University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 20 text:

HISTORY OF THU PAST YEAR The 1911 Owl EXCAVATION I'OK Tlllt MKD1CAI. IlCII.DING FRIDAY, the second of October, will be remembered •is an important date in the history of the University of Pittsburg. Then was laid with appropriate ceremonies the corner-stone of the first building on the new campus. I11 accordance with the plan of the Sesqui- Ccntcnnial celebration, this event followed the similar exercises at the Soldiers' Memorial. The assembly of the Faculty. Alumni and students, comprising over five hundred in number, were stationed on either side of Grant Boulevard. Before them passed the column of the veterans, whose standards they saluted as the latter marched to their positions at the Memorial Building. After the completion oi the ceremonies here, the speakers and guests of the occasion proceeded to the School of Mines, where, with fitting dignity, the cornerstone was laid. Addresses were made by Governor Edwin S. Stuart, of Pennsylvania; Hon. John O. Sheatz. State Treasurer: Mayor George VY. Guthrie, and several others. The evidence of good will on the part of these prominent officials testified to a hearty interest in the welfare of the University at large, and justifies a decidedly optimistic outlook for its ultimate realization. The final address, by I)r. John A. Brashear, reflected well the spirit of the occasion. By the fluency of his humor and terse epigrams, the popular scientist stimulated the faith of his listeners into enthusiasm. At his suggestion cheers were raised for each of those who had assisted in the program. Then followed a mighty one in testimony of his own personal esteem. On the ninth of June. 1909. after the completion of the Commencement exercises at Carnegie Music Hall, Stout

Page 19 text:

tant organizations of note. He is recognized in the scientific world as a leading authority of entomology. Attributed also is the enviable record of being a lecturer of national reputation. The successful administration of Dr. Holland closed with his resignation in October. 1900. From May 1. 1901. until January 1. 1904, Dr. John A. 15 rash ear guided the affairs of the University as Acting Chancellor. Good, delightful, agreeable Dr. lira-shear! The only man who could be guaranteed a full house when he gave a lecture. Then those stories, inimitable in their nature and told with a certain charming quality that makes every one of them a success. A friend of the University? Yes. and more, a friend of every student in it. Dr. Brashcar's love for the University and the interest he manifested in its welfare has constituted the major portion of his life. Although pressed by private affairs during his administration, he rendered most valuable service and maintained unimpaired the high efficiency of the institution. Conscientious in his duty, loyal in his attitude, devoted in his hopes, he gave his strength without stint to its welfare, and as a monument of his energetic efforts and activity the Observatory in Rivcrview Park stands to commemorate the memory of the grand old man of the University.” On May 26. 1904- the present incumbent. Samuel Black McCormick, was elected Chancellor. We understand Dr. McCormick thoroughly. It was through his efforts that the University of Pittsburgh became actual. Painstaking in his efforts, ambitious for the propagation and final establishment of an institution which should stand first among the educational institutions of the Fittrn country, his accomplishments have become the synonym for persistent energy. With the amalgamation of the various departments, beginning with the Medical Department in 1892. and ending with the Department of Dentistry in the final consummation of the hopes of its progenitors was realized- a University in fact. The transfer of the school to the akland district brings in a new element— the advantage of valuable surroundings, in music, art and literature. The facilities extant in this location are tremendous in their importance. As in the coming years the buildings will be reared upon the splendid campus, it requires no prophetic mind to foresee the complete realization of the most optimistic hope of the alumni and the friends of the University. It is as yet in the beginning, but it is in the beginning of the end. Its progress develops a wonderful contrast—the pioneers of Western Pennsylvanian education and the splendidly equipped faculty of the present are proofs of the marvelous educational advance. The school has already had an existence, tried and true, venerable in this land of over one hundred years; it has a tradition, one that others might envy; it has achievement, toward which one may point with pride; it has a high record of directorship, they have never been found wanting in efficiency. Some of its professors have done the world's great things; its alumni are some of the most successful men of Pittsburgh and vicinity, comprising our judges and our lawyers equal in power and initiative energy to any that could be gathered in Pittsburgh from the other educational institutions of the land. The igix Owl

Page 21 text:

the corner-stone of the Engineering Building was laid. Although a large part of the splendor attendant upon the previous ceremonies was lacking, there remained the impressive fact that another step has been made in the progress of the University. With dignity and simplicity the performance was carried out in a manner l efitting the nature of the Institution. ( n the same day ground was broken for the Medical Building. Its construction has been placed in capable hands, and the finished structure will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 1910. As has been the rule throughout. the most modern equipment will be used. Xo expense will be spared to provide in every sense the highest state of efficiency possible. Immediately after the completion of the School of Medicine, work upon the Dental College will Ik begun, and the opening of the University year of 1911-12 will, in all probability, find the fourth building on the campus. The architectural idea of the completed University will Ik much nearer fulfillment with the addition of these two units, and while the present aspect may be disappointing. it is well to await what the future will bring forth. Not until then can be understood the magnificence of the selected plan. With the construction of the third and fourth buildings new links will be forged in the chain binding the institution together. A firmer organization of the student hotly, a far-reaching grasp of the various facilities offered, a greater conception of the capacity of the school —all these will assist in the final realization of the hope and expectations of the friends of the University. The 1911 Owl TIIK DKNTAI. B1I1.DING