University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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SHIRLEY W. SMITH Vice President CLARENCE S. YOAKUM Vice President for the progress made in the study of Uni- versity activities, in revising the organiza- tion, and in the laying of the groundwork for expanding the activities of the University as a character-building organization. President Ruthven makes it plain that it is not the policy of the administration to stand still. Constant research and study are essential to maintain the growth of the Uni- versity in harmony with the most advanced trends in educational development. And so the administration is directing the University today with an eye to the greater institution of tomorrow. The application made of this principle in the past year is illustrated by the following statement in President Ruth- ven ' s report: For each unit to do its work well is not sufficient; there must be con- tinuing effort to centralize information about the departments, to study and evaluate methods which are proving successful in other institutions, and to coordinate the activities of departments if the University is to perform its several functions with reason- able efficiency. With the aid of the Facul- ties, material progress has been made this year in these fields, without any tendency to produce a stereotyped institution. One phase of this development is evi- denced by a plan instituted this year to equalize teaching loads and place the de- termination of salaries upon a sounder basis. According to this plan staff members will each year receive two information blanks upon which they will record the distribution of their time. With the aid of this informa- tion, it is hoped that inequalities may be ironed out and the work of the Faculty placed upon a more efficient and satisfactory basis than ever before. It has been previously stated that the administration is now taking steps toward greater emphasis upon character develop- ment. Although the greatest force in this direction must inevitably be the classroom relationship between student and teacher, President Ruthven states in his report that it would seem that the large institution at least could enrich its contribution to the spiritual growth of the student by bringing to his attention the formal courses in religion and philosophy in the curriculum, by offer- ing him practical experience in human rela- tions, and by providing a counselor to assist him in developing his philosophy of life. He continues that the first of these objectives is easily achieved. Michigan has experienced reasonable success with the second. The Page Two

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The Michigan Creed ALEXANDER GRANT RUTHVEN President UNDER the title One Part of the Michigan Creed . President Alexan- der Grant Ruthven this year pre- pared a statement of the relation which should and must exist between the alumni and the University. To the Michiganensian this partial statement of the Michigan Creed represents a relationship which we believe should be the ideal toward which every Michigan man should strive. The student should so direct his life here that when he joins the ranks of the alumni, his attitude toward the University will reflect the ideal which President Ruthven has inculcated in this statement. We believe that the student should be trained as an Alumnus from matriculation; he enrolls in the University for life and for better or worse he will always remain an integral part of the institution. We believe that the relations between the alumnus and his University should be bene- ficial to both, and that the mutual assistance provided by the graduates and by the insti- tution should be limited only by their powers for service. We believe that to the person who has obtained what he should from his alma mater, Michigan is the actual expression of a practical idealism government, religion and state supported education being insepa- rable : and We believe that to the University the alumnus is a member of a brotherhood bound by the spiritual tie of faith in the ideals of education. New Educational Developments IX his annual report to the Regents. Presi- dent Ruthven outlined the progress which the past year has witnessed in the advance- ment of administrative efficiency in the Uni- versity. In spite of the problems which the depression has presented, many steps have been taken toward reorganization and cre- ation of activities and facilities having as their ultimate goal the development of char- acter in University students. As the presi- dent stated at the beginning of his report: The year has been remarkable principally

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DR. JAMES D. BRUCE Vice President Earhart Foundation has aided the Univer- sity throughout the last year in bringing stu- dents together for detailed consideration of various social problems. Seminars and con- ferences have been used to broaden their knowledge of these things. As President Ruthven says. The aim of the project is not to train professional social workers, but to provide a background of practical experi- ence which will make for a better, because more intelligent, citizenship. The President further recommends that a student counselor in religion be associated with the President ' s office in the near future. His function should be to aid the student in solving those vital problems which arise in the spiritual and cultural growth of every individual. The New Budget OBVIOUSLY the greatest problem faced by the administration in the past year has been that of balancing the budget to meet the $738,000 cut which resulted from the 1 5 per cent reduction in the mill tax made by a special session of the State legislature in 1932. For the past sixty years state sup- port of the University has come mainly from the mill tax. During that time it has fur- DEAN JOHN R. EFFINCER College of Literature, Science, and the Arts nished a reliable source of income and has maintained the operation of the University upon a thoroughly non-political basis. The mill tax is designed to maintain the income of the University upon a basis proportionate to the financial resources of the state. Hence, as the income of the University is automatic- ally reduced as the equalized valuation of the state falls, further limitations are not properly a part of the theory behind the tax. But as Shirley W. Smith, Vice President and Secretary of the University, said in an article written by him on the subject. Xo one questions the necessity or the propriety of the 1 5 per cent reduction, which the special session of the Legislature last spring made in the proceeds of the mill tax for the year 1932-33. It was a necessity of the times and the University accepted it as its contribution to the general welfare. Mr. Smith points out, however, that in 1933-35 the reduction in valuation which will continue to act as a part of the mill tax theory will add $214,- 000 more to the reduction made in the Legis- lature. Mr. Smith ' s comment on this is interesting. It seems doubtful whether any other divi- sion of the state government has been called on to make such a reduction in its operating Page Three