University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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1 1 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA The founding of the University of Southern California was as much the logical outcome of the manifest tendency of Methodism, as the result of the individual enterprise and initiative. One of the most prominent influences at work in the early inception of this University was the spirit of the Methodist Episcopal Church : the spirit standing as it has, and does, for the highest possible development of character, and believing that this is attainable only through a proper balance in the functioning of life and all of its departments. It earlv became apparent to the far-seeing mind of Rev. John ! . Tansey that a great future lav before the University of Southern California in the city of I, os Angeles. Shortly after taking up his work as presiding Elder of the Los Angeles District. Rev. Tansey had purchased a tract of land near the present townsite of Florence. With the idea of a school in mind, be donated a portion of this property for a campus. In addition to outlining bis plan, be suggested Rev. M. M. Bovard, pastor of the Methodist Church at Riverside, as the best man to place at the head of the new project. However, in 1876, Rev. Tansey died, ami while his plan for a University never materialized, vet the foresight which he had shown is a worthy considera- tion, for his was one of the earliest movements looking toward the foundation „f a Methodist institution of higher learning in Southern California. Later, in commemoration of her husband ' s part in the great work. Mrs. Tansey gave property valued at $20,000 to endow a chair in the University of Southern Cali- fornia to be known as the Tansey Chair of Christian Ethics. Another name which is associated with the beginning of the University is that of fudge Robert Maclav Widney. Soon after his arrival in Los Angeles, fudge Widney bad conceived the idea of a great University and bad begun to formulate plans for its establishment. One evening in May of 1879, Judge Widney invited Rev. A. M. Hough to his residence and laid before him the plans for the University work. An offer from West Los Angeles was secured by Mr. Hough, and the original deed of trust of the University was executed July 29, 1879. An election for the Board of Directors was held in L s Angeles, California, in 1880, which resulted in the selection of Rev. I lough and R. M. Wi lney as two of the prominent directors of the University of Southern California. The Board organized, elected officers, and adopted a code of By-Laws. This marks the end of the first stage in the history of the University, and in the second stage the period of actual construction began. The Los Angeles Academy cannot be overlooked as the forerunner of the larger educational institution. The Academy differed in no essentials from the earlier University scheme, both having derived their first impulse from the same source. The Los Angeles Academy was incorporated as a preparatory school, while the University oVganized later ' as an entirely new and independent corpora- tion to do work of collegiate rank. The Conference made the Academy a part of the University of Southern California. Rev. M. M. Bovard was elected to the presidency, and his brother to a professorship in the new University. During that summer, the trustees of the Endowment Fund voted to sell thirty lots and with the proceeds erect and furnish a frame building in which to conduct educational work. Friends of the University purchased lots at $200 each. Stakes had already been set for the lots and the streets marked out in the University tract. A contract was let for the erection of the first building. The cornerstone laving was held on the 4th of September. 1880. This was a great occasion, not only for the University and the church but for the city as well. Tin building was completed and ready for the opening of school work by ( Ictober 4. 1880. It was a large two-story frame structure, the lower floor being divided into several comfortable rooms for class-room purposes, and the upper e

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floor containing a large assembly hall. The president was inaugurated on the 5th of October, and on the morning of the 6th, fifty students enrolled in the various departments. In the spring of 1881, a dormitory was erected on the corner of McClintOck Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street, where it stood for a number of years or until it was moved to its present location on the campus. Along with the regular University work, a high moral and religious atmos- phere was always maintained. The exercises of each day were opened with divine worship in the chapel, at which the attendance of all students was required. A special series of lectures was arranged by members of the Faculty or by prom- inent persons in the city, to be given to the students each Sunday. Following the close of the first year ' s work, a determined effort was put forth during the summer months to enlarge the accommodations, increase the facilities, and to attract a larger number id ' students. The enrollment showed a marked increase. Some worthy additions were made to the Faculty, and a new spirit manifested itself in the character of the work to be accomplished by the new University. A dormitory was secured for the young men. The one li terary society which had been formed divided into two societies — a women ' s society, known as the Athena Literary Society, and a young men ' s society, known as the Aristotelian Literary Society. These still exist in the University and have become a considerable factor in the educational facilities of the institution. The I niversitv Church is a direct outgrowth of the founding of the University and as such, was joined to it with strong ties of interest and sympathy. June 15th, 1884, marked the University ' s first commencement. The form for the diplomas as well as the design of the official seal of the University had been worked out. Around the border of the seal was inscribed the full name of the institution, The University of Southern California. In the foreground was a scroll bearing the date of the founding, 1880. To the right of the latter stood a palm tree, the emblem of triumphant victory. The crowning event of the commencement season was the first graduating exercises of the University. The next few years were epochal in the life and history of the University. They were vears of marvelous progress and expansion in all departments. A three-story brick structure with a stone foundation, costing $40,000, was pro- vided for. With the close of the year in June, 1885, Rev. F. D. Bovard tendered his resignation as Vice-President of the University and also as a member of the Faculty of instruction. He, in conjunction with his brother, the President, had taken up the University work and had given five years of his thought and strength and service in helping to lay the foundation of a Christian institution of higher learning in Southern California. Looking back over the past, one can but faintly realize the magnitude of the obstacles which the Bovards were called upon to meet during the pioneer days of the University ' s history. Only their loyalty to the Church and their devotion to the cause of Christian education could ever have induced them to undertake so great a task, and only their unswerving faith and confidence in its successful issue could ever have held them to their work. But being men who did not despise the day of small things, they manfully set their hands and minds to the task and worked with all the power and strength which they possessed. Together they planned and toiled until the foundation of the institution was firmly laid and its future success seemed assured. 29