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

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:hancellor e. a. burnett To friends of the University: The University of Nebraska is a constructive force in the life of the state. Its primary objective is to educate our youth in the arts and sciences, in industry, and in the professions so that they will be able to serve and direct the interests of the state. In these days technical educa- tion is necessary to do the world ' s work. A university should provide the student opportunity to master one or more basic fields of knowledge that give him capacity to pursue a useful occupation, making his position in industry or in a profession stable and effective. At the same time it should make him responsive to the demand for a better social order. A vital research program is essential to every modern university. Universities provide research laboratories for the discovery of knowledge in highly technical fields that may minister to human welfare. Discovery and invention have been responsible for most of the changes in modern life. They hold the key to much of our future progress. The scientific research carried on in the University has contributed millions to our wealth in agriculture and commerce and to better public health. A university must do more than make the student an efficient human machine. As a social agency it must teach how we may build institutions that guard the rights and opportunities of the weak and promote tha welfare of society. Education should contribute to the richness of life. Through it the student learns to fit Into modern society and to contribute most to its well-being and progress. Very truly yours. Chancellor MyJ AJiX PROFESSOR R. P. CRAWFORD Assistant to the Chancellor .iH-i

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■. . ■•■ .A. ■••■ . GOVERNOR CHARLES W. BRYAN overnor To the Students of the University of Nebraska: I appreciate this opportunity of greeting you through your annual, the Cornhusker . I feel that we are still fellow-students of life and of government. You are still enjoying the privileges of study under the guidance of the very able faculty of our great state University, and I am continuing my study in the great laboratory where the rewards of success and the penalties for failure are just as certain. Whether inside or out- side the classroom, certainly we should never end our study. In fact, we cannot, for life ever presents new problems. The theory that education was almost solely to train the mind and the hand to earn more money has nearly everywhere given way to the theory that the chief purpose of education is to prepare us to live happier and more useful lives. The study of government should, therefore, and I bel ieve it does, take a larger part in the program of education than ever before. Democracy, more than any other form of government, needs an informed citizenry. Under our form of government, it is absolutely necessary that citizens use their power of franchise intelligently if our institutions are to survive. They must be acquainted with the structure of government, must know how it operates, must have ideals based upon a thorough understanding of what government is doing and what it can do to make citizens secure in the enjoyment of their rights. Let us continue to study to Improve that watchfulness of the citizen , which Is truly the salvation of the state . Sincerely, ' ' — ' ' — •• ' —

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t::: • •• DEAN T. J. THOMH:.uN Dean of Student Affairs Dear Son: By this time you have learned that a university does not consist of brick and mortar alone, but of teachers and fellow human beings very much like your- self. Get acquainted with your fellow students. Youth is the heyday of friendships. But more especially, I would urge that you strive to become acquainted with your teachers. If you will let it, acquaintance- ship with them may mean more to you than anything else in your college life. True, you cannot in four short years expect to gain their mastery of subject matter, but you can catch something of their zeal and their spirit. If, when school days are over, you ap- proach life with the same zest and enthusiasm tha + :haracterlze5 their attitude toward their work, your schooling will indeed not have been in vain.. Al- though I have long ago 1 forgotten the aorist tense, 1 shall never for- get the friendship and the contagious enthu- siasm of my professor of Greek. I hope you may form a similar acquaintanceship with some of your teachers. You say you are wor- ried about the choice of a vocation. 1 am not as concerned about this phase of your edu- cation as some perhaps W. C. HARPER Assistant to the Dean would have me be. Learn something about many things, and a great deal about those that interest you most. Become acquainted with the masterpieces of literature, art, and music, and the principal hypotheses and theories of science. An interest in and an appre- ciation of these will prove a source of life-long pleas- ure and satisfaction to you. You ought also to take courses that will call for abstract thinking and the exercise of your imagination. You should learn to analyze and to reason. Learn early to conduct a rational examination of the prejudices and traditions that naturally become a part of life and living. Tradi- tions and prejudices may be valuable; but the wise man subjects them to continuous examination. The result is progress. If your interests lead you into fields requiring special skills, acquire those skills; but lay the superstructure of your technical knowledge upon the foundations of broad general knowledge. You have average intelligence. With such a prepara- tion as I have outlined, 1 have a sincere belief that you can make a reasonable success of any vocation you may choose. 1 only urge you to choose a line of activity that will furnish you enjoyment in its pursuit. A man ' s work should be more than his living; it should be meat and drink to his soul. Four years in college. There will never be another four years like them. Four years of intellectual exploration and free play of your mind. Four years to make friendships and to dream dreams. Four glorious years! Son, make the most of them. As ever yours, T. J. THOMPSON.