University of Delaware - Blue Hen Yearbook (Newark, DE)

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INTERIOR OF THE GYMMASIUM WITH SEATS ARRANGED FOR A RECEPTION TO THE DELAWARE LEGISLATURE

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: ? 5 : : 100 0 010010C Aelatware College A Brief Historical Sketch, and Some Information as to the Aim and Scope of the Institution ELAWARE COLLEGE iz situated at Newark, a quiet, well-ordered, and hospitable village of two thousand inhabitants in the northwestern part of the State. Newark is connected with Philadel- phia, Wilmington, Baltimore and Washington by the Pennsylvania, and Baltimore and Ohio Rail- roads, and there are few points in Delaware or in the Peninsular counties of Maryland distant from the village more than a few hours by rail. The region about Newark is one of the most healthful and beautiful on the Atlantic slope. The site of the College, near the center of the town, iz one of unusual charm. The village has a supply of ex- cellent water and is lighted by electricity. Delaware College was chartered in 1833 by Act of the Delaware Legislature, and the doors of the College were first opened to students in May of the following vear. The College had been doing for a quarter of a eentury an important work, not only for Delaware, but as well for neighboring parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, when, by a succession of misfortunes, she was forced in the spring of 1859 to close her doors. Eleven vears later the College was resuscitated, having meanwhile heen designated by Act of the Delaware Legislature as beneficiary under the Act of Congress apportioning to each of the several States large areas of public lands to form the basiz of endowments for Colleges especially devoted to the teaching of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and Military Tactics. This Act of Congress, commonly known as the Morrill Bill, from its origi- nator, Senator Morrill of Vermont, declares that the Colleges made bene- ficlary under its provisions shall have as their leading object, withoutl ex- cluding other scientific and classical studies and including Military Tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life. In consideration of the designation and establishment of Delaware College as the institution to be provided by the State of Delaware in ac- cordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress in question, a joint and equal interest in the grounds, buildings, libraries and vested funds of the College proper, was conveyed to the State of Delaware, and equal rep- resentation upon the Board of Trustees was given the State, DIO00 010-01!Q

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rd 0 00 00 D000 0 m 100 0 010010 DELAWARE COLLEGE Continned The Board of Trustees consists of fifteen members, representing the original Board, and fifteen members on the part of the State appointed by the Governor, five from each of the three counties. The Governor of the State and the President of the College are members ex officio. In 1888, by Act of the Delaware Legislature, the Delaware College Ag- ricultural Experiment Station was established as a department of the Col- lege under the provisions of an Act of Congress approved March 2, 1887, commonly known as the Hatch Bill, appropriating $15,000 annually for the purpose of acquiring and diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on the subjects connected with ag- riculture and to promote scientific investigation and experiment respecting the principles and applications of Agricultural Science under direction of the College or Colleges established in each of the States and Territories in accordance with the provisions of the Morrill Bill. The Adams Bill, approved March 16, 1906, appropriating $5,000 for the first year and increasing this amount by $2,000 a year until it eventually reaches $15,000, makes possible the still further expansion of the work of the Experiment Station along lines set down by the law for the develop- ment of Agricultural Science by means of research and experiment. Delaware College is beneficiary also under a further Act of Congress, known as the New Morrill Bill, approved August 20, 1890, which appro- priated for the year then current $15,000 to each State for the Land Grant Colleges and provided for the increase of the appropriation by $1,000 each vear until it should reach $25,000 a year. Delaware College receives an- nually four-fifths of this appropriation, one-fifth, in accordance with the provisions of the bill, being applied to the maintenance and support of the College at Dover for the education of colored students. This Act was supplemented by the passage of the Nelson Bill, ap- proved March 4, 1907, providing for an appropriation of $5,000 for the vear ending June 30, 1908, and a subsequent annual increase in appropria- tion of $5,000 until it reaches $25,000, thus making an annual income of $50,000 from the national government. Delaware College will receive four- fifths of this amount annually, the rest going to the college for the colored race at Dover. The appropriations provided for in this Act are to be applied to in- struction in Agrieulture, the Mechanic Arts, the English Language and the various branches of mathematieal, physical, natural and economie sciences with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction. Stimulated by the increased income provided by these recent Acts, Delaware College has, within the past few years, enlarged her corps of in- structors and greatly inereased her equipment of apparatus and appliances, s0 that she is now vastly better enabled than ever before in her whole his- tory to perform her appointed duty. 0 O0010t 0001C 0 00 00 C D 0-0 00 O