. C. Chamberlin, President of Wisconsin tGeologyJ. Despite hnancial limitations, Harper secured a notable faculty with such men s A. A. Michel; son tPhysicsl; George Goodspeed iComparatiive and Ancient Historyl; S. W. Cutting .tGermanl; A. A. Stagg iPhysical Culturel ; C. D. Buck tSanskrit and Comparative Philologyl; R. G. Moulton iEnglishh and E. D. Burton iNew Testamentl. It is interesting to note that on the first faculty there were nine former presidents of colleges or universities: E. G. Robinson, Brown; L. W, Northrup, Baptist Union; A. W. Small, Colby; T. C. Chamberlin, Wisconsin; F. Johnson, Ottawa; H. B. Grose, South

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I Social lifeba football outing or Tallyho ride. at fourteen with the honor of the Hebrew Oration. When seventeen, after cierking in his fathers store, he entered Yale as a graduate student in Philology. It took but a short time for this youthful prodigy to establish his reputation as an educator. At the age of twentyvthree he was a full professor in the Theological Seminary at Morgan Park. When but thirty he left for Yale to remain there Until he received the otter of the pres- idency of the New University of Chicago in 1890. But Dr. Harper was considered by his eastern friends too great a man to be lost, and great pressure was applied to keep him at Yale. The Easterners firmly believed, and endeav' ored to convince Harper, that his future and his work as a Biblical specialist would be wasted if he accepted the presidency of a new college with no standing. With this advice, Dr. Harper hesitated to plunge into this venture. Nevertheless. he recognized the possibility of working out his own educational theories. He didn't, however, want to experiment on too small a scale, and let it be known that he considered the endowment inadequate. Rockefeller, in turn. indicated his intention of adding to .the University funds from time to time if necessary. At this point, Dr. Gates, who had an acute faculty for sensing the possibilities of educational expansion in Chil cago, presented Rockefeller with a new, enlarged plan for the University. The only drawback was that it would require an additional million dollars to launch it; how' ever, Mr. Rockefeller believed so strongly in Harperls ability that he readily agreed to the plan. On February 16, 1891. Harper, then thirtyefour. accepted the presidency and Rockefeller gave him his first full million. He could hardly have realized that in the end their undertaking would cost him and his interests better than seventyleight million dollars. The Bells Ring On a pleasant morning, October 1, 1892, the bells in Cobb Hall rang for the First time. The one hundred and twenty professors and five hundred and forty students took their places and proceeded to the work of the morn- ing classes. There was no fanfare or other indication that the procedure was new. It was not until noon, when a general assembiv met in the Chapel, then a room in Cobb Hall, that any hint was given that the new Universitv of Chicago was now oilicially open and operating. The simple, unpretentious beginning was planned by Drs. Harper and Judson in accordance with the expressed desire of Mr. Rockefeller that it should be so. Mr. Rockefeller did not attend and it was many years. before he-set' foot upon the campus of the institution he'had made possible. The Universityr at this tithe was truly in an embryonic condition. Many of the buildings were unfinished. Scaffolding still stood in Cobb Hall. For a time laboratory work had to be done in the garrets and kitchens of a tenement house. But the educational policies were by no means in that state; they were dehnitely the synthesis of Dr. Harper's ideas. The University was to be coeducational with the undergradutes divided into the Junior and Senior Colleges, similar to the College and Divisions of today, and the year was divided into quarters of three months each. Since the work was organized on the usual nine month basis, vacations could be taken at any quarter of the year, for Dr. Harper saw no reason why the buildings shouid stand empty all summer, and by this arrangement the best men from other institutions could be brought to the campus for one quarter of the year. Students were admitted to the University only after passing examinaticms; the annual graduation was augmented by exercises at the end of each quarter, for Dr. Harperis plan permitted a student to get his degree in less than the usual four years. The idea underlying the original curriculum of two courses of eight or ten hours class work per week was to put the weight of concentration on the important studies. The first system was soon replaced by the more familiar sys tem of three courses ithree unitsL each taking four or hve hours of class work per week. The plan inaugurated by Harper was followed closely by Judson. Burton, and Mason. For simplicity of administration the University was divided into Four general divisions: the University proper, the University Extension. the University Publication Work, and the University Aihliations. Under the Uni' versity proper came the Academies, Colleges, and Schools. The divisions of Liberal Art. Sciences, Literature.' and Practical Arts constituted the College, while the,5chools consisted of Law. Medicine, Divinity. Graduate. Egineerr ing, Pedagogy, Fine Artshand Music. The University Extension undertook .to give evening courses up town and correspondence courses for out of town students; these courses were. in turn, to be supplemented by the Library Extension, which sent books to students at 2. Seven

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O Yerkes Observatory; 3 utilities baren in a stellar Hale. Dakota; and Alice Freeman Palmer of Wellesley. With the latter came Marion Talbot, Miss Palmerls successor as Dean of Women. john W. Coulter, President of Lake Forest was soon added. Great predictions were made for the school even be, fore it had opened its doors. The Standard said it would he educationally Epochvmaking ; the Tribune : Never, since schools were hrst thought of, has an institution of learning been established that has started out with the financial backing, the enthusiasm, and the determination tci win for itself a'place in the front rank that has marked the growth of the plans of the University of Chicago. It was the rapidly expanding plan that forced the founders to realize that inbre buildings would be needed than those originally proposed. This realization resulted in the cam! paign of 1891 to raise'a million dollar building fund. One fortunate gift was from the estate of Mr. Ogden, successor to Stephen A. Douglas as chairman of the Board of TruStees of the old school. In all, this added $600,000 to the funds and made possible the Ogden igraduatel School of Science. A fine addition to the Marshall Field gift ofone and a half blocks of land lvalued at $100,000L and the one and one half blocks beught from Field by the Trustees for $132,500 was the purchase of a fo-urth bIock from Field tprice: $130.0001y Mr.- Hutchinson urged this purchase, saying at the time that the mistake of all public institutions in Chicago had beep made in laying plahs on too small a scale, thus ham! Faring future expansion. At this time transportation between the campus and aha 190p thsisted 0M7 daily 1.0. steamtmins, taking lbUt 25Im1nutes'to make the trip; while the south side PFEYRFCI had. been. prejeeted' to run near the campus. theell'fifiynon'gff F11? 5611901. lying.r along the earth side' of Universit alyA a1sance hetween Ellis and Lexington tnow . .Y . VBHUe. as described by the llStanclard, fur' nished an abundance of fresh aif 'and' pleasure in the park for the'stud'e'nts. ' residential SBCUOHI Of the Clty and' Will permit the institua tion to-sur-rouncl itself with it's own peculiar and stimulat' mg- SOClal and intellectual atmosphere. , ' '- ffirthitcct's had been invited to submit sketches for a reeltanon hall'and 'two dormitories. Henry Ives Cobb. . Who Prascnted'the largest and mosttpicturesque sketch, Was the architect chosen: The sketch showed 'the four bIOCkS With all 'qu'cldran'gles completed as follows: fresh. men'and'sophomores in the northwest corner, juniors and'SEmors 'in the' northeast; women in the southwest, and the graduates'in the southeast. In theicenter was to 'be a a great circle'wherein -a fountain would play. Directly to the north of it was to be a science'quadtangle with a lofty Fo'r miles around it 'forms the best' observatory in the center, to the east the Chapel, and to the west University Hall. One of these was to he sur- mounted by a great tower, the other by a spire. The grand entrance to the grounds was to be on the Midway. 'iOther gateways will be in the nature of sally'ports through masonry walls, said a contemporary account. One DEWS' paper carried large headings announcing Immense Walls of Stone Will Shut Off the Busy Outside 'World. At the time the plan was made, everyone predicted that it would take 100 years to complete it. In one'third that time it was practically realized, but with some changes Cobb Lecture Hall was soon started along with the dormitories then called Graduate, Middle, and South Divinity, since named Blake, Gates, and Goodspeed. Meanwhile, Mr. Rockefeller had decided the University needed more for endowment purposes and gave his see! 0nd million in February, 1892. Marshall Field, in April offered $100,000 on condition that the long hoped 5:31: million dollar building fund be raised in 90 days. Sidney Kent followed with $233,000 for a chemical laboratory- Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly followed with $30,000 for a womenis: hall; other women gave $18,000 through the 'Women's Clubs; Silas Cobb $165,000;Mart1'n A. Ryerson $150,000- Mrs. Nancy Foster $50,000; George A. Walker, $130: 000. Wlith only ten days to go, there still remained $140: 000 to be raised. Getting this sum was a problem. Mr; Jerome Beecher appeared with $50,000 and Mrs. A. J. Snell with an equal amount for a men's dormitory iri memory of her husband. Business men had secretly pledged to make up any dehcieney not exceeding $100- 000. In this way Marshall Fieldas $100,000 gift was obtained. The advance made between October 1890 and July 1392 is seen to be very great. The College of 1890, with 17 acres of land 'as a'site, $1,000,000 and provisions for one building, had developed into The University of Chicago with an enlarged site, $4,000,000 and provisions for ten buildings, with a faculty of 120 teachers, with an Academy, a College, two Graduate Schools, and a Divinity School. Buildings and More Buildings Balmy spring days with the fainous Wheel of the Columbian Exposition going round and round, just over 0 Rockefeller with Harper, both looking pleased about one of the many dedications.