University of Cincinnati - Cincinnatian Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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in spite of great internal growth, no new buildings were added. Then, in 1911, the Engineering Building was completed, closely followed by the Gymnasium and the Power Plant. A bond issue was soon authorized which made possible the erection of the Stadium on Carson Field. The Chemistry Building and the new Medical College near the City Hospital have but very recently been occu- pied. The latest addition is, however, the beautiful lVoman's Building, splen- didly equipped with gymnasium, swimming pool, and rooms for various college activities, as well as providing an establishment for the Household Arts Depart- ment. The bequest ofthe Baldwin estate in 1917, valued between six and seven hundred thousands of dollars, gives another opportunity for extension. The very recent gift of Mrs. W'ilson, a Cincinnati woman, who realized the great need of the University for an auditorium, makes possible the erection and equip- ment of a convocation hall, to be known as the Obed sl. and Amanda Landrum Wilson Memorial Hall. Dormitories, made necessary by the ever-increasing attendance of out-of-town students, will, it is hoped. be next realized. This great material expansion has been accompanied, or rather necessitated, by a correspondingly increasing growth in the size of the student body, which is now made up of over 3000 students, an increase of four hundred per cent in the past twelve years. The University, it is generally believed, has succeeded in its constant endeavor to serve the interests of the community of which it is such an integral part, and to make its educational activities more vital by a hearty co-operation with the various groups of activity under civic control. In these many ways the University is ever broadening and expanding, developing along lines of elhciency, co-operation and service, toward the achievement of that truly noble ideal which she has set for herself in the words of her motto: Alta petit. U lpagc ninetecnl

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The University-Past and Present HE history of the University of Cincinnati has been the gradual realiza- tion of a dream-the dream of Charles Mcllicken. Beginning with the mere glow of a vision in the mind of that generous and public-spirited benefactor, it has evolved with an extraordinarily rapid progress, increasing in size, achievement. and influence, until we may now safely say that it is the great- est municipal university in the world. For although many cities are striving to emulate the great educational work of Cincinnati, none have as yet surpassed it, or even equalled it. It is noteworthy that the only state whose code expressly permits cities to establish municipal universities, and levy a special tax for the purpose, is Ohio. The University of Cincinnati was incorporated upon the passage by the General Assembly of the state in 1870, of the act enabling cities to aid and promote education. A less idealistic, but none the less interesting, phase of Ohio edu- cational legislation, is the authorization by the state legislature, in 1807, of a lottery to endow an educational institution. A few tickets were even sold, but the lottery was never materialized. Seven years after this unsuccessful attempt, in 1814, a small group of citizens organized and established the Cincinnati-Lancaster Seminary upon the site of the present Mercantile Library Building. In the early thirties this was re- organized and the Medical and Law Schools were at the same time affiliated. Then, in 1845, the building burned and the Law School alone survived. The Cincinnati Law School, founded in 1833, was the fourth institution of its kind in this country, those of Harvard, Yale, and the University of Virginia alone preceding it. The will of Charles Mcllicken. who died in 1858, provided that the bulk of his estate, which was valued at about S1,000,000, be used to found two colleges for the education of white girls and boys. Almost one-half of the property lin Louisianaj was lost by the decision of the Supreme Court, and the remainder, not sufficient for the organization of two such colleges, was, for the next ten years, devoted to the increase of the Mchlicken fund. In 1870, as has been mentioned, the University of Cincinnati was incorpo- rated, and the city issued its first university bonds in 1875. Instruction had been begun in 187-1 on Franklin Street, with a small faculty of teachers from VVoodward High School. The first university building was that upon the site of the old Mchlicken homestead on Clifton Avenue, the same building which has until recently been occupied by the Medical College. The next great step in the extension of the institution was the removal in 1895 to Mchlicken Hall, the nucleus of the still-increasing aggregate of beautiful buildings in Burnet lVoods. There is a considerable list of social-spirited men and women who, by their generous gifts, have greatly hastened the expansion of the University. Some of our buildings bear the names of several of them. Hanna Hall, the gift of Henry Hanna, was added in 1896. Four years later, Briggs Cunningham made possible the erection of its twin building, Cunningham Hall. Van VVor- mer Library was begun the following year. During the next ten years, however, lpage eighteenl

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Benefactors of the University HE very recent gift of Mrs. O. -I. 'Wilson for the erection of a convocation hall recalls the many other friends of the University of Cincinnati, who, following the example of Charles McMicken, have builded everlastingly on his foundation. The bequest in 1858 of the McMicken estate to found an institution in which students should receive the benefit of a sound, thorough and practical education was soon followed by the liberal gifts of other generous spirited citizens, who have made possible its unusually rapid growth and progress. In 1872, the Cincinnati Astronomical Society transferred its property, books and instruments to the city on condition that an observatory be maintained in connection with the University. In the same year, John Kilgour contributed the grounds for an observatory and a fund for the erection of the building. Fired with a noble spirit of emulation, Julius Dexter, in the year following, made a gift towards its endowment. During the next few years, bequests were made by Samuel -I. Browne and Matthew Thoms to the General Endowment Fund. In 1895, Henry Hanna built and equipped Hanna Hall, the erection of whose companion building was made possible a few years later by the generosity of Briggs S. Cunningham. About this same time were received the gift of the library building from Asa Van VVormer, and the endowment by David Sinton for a Professorship of Economics. The building and equipment of the Technical School, transferred to the Ifniversity in 1901, were realized by gifts from James E. Mooney and members of the Board of Trustees. The Misses Mary P. and Eliza 0. Ropes gave in their wills, in 1907, a fund for the Nathaniel Ropes Foundation for the Comparative Study of Literature, while in 1912, Mrs. Floris Armstrong Sackett left a fund which has been applied to the partial endowment of a Chair of Domestic Arts. Only a year ago was announced the liberal be- quest of Francis H. Baldwin, who left in his will the residue of his estate to the General Endowment Fund of the University, without limitation or condition of anv sort. There have been many other gifts, too many for any adequate individual acknowledgment here, gifts for the building and equipment of the College of Medicine, gifts to the Library, Museum and 'Womans Building, endowments for scholarships and prizes, and for such special purposes as the support of the School of Household Arts and the Medical Clinic. and the equipment of the gymnasium and athletic field. These many generous gifts and liberal endowments show how greatly inter- ested are the people of Cincinnati in the institution which, by reason of its devo- tion to the ideals of scholarship and its co-operation with city undertakings, represents, more than any other, the spirit of civic enterprise and education. Ipage twentyl