University of Idaho - Gem of the Mountains Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

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Our Progress In this day of careful and conscientious study of public insti- tutions, it is safe to say that the development of educational ideals oceupies the highest place in intellectual effort. This evolution in the United States seems to portend the supremacy of state institutions of higher learning, and the appropriateness of this tendency appeals te the true spirit of American genius. When the foundation principles were laid for our great scheme of government, the almost inspired policy was adopted of leaving the management of educational interests to the initiative of the sev- eral states. This responsibility was well imposed, and the states have responded loyally to the trust. From the southern land of Vir- ginia to northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota; from New England ’s center of culture to California’s restless energy, all are examples of the wisdom of inspiring within the state a local pride—- yes, even a state rivalry, for educational supremacy. Idaho, one of the latest of the states, has appreciated her position, has acted well her part, and her youth of 1903 are the direct beneficiaries. It would seem that in noting the progress of a college or a uni- versity there must be considered two kinds of growth—the tangible, or material, and the intangible, or that which we might term the im- material or invisible growth. The first, of course, includes buildings, grounds, apparatus, etc.; the second pertains to the general thor- oughness, the school traditions, the student spirit, the culture, the loyalty, the willingness to serve, all of which have been so potent in the upbuilding of the character of every institution of higher learn- ing. These two kinds of growth seem to be—and indeed are—— mutually cause and effect, and both are indispensable to progress. In considering the physical progress that has characterized the University of Idaho, no better means could be employed than to print a picture of that which represented us in 1893, another of that which represents us in 1903, and therewith a prospectus for 1904. This would portray an evolution indeed—a growth from an unfinished wing of a first building to the completion of four buildings and the construction of a fifth. It would show an equipment grown from a few boxes of chalk, some benches and a few chairs, to that of thou- 16

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sands of dollars’ worth of the most improved and delicate scientific apparatus, and a working library of which any young institution might well be proud. The original state appropriation of $15,000 has been increased to almost an even $100,000 for the biennial period, which, combined with the Federal $80,000, makes possible many changes and improvements which can only come with the growth of appreciation of a university’s work. For one decade this may be cor- sidered unparalleled in the history of state universities, especially when we consider the increase in the state’s population from 86,000 to barely 200,000, and its assessed property valuation from $29,- 000,000 to that of $63,000,000. This for the material progress. ‘Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage.”” Neither do fine buildings, handsome grounds, high-priced men nor costly and delicate apparatus make an institution of learning. Important as they are, they are all but instruments—means to an end. The University of Idaho has more to boast of than merely these out- ward signs of growth; its progress has been symmetrical, sure and safe. From a teaching force of two or three instructors, the faculty now numbers thirty members; and even this number is inadequate to the necessities of the courses offered and in contemplation. The Alumni Association has reached the even one-hundred mark, numbering among its membership many men and women prominent in public eye—in Congress, in State Legislature, in the University, College, High School and Common School room; at the bar, in medicine, and in the pulpit; all stalwart and zealous, useful and influential, a record worthy of comment. Our curriculum has developed so that in the Preparatory School —formerly a Grammar School—the best of High School preparation is now given, while the College has grown to the proportions of a University. The average age of our students shows a constantly increasing maturity of mind and body, and the general college spirit is changing from year to year to that of a more reflective and attractive loyalty— so essential to the character-building of a University. Our general harmony of purpose may be best summed up in the words of one of our Seniors in a recent article on the growth of the 17 Gem of the Mountains 1904