University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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I ' NIVHRSITV l ' TliXA .

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university in the economy of a Cominoiiwtallh i well known of all enlightened men, and in her State University Texas must cherish the chief power in the hands of the State for the general uplifting and advancement. To resume the story of our foundation : it was not until iSSi that the laws made mandatory in the Constitution of ' 76. were finally enacted, and in September. 1883, the doors were opened to students. Bcvclopincnt The local habitation of the Departments of Literature. Science and Arts, Engineering and Law. is on CoIIt-ije Hill, in Austin ; that of the Department of Medicine is in Galveston. The group of buildings on College Hill consists of the great Main Building, the Chemical Laboratory, the I ' ower House and I5rackenridge Hall. We need a separate Library Building, with halls for the literary societies. Should such a building be erected, the present library room and society halls would become available as lecture rooms or laboratories, to meet the expanding work of the University. How would the old library room do for the much-needed school of electrical engineering? In addition to a building, our Library itself sadly needs expansion. Its 14,000 volumes, well-chosen as they are, fall far short of affording the means of extended research in any line. In this matter the well being of the University is most deeply concerned; vital interests of its ever ' function are affected. Is it not jiossible to open the eyes of our lawmakers to this truth ? It has appeared that some of them imagine the library to be an instrument for the amusement and haphazard culture of the students, instead of the indispensable tool of all true university work of every descrip- tion. It is not entertainment, but tools, that we ask for. A good gymnasium and more dormitories on the campus are also much needed. But the Universit — what of it? The University is not the buildings, nor the campus, nor the Regents, nor the Legislature, but the Faculty and the students. All vital impulses in matters educational necessarily proceed from above, permeating downward ; and it may be said that the University of Texas, in the course of her development, has nobly discharged this one of her functions. Steadfast policies of seeking closer relations with the high schools and academies of the State have been fruitfid of the most ' 3

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beneficial stimulation of those institutions. The best schools of the State now regard the University as their true guide, counsellor and friend. It is not necessarj- to set forth the far-reaching benefits to the public of such relations, established and fostered as they have Iieen by the practical wisdom and unostentatious labors of the I ' niversity Faculty. . The Faculty has been, since the foundation of the University, a growing body, and in it have always been found alumni of the most famous universities of Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Besides the usual professional degrees in engineering, law and medicine, the Academic II ,1 Ijt (ffili l Department offers well-matured undergraduate courses leadi ng to the degrees, B.A., B.Lit., B.S., l ' !. TM ' well-organized courses leading to M.A. and M.S. The graduate courses have been strength- vV yWA ' cd and amplified as fast as the teaching force expands, and we aspire to such a development in ; ; If ' 1 f K a few years that it may become consistent with our high standards to offer courses leading to the s Sr ' . .: ' i •• ' Afift doctorate (a degree not now given), in the chief fields of research. Nascent seminaries in various schools give promise as nuclei about which may form organizations like the scientific student societies of the German universities. In a word, the University has shown itself eager to extend its functions and multiply its benefactions to the State, as fast as the prudence of the State, or the munificence of public-spirited citizens will funiish her the means. We would recall our Commencement Day two years ago, and the inspiriting salutation from the repre- sentative head of the oldest to the youngest of the sisterhood of Southern Universities : Witnessing these e ' idences of her abounding vigor and her rapid growth, remembering that she completes this day but the first ten years of her life, I feel that it needs no prophet ' s vision to foretell the long series of her labors and her honors. Well might the laureate of her first decennium adopt the hopeful prayer of the sweet Roman singer : ' Vosque veraces cecinisse, Parcae. Quod semel dictum est stabilisque rerum Terminus ser et, bona jam peractis Jungite fata. ' May we be ever safeguarded against any sinister policies wherebj- educational institutions lose their chastity : may our rulers see and pursue the courses of lofty honor and justice, which alone can maintain this educational purity ; and may we live free from party broils, political or sectarian, adhering unflinchingly to the principle that education is the sole aim of schools ! 15