University of Missouri - Savitar Yearbook (Columbia, MO)

Page 13 text:

tubent ALVA DUVALL WITHERS. U T I C E THURSDAY VEBHUAPY 1ST. has beer, set aisart as a HOLIDAY foT ttie GELEBRATIOB Of the ENBOLLiffiNT of 200G STUDENTS Iti the UNIVER- SITY or Missoura. At teh o ' clock on that day there will be a OOHVOCATION of faculty enri stuf entn in the AUDITORIUM. Short speeches will be made by some of the Deans. and music v iii be furnlshert by the (SkTSET BAUD. Bvery student is urged to be present and assist in making this occasion an interesting one sni one long: to be re— Bfliabered In the history of the University. r ' v KOi f January 29th, IS 06.

Page 12 text:

(prefiibent of f 3e (UnitJerBttg of (JUigsouti • RICHARD HENRY JESSE.

Page 14 text:

omet tng ( 6ouf t e QXnxHmi of (tttiseoun [William E. Curtis In the Chicago Record-Herald.] Columbia, Mo., Jan. 4. — The University of Mis- souri Is gradually pushing its way to the front, and by Its pr( resslve policy will soon stand along- side the first of our great Institutions of learninp. It Is located at Columbia, an old aristocratic town. which was settled by Virginia and Kentucky fam- ilies In the early part of the nineteenth century, and has been better known for Its culture and conservatism than for its enterprise. It Is the Cambridge or the Princeton of Missouri, with wide, shaded streets, old-fashioned mansions surrounded by large grounds and a church on almost every corner. Curiously enough, the churches are nearly all new, and they are built of the lime stone that lies under the turf around them, after unusually good designs. Four walls, a roof and an ugly steeple, with rows of hitching posts in the side lot, describes the usual temple of worship in Mis- souri, but Columbia is not excelled for church ar- chitecture by any town of Its size that I know of, and Its population must be very pious and lib- eral to support so many churches. The corner stone of the first building was laid July 4, 1840, and It was a beautiful, classical struct- ure, evidently much superior In architectural style to the present buildings. It was destroyed by fire In 1 892, but the stately Ionic columns of the portico still stand In the center of the campus, the most attractive and artistic objects in central Missouri. The original faculty consisted of three professors. The first commencement was held November 28, 1843, with two graduates, Robert L. Todd and Robert B. Todd. Both of them became distin- guished, and the latter was for many years a Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. The Teachers ' College is one of the strongest branches of the Institution. It is the only State University that has such a department, which is due to Its general policy of encouraging and aiding the public school system of the State. Missouri insists upon placing the profession of teaching on the same level with the other professions — law, medicine, theology, etc. In this it has followed the example of Columbia University In New York and the University of Chicago, but It has gone beyond them and Is the only Institution in the country that affords actual practice in teaching for hl h school teachers. Columbia and Chicago have large schools for observation, but It Is claimed here that the Missouri Teachers College is the only one that offers the opportunity and enforces the re- quirements that its students demonstrate by practi- cal test their ability to teach high school pupils before receiving their degrees or certificates. The agricultural department is also very strong, and the professors tell me that Secretary Wilson has given them a great deal of assistance and en- couragement from Washington. Dr. Galloway, chief of the bureau of plant Industry at Washing- ton, is one of the graduates, and any institution would be proud of him. In co-operation with the United States Department of Agriculture this de- partment 1b doing a great deal of valuable and practical work, not only in an educational line, but for the general welfare of the State. A plan la now on foot to Institute co-operation between the soil survey and the Department of Fcvestry of the United States government, so as to get some assist- ance in the reforestation of that irortlon of the cut-over pine lands In the Ozark Mountains that Is not fertile enough to grow grass or agricultural crops. The largest and most Important enterprise that the College of Agriculture has recently und«- taken is the soil survey of the State. Ultimately it Is expected that It can be definitely stated what each particular tract of land In the State Is good for and how it may be best handled In order to produce the largest profit, at the same time con- serving Its productiveness to the fullest extent. As an evidence of the success of this department of the University In feeding experiments, It may be mentioned that at the international stock show held in Pittsburg last month, a car load of cattle fed at the University won third prize In compe- tition with the world. When I asked Acting President Jones what the University was planning to do for the future, he said: In general terms, the University is planning to be as useful to the State as possible in all lines of work, In education, In agriculture, In the ad- ministration of its charitable Institutions, in the de- velopment of mining, etc. It was a University pro- fessor who discovered the cause of Texas fever, and also the remedy for It. By this discovery hun- dreds of thousands of dollars have been saved to the cattle ralsors of Missouri, and the cattle of the State may, with safety, be shipped after treat- ment into the fever belt. Many thousands of dol- lars have been saved to the fruit growers of the State by the discovery made by our entomologist of a means of combating various Insects that injure the fruit, such as the wooly aphis, leaf roller, etc. Experiments made In feeding at the University of Missouri have contributed greatly to the wealth of the State by showing farmers how they might obtain a maximum of beef at a minimum of cost. In estimating the place of the Cnlverslty among other universities, three things may be considered: 1. The enrollment at Missouri Is not padded by any preparatory students, as in Illinois, or by students from schools of music and art, as In some of the unlversitl ' is of the middle west. The enroll- ment consists of bona fide university students, all of whom have met the entrance requ ' rements. If the students of the preparatory departments and schools of music and art are subtracted from the enrollment of some other state uulversltlee, Mis- souri will stand considerably higher on the list and will be surpassed only my Michigan. Wisconsin, California, Minnesota and Illinois. 2. The faculty of the University of Missouri Is second to none In the middle West in efflclenty. It Is a body of exceptionally well-trained men, nearly all of whom have studied In the best Ameri- can and foreign universities. It is also a pro- ductive faculty, and every year the president ' s re- port to the curators contains a new list of publi- cations, made during the year. 3. Judged from the standpoint of its Influence In the State, Missouri must be placed In the front rank of the state universities. It Is safe to say that no unlver. ity In the middle West is to-day exercising a stronger influence up n its State, upon Its education, Its agriculture, Its charitable Insti- tutions or Its mining, than t he University of Mls- Bourl.