University of Nebraska Omaha - Tomahawk / Gateway Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

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ROWLAND HAYNES

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THE UNIVERSITY Actuated by the modern educational trend in the direction of establishing in- stitutions of higher liberal, technical, and professional training in the larger centers of population, and by a sincere civic pride and devotion, a group of representative citizens organized themselves, in the early summer of 1908, into a Board of Trustees and began the active promotion of a movement for the founding of a non-sectarian, co-educational institution under such auspices as would conduce to the highest type of intelligent and efficient citizenship. This Board was incorporated as the University of Omaha on October 8, 1908, and inaugurated its educational work on September 14, 1909, with an enrollment of twenty-six students. The University, at the outstart, acquired the tra ct known as the Redick Reserve, on which stood the Old Redick Mansion, and erected on this site two well-appointed buildings, the John Jacobs Memorial Gymnasium, given by Mrs. M. O. Maul, and Joslyn Hall, presented by Mr. George A. Joslyn. In these two commodious buildings a Collegiate Department was established with a well-round- ed curriculum. The success of the enterprise vindicated the hopes and aims of its promoters until now more than 1,400 students are enrolled in its regular, extension, and summer sessions. In 1913, four years after its establishment, the University was authorized by the State Department of Education to grant First Grade Certificates. Since that time, the University has continued year by year to add other educational features. The Extension Department consisting of afternoon, night, and Saturday morning classes, was created in 1918 and has become a very important department and factor in the University organization. The Department of Commerce and Business Ad- ministration began its work in September, 1925, and has since kept an expanding and profitable contact with the industrial and commercial interests of the city. The demands upon the University made during the 1920 ' s by eager students and the necessary standards of education involved such a financial burden that those interested in the institution and its continued value in the community conceived that