University of Minnesota - Gopher Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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♦ - She ♦ ♦ ♦ ©opher ♦ of ♦ ♦ ♦ Siuentu ♦ ♦ ♦ 5euen Iti ' , liow thu taiiipiiN cif ilu- lulurf, st) far as buildings were eoncerneii, would look. Minnesota then had a comprehensive campus plan and a good start in buildings. But she still had to ni.ike a struggle for each new structure. Hy l ' M. the old Chemistry Building had been tremendousU outgrown. Emergency assistance was needed. A suc- cessful appeal was made to the legislature and the present Chemistr - Building was completed during the year 1913-14. It was the first structure to be built on the mall. The old structure was transformed into a men ' s club house and still flourishes as the Minne- sota Union. The school of Mines was quick tu folltjw in 1914-15. A devasting fire had demolished the old building, and in the reconstruction plans it was decided to rebuild for the College of Education and the University High School and place the Mines Building on the new campus. This plan was followetl, and as a result the School of Mines was located on its present site west of the Chemistry Building. Then came a lull. The war was on. Presi- dent Vincent resigned to accept the presi- dency of the Rockefeller Foundation in Xew York Cit -. President Burton mounted the Unixersity stage. The campus became a military camp during the life of the Student Army Training Corps. The armistice was declared, the S. A. T. C. disbanded and some- how that hectic year was closed. Despite the general disruption due to the atmosphere of the times, the new definitions of college func- tions, new interpretations of curriculum alues, President Burton with rare educa- tional statesmanship sensed the necessity of another forward look in the building field. Calling the University administrators to- gether, he asked them to lay before him the needs of their departments for the years ahead. Then classifying the results of this survey he grouped the most immediate needs into a ten-}-ear building program and went to the legislature with it. So eloquently did he present the University ' s case before that body that they approved the request in its entirety. The program called for an appro- priation of $560, 000. 00 a v ' car for a period of ten years. while President Burton will always be remembered as Minnesota ' s war president, his outstanding achievement was the attain- ment of the comprehensive building plan which is just being consummated with the plans for the building expansion of Physics and Law. In 1920 Michigan made overtures to President Burton which he couldn ' t resist. He left Minnesota tor the presidencv ' of Michigan I ' niversity and ri ' maini-d there until his death in the spring of 1925. It became one of President Coffman ' s tasks to carry out the building jirogram. The i4 ipm 4 -w»--icf 1 ' : } , . ' ,., -s -? ! %» University Hospital ' icuril Across the River i j» I J..U .j.» i XJ XXXX JL J».j J-J, X .LNU X.J fA.. ' ,....f jv. . v4 . j ' .4r fAvfw4vfLk v Twentv-oiie

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- ♦ She ♦ ♦ ©ODher - - iStuentu ♦ ♦ ■» Seuen I 1 : ■ J i - ■ 1 I 5 « ' svs:± jid MtfrJSM AA mile from the main building the noise of passing trains would never be a menace to the peaceful ongoing of the class room. In 1907 came the expansion of the campus. All of that tract lying south of the railroad gully and bounded on the east by l nion Street was secured. The campus was in- creased by approximately fifty-five acres. Prior to this time buildings has been built without reference to any comprehensive or unified plan. Clearly, now was the appro- priate time to take a long forward look to en ' ision, if possible, the Minnesota of the future. Were buildings from now on to be built on the hit or miss plan, each need as it arose to he met by the exigencies of the moment, or would some plan be devised that would give unity, utility, and beauty to the expansion program that seemed inevitaljle? With statesmanlike foresight the Regents determined to secure the best architectural treatment of the problem that could be devised. Competitive plans were called for. Architects from far and wide visited the grounds, became acquainted with the insti- tution ' s needs, caught something of the Greater Minnesota vision and then set to work to win the prize. Finally the day of decision came and the judges awarded to Cass Gilbert the eagerly sought reward. The new campus, as the recently purchased property was then called, was covered with priv-ate residences and for a long time it was difficult to see just how the new plans would change the landscape. The desirability of having the Uni ersity Hospital (Elliot Memorial) on the river bank determined the location of the Medical School. One-hundred and fourteen thousand dollars was bequeathed by Mrs. Adolphus F. Elliot for the hospital as a memorial to her husband; forty thousand dollars more was added by the legislature to insure the struc- ture in its magnificent location. The site was purchased with a fund donated by medical alumni, faculty, and friends of the Uni -ersit ' , just prior to the legislative au- thorization for the campus expansion in 1007. Simultaneously the work on the Engineering and the Medical School buildings was pro- jected. The new Millard Hall took its place on the corner of Washington Ave. and Union Street, the Institute of Anatomy just west of it, and across Washington Avenue but facing Church Street the Main Engineering Building was erected. East of it and along Union Street, the Experimental Engineering Building was placed. The Dispensary was later mcned into the basement of IVlillard Hall. Thus at the end of the year 1911-12, the first year of President ' incent ' s adminis- tration, any one at all familiar with the Greater Uni ersity plan could liegin to see ' . ' I ' University Armory Twenty

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♦ ms i M The Cld Library Building riu- .School of Chemistry The Electrical Engineering Unit Music Building was the first to receive con- sideration. The structure was erected in 1921-22 opposite the College of Dentistry. ' o sooner had President Coffman taken the reins of the University than he began to talk to the alumni about things that they might do if they were so minded. Here was a ten-year building program ahead of the University, a generous provision of the legisla- ture, and one might have assumed that the future would be nothing but the realization of a pleasant dream. Not so. In President Burton ' s last year the University enrollment increased, not the usual ten, fifteen, or even twent}- per cent, but vaulted to the unbeliev- able height of a sixty-seven per cent advance o er any previous attendance. Here %vas a problem. The legislature had done its best for buildings, it had set a new standard for support, but it had reached the limit. A reaction was setting in. Retrenchment was the order of the day. And this was the situation that President Coffman faced. He did more than face it. He went out to meet it. He appealed to the alumni to prove their loyalty with something more than words. This was a new idea. The alumni had never been asked to render financial assistance before. Why should they? Wasn ' t this a state uni ersity supported by taxation? The - met with President Coffman. He met with them. The alumni appointed a com- mittee to study the needs of the campus that could not be met by legislative appropriation. They found a student unrest due to lack of athletic facilities. They found a lowered morale partly due undoubtedh- to the war, but partlv due to a lack of indoor space where the student body could be assembled. There was no place where the president could speak to the freshman class except out of doors, no place where commncement exercises could be held with alumni and parents of the seniors present. The committee reported that a stadium with increased playing facilities and an auditorium were the two outstanding campus needs. One of these at least could not be provided bv the legislature; the other would have to wait until after the ten-year program was finished and might not come then. Here was need for action. The opportunity came with the inauguration of Mr. Coffman as the fifth president of the University of Minne- sota in May, 1921. The alumni held a dinner on May 14 in the ball room of the Minnesota Union. The occasion was a happy one. It was felicitous and yet serious, for the following resolution was passed b - unaminous acclamation: It is the unanimous opinion of your com- mittee that the activities and interest of the faculty, students, alumni, and former students of the ITniversity of Minnesota be centered M Shevlin Hull Twenty-two