University of Nebraska Lincoln - Cornhusker Yearbook (Lincoln, NE)

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E. A. Burnett, D.Sc. Chancellor CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY HAVING served the University of Nebraska in various capaci- ties since 1899, Chancellor E. A. Burnett has established a worth) reputation as an educator. He gradu- ated from Michigan State Agricul- tural College with the degree ot Bachelor of Science in 1887. He received a degree of D.Sc. in 1917. Chancellor Burnett came to the Uni- versity of Nebraska in 1899, when he became professor of animal husbandry. He served Nebraska in this capacity and as Director of the Experiment Station and associate dean until ! 909. Prior to 1909 the Agricultural College, together with two other colleges, formed the Industrial College. With the division of colleges and the formation of the College of Agriculture in 1909, Mr. Burnett was named dean of the newly formed college. He served as dean of the college from 1909 until 1928. Early in 1927, when Chancellor Samuel Avery became ill. Dean Burnett was named Acting Chancellor, holding this position from January 16, 1927 until March 1, 1928. In March, 1928, he was named Chancellor. From the time of his appointme nt to this high office, Chancellor Burnett has faith- fully fulfilled his duties and aided the University in many ways. The duties of the office of chancellor of a university the size of the University of Nebraska demand unusual ability and considerable hard work. The chancellor is the oflicial means of communica- tion between the University and the Board of Regents. In addition, he is an ex-officio member of all faculty committees and is the administrative head of the institution. hiti ' rior of the Hifiistrar ' ti offici

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EDGAR ALBERT BURNETT, D.Sc. Chancellor of the University of J chrasl a

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I ' T. J. Thompson, Ph.D. Dean uf Student Affairs DEAN OF STUDENT AFFAIRS T IS est. mated that this sprint; ppro.Minatcly 150,000 pei- sons will receive collegiate degrees. Upon graduation these youHi; people become the fin- ished product of the universi- ties and colleges and the raw- material of all walks of life. Within a twelve-month period a lartre proportion of them will be undergoing assimilation by the industries, the arts, and the professions; and within a few years they will have been card in- dexed, either actually or figuratively, and will have found their places in the particular strata of the social and economic life of which they are to be- come a part. Each of these graduates aspires to till a high position. However, initiative, capacity, and character, which are the sine qua non of achieve- ment, being at all equal, the college graduate who elects wisely those subjects that v -ill furnish broad training in his chosen field and who pursues them with a high degree of proficiency has a decided ad- vantage, not only over the non-college man, hut also over the graduate who aspires merely to obtain a degree. For example, the student who understands thoroughly political, economic, industrial, and geographical conditions stands a far greater chance of being a leader in the field of finance than does the student who understands simply the techique of bookkeeping, accounting, and banking. The doctor, the engineer, or the agriculturist who is soundly trained in the fundamental sciences has a far greater chance of rising in his profession than does the individual who has left serious consideration of these subjects out of his preparation. It was pointed out not long since that after four years of intensive training at West Point the cadet is graduated only as a second lieutenant, yet during the World War good second lieutenants were trained in less than six months. Why all the additional training and hard v. ' ork? Obviously it is to train the cadet in the broad fundamental concepts of military operations that he will need later in his career when he becomes a colonel or a general This is the type of training the University urges. This belief in the necessity of broad training is not simply an academic point of view, for the leaders in all lines of endeavor are becoming increasingly interested in the type of training which the student receives. An editorial in The Iron Age for October 14, 1926, in discussing What does industry want us to teach engineering students? , says in part: A school of learning cannot produce specialists for industry. Each position is unique; only broad fundamentals are common to all. Parallel with this interest in the type of training which the college graduate receives have come quite naturally studies upon the relationship between scholastic attainment of the student and his achievement in the world of affairs. Walter S. Gifford, head of the Bell Telephone System, writing in Harpers for May, 192S, on the subject, Does Business Want Scholars? , says: It appears that the man in the first thir . in scholarship at college, five years or more after graduation has not merely one chance in three, but about one in two of standing in the first third in salary. On the other hand, the man in the lowest third in scholarship has, instead of one chance in three, only about one in five of standing in tTie highest third in salary There is also nearly one chance in two that he will stand in the lowest third in salary. It is these qualities of training and proficiency that the world of affairs is looking for in the college graduate. While it is true that education has its intrinsic value in knowledge and culture, and as such quickens the sensibilities, stimulates the imagination, and arouses an appreciation of the worthwhile, it may also be made the direct handmaiden of achievement. T. J. Thomp.son.