University of Illinois - Illio Yearbook (Urbana Champaign, IL)

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Gregory Comes to a Poorly-endowed, One-building College Not only did Gregory have to carefully budget the institution's funds, but also had to answer, appease, and silence virulent attackers. Jonathan Periam, who was head farmer at the University, well represents the arguments against Gregory in The Classics and Agriculture of his book THE GROUNDSWELL. He states that while it was not expected that Industrial Colleges could immediately accomplish the end sought, it was certainly not foreseen that they would adopt the curriculum of the average literary college. Periam felt that they adopted this cur- riculum with simply enough varnish of ag- riculture and mechanics to enable them to annex the endowment of the nation and of the States where situated. The key words that Periam uses, of course, are the end sought. In Periam 's, and in his followers' opinion, the end sought was an in- stitution stressing low utilitarianism. With this in mind, it is understandable for Periam to charge these universities like 1. 1. XL, which gave high utilitarian instruction, with a gross per- version of the endowment granted by Congress for a very different purpose. One of the trustees, M. L. Dunlap, who was reputable in state agricultural circles, sought to implement his idea that practical men should staff a university with modest admission re- quirements and have a curriculum much like a trade school's. His university would turn out good farmers and mechanics. These men were reacting against the sterility and the irrelevance of existing colleges in their stress on the classics and on religious purpose. This reaction was nation-wide. Although Charles W. Eliot, president of Har- vard from 1869 to 1909, is generally called the architect of the modern university, Regent Greg- ory was at least a member of the architectural firm. Eliot, serving as president for forty years, saw many more of his plans reach fruition than did Gregory during his thirteen year tenure. In some respects Gregory's initial task was more difficult than Eliot's. Eliot was able to begin his work of transformation with a well-established, well-endowed institution that needed only reno- vation. On the other hand, Gregory's work began with a poorly-endowed, one-building institution. That the University was richly endowed by the Morrill Act's terms is false. The act stated that thirty thousand acres of land at $1.25 per acre would be donated to each state and terri- tory for each Congressman. For Illinois that amounted to 180,000 acres. The land, however, was located in Nebraska and Minnesota and was difficult to sell. Further complicating sound fiscal management was the default of some of the bonds which Champaign County had promised in order to attract the University. The Drill Hall Machine Shop was completed in 1872.

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Educated at Union College, John M. Gregory moved to Michigan. In 1864 became regent of Kalamazoo College. inois Legislature's Law Precipitates Argument When the Illinois Legislature unanimously accepted the land grant in January, 1863, two issues remained for resolution. The issues were whether there should be one or several institu- tions to use the l and grant and, after it had been determined that there would be only one, where this school would be located. Curiously, the Industrial League which had done so much in generating publicity for the grant had no specific plan to implement it, though it quickly formed one. The arguments to divide the land grant among the existing colleges represented the bid of the small, denominational colleges to receive the benefits of the Morrill Act. One Illinois college, for instance, proposed to establish a professor- ship of the green earth. To oppose the existing colleges which wanted to divide the agricultural and mechanical grant, a group arose demanding that a separate university be established. After a rancorous and vituperative contest between forces representing divergent plans to implement the grant from the national govern- meni Governor Oglesby on February 28, 18(17, signed into Law the bill establishing the Illinois [ndustrial University. 10 Passage of I.I.U. Bill Brings Questions to the Fore After the bill establishing the Illinois Indus- trial University was signed into law, the question of what this University would teach came to the fore. This question, however, had always been present. John A. Kennicott, for example, at the third convention called to discuss in- dustrial education, scored Turner's suggestion to introduce a classical course. He stated that we must keep to the necessary and practically useful branches of education. He also felt that men should leave mere learning and conven- tional usage, to the old system, and to the old schools where all such stuff properly belongs. If strong men had not resisted this anti-intellec- tual strain, the Illinois Industrial University could have become merely a trade school. A man representative of those who resisted attempts to drive intellectuality from the In- dustrial Education movement was Willard Cut- ting Flagg. Having graduated from Yale where he excelled as a writer, Flagg returned to his father's farm. While managing this farm, he became an active experimenter. Always partici- pating in agricultural groups and in their dis- cussion on industrial education and its implica- tions for Illinois, Flagg in 1863 felt the need to set down his thoughts on industrial education. In A SHORT PAMPHLET Flagg stated that agriculture was a calling from which the weakest intellect and least practical shrewdness can de- rive a support, but that it furnishes scope for the widest range of human skill and knowledge. Gregory's Plan of Study One of the first and most important issues facing John Milton Gregory when he took office was planning a course of study. Although a committee was appointed for this purpose, the final report was almost exclusively Dr. Gregory's. Gregory's plan was to have six departments, with fifteen courses and professorships. The de- partments were agriculture, engineering, military science, chemistry and natural science, trade and commerce, and general science and litera- ture.

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An 1874 photograph shows the Elephant and the Dnl Hall. Fences were needed to keep stray cattle off the campus. EXERCISES Commencement Week, lLUM0» IhIWSTHUI. UlllVU hx I Im QiS industrial $niver$ity, 4 UNIVERSITY CHAPEL. 7 Tuesday Evening, March Uth, 1873, 12