University of Louisville - Thoroughbred Yearbook (Louisville, KY)

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DEAN JOHN JULIUS OPPENHEIMER Dr. John Julius Oppenheimer, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has been Dean of the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Louisville since 1931. He previously served as Instructor of Education at the University of Missouri and Dean of the Faculty at Stephens College. He received his B. S. and M. A. from the University of Missouri and his Ph.D from Columbia Uni- versity. Dean Oppenheimer has had wide experience in the field of education, serving as Professor in the summer sessions at the Universities of Minnesota, Idaho, and Missouri, as Chairman of the Conference of Academic Deans of Southern States in 1936, and as director of the Workshop in Higher Education at the University of Chicago in 1946. He is listed in ‘Who's Who'' as an educator and author. 28

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College of Ants and Sciences

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The Colleges became a University .. . November 27, 1837, marks the date of founding of the oldest Municipal Uni- versity in the country. On that date an ordinance, introduced by Mr. James Guthrie, was passed establishing the Collegiate Institute of Louisville. The fol- lowing year the Institute was organized with a president and faculty of four. The seventy students enrolled could study mathematics, belles-lettres, ancient languages, or history. However, the Institute was not a financial success and was reincorporated as Louisville College in 1840. Again, financial support was lacking and during 1844 the entire faculty resigned. A new charter in 1846 provided for the establishment of an Academic Depart- ment of the University of Louisville. This move was also unsuccessful because of insufficient financial support. The University was blocked at every turn in its efforts to establish a College of Liberal Arts or an Academic Department until 1907 when the need for a liberal arts background for a professional career was appreciated. In that year the University undertook the establishment of an Academic Department to meet the pre-medical educational requirements of standard medical colleges. Efforts to secure a large endowment met with favor from the General Educa- tion Board and Andrew Carnegie and plans were made to obtain some two hundred acres in the area of Castlewood. However, the endowment fund failed to materialize and the Academic Department acquired a three-story building located at 119 West Broadway. Late September saw the enrollment of 104 students who studied to earn degrees in the classics, philosophy, and science. The Liberal Arts College enlarged in scope and enrollment and in 1924 the buildings and surrounding land located at Third and Shipp Streets were purchased. The campus was named Belknap Campus in honor of William Belknap, an ardent supporter of the University. Here the Uni- versity grew until in 1946-47 a maximum enrollment of twenty four hundred stu- dents was recorded. A Naval Training School was established and plans for new buildings were drawn up. The year 1946 also saw the name of the Liberal Arts Col- lege changed to the College of Arts and Sciences with a B.S. as well as a B.A. de- gree offered in many departments. 29