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

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Delatware College A Brief Historical Sketch and Some I'nformalion as to the Aim and Scope of the Institution ELAWARE COLLEGE is situated at Newark, an attractive little town of two thousand inhabitants in the northwestern part of the State, Newark is connected with Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, and Washington by the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads. It is eonnected with nearby towns by splendidly made macadam roads. The surrounding eountry is healthful and beautiful. The village is lighted by electrieity and has a supply of fine water. The College ocenpies a charming site near the eentre of the town, Delaware College was chartered in 1833 by Act of the Delaware Legislature, and students enrolled for work in May of the following vear. A suceession of misfortunes forced the College to elose her doors in the spring of 1859, Eleven years later the College was again ready for students, having mean- while been designated by Aet of the Delaware Legislature as beneficiary under the Act of Congress giving to each of the several States large areas of publie lands to form the basis of endowment for colleges especially devoted to the teaching of Agrieulture and the Mechanie Arts, and Military Tactics. This Aet of Congress, suown as the Morrill Bill, from its originator, Senator Morrill of Vermont, de- elares that the Colleges made beneficiary under its provisions shall have as their leading object, without exeluding other scientific and classical studies and in- eluding Military Taetics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agrienlture and the Mechanic Arts, in order to promote the liberal and praetieal eduecation of the industrial classes in the several pursnits 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 accordance with the pro- visions of the Act of Congress in question, a joint and equal interest in the grounds, building, libraries, and vested funds of the Colleze proper, was con- veyed to the State of Delaware, and equal representation upon the Board of Trustees was given the State, 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,

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five from each of the three counties, The Governor of the State and the Presi- dent of the College are members, ex officio, The Delawfnre College Agricultural Experiment Station was established as a department of the College in 1858, by Act of the Delaware Legislature, under the provisions of an Aet of Congress, approved Mareh 2, 1887, commonly known as the Hateh Bill, appropriating $15,000 annually for the purpose of acquiring and diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical informa- tion on the subjects eonnected with agriculture and to promote secientific investi- gation and experiment respecting the prineiples and applieation of Agricultural Seience under direction of the College or Colleges established in each of the States and Territories' in aceordance with the provisions of the Morrill Bill. The still further expansion of the work of the Experiment Station along lines set down by the law for the development of Agricultural Science by means of research and experiment iz made possible by the Adams Bill, approved Mareh 16, 1906, appropriating $5,000 for the first year and inereasing this amount hy $2,000 a year until it reaches $15 0041, The College is beneficiary also under a further Aet of Congress, known as the New Morrill Bill, approved Aungust 20, 1890, which appropriated for the vear then eurrent $15,000 to each State for the Land Grant Colleges, and pro- vided that the inerease shonld be $1,000 each year until it should reach 25,000 a vear. Delaware College receives annually four-fifths of this appropriation, one- fifth, in accordance with the provisions of the bill, being applied to the mainte- nanee and support of the College at Dover for the education of colored students. This act was supplemented by the passage of the Nelson Bill, approved Mareh 4, 1907, providing for an appropriation of $5,000 for the year ending June 30, 1908, and a subsequent annual inerease in appropriation of $5,000 until it reaches $25,000, thus making an annual ineome of $50,000 from the national rpovernment, 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 Aet are to be applied to instruction in Agriculture, the Mechanie Arts, the English Language, and the varions branches of mathematical physieal, natural and ecenomic sciences, with special reference to their applica- tions in the industries of life, and to the facilities for sueh instruction, There is also an appropriation by the State of Delaware of $2,500 yearly for the Chair of History and Economics, Stimulated by the inereased ineome provided by these recent Aets of Con- gress, Delaware College, within the past few vears, enlarged her corps of instrue- tors and inereased her equipment of apparatus and applinnees, so that she is now hetter enabled than ever before in her whole history to perform her appointed duty. The buildings of the College include the dormitory, originally the only Col- lege building used for all purposes and still oceupied, not only for lodgings, but also for laboratories and recitation rooms ; recitation hall erected hy the State in 15