University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

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CHARLES EDWARD FERRIS DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Page Tmcnly-hne

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6112 GnllrggAgrimlturv In 1861 our Federal Congress passed the Merrill Aet establishing State Colleges for the teaching of Agricultural, and mechanic arts,ean act prompted by the realization of the importance of promoting the liberal and practical education of the masses, an act which has had a wider effect upon American education than any other single act. At this time even the basic sciences were taught in a crude manner. With the application of science to Agriculture came countless prob- lems which could not be solved rapidly e- nough. Again, Federal aid came to the res- cue by enacting in 1888 the Hatch Act, pro- viding for the establishment of Agricultural FROM ACROSS THE RIVER Experiment Stations for scientific research in the various fields of agricultural en- deavor. Yearly large numbers of young men were going out from our Ag- ricultural Colleges back to the farms to become the messengers of scientific agriculture and to assume intelligent leadership in all the affairs of country life; but for years there was felt a growing need of workers in the field, that even the people in the remotest places might have brought to them the latest and best agricultural investigation in all its phases. In 1914 there was enacted a hill known as the Smith-Lever Act which provided for an extension depart- ment which would connect the work 011 the farms with our state colleges and experiment stations. Our own College of Agriculture consists of these three divisions, the Ex- periment Station, the Division of Extension and the Division of Instruction, each separate and distinct, yet dependent and cooperative. The Experiment Station with its proficient scientists is earnestly investigating important problems pertaining to the agricultural development of the State, and in consequence determining better methods of agriculture and saving the farmers of the state thousands of dollars. The Division of Extension, through its County Agents in the field and its efficient corps of specialists in the office at the University, is helping to solve the farmers, daily problems, to unite disorganized units and bringlabout rural cooperation and better country life. To the young men who enter the College of Agriculture, instruction is given in the general sciences,e botany, zoology, entomology, chemistry, geology, physics, bacteriology, mathe- matics, history, economies and the languages along with the students of other colleges; for purely agricultural subjectsFagronomy, animal husbandry, dairy- ing, horticulture and agricul- , 7 . i e tural education-wwell equip- ped classrooms and labora- tories are maintained in Mor- gan Hall at the University Farm. The courses offered give liberal culture interpret- ed in terms of country life. The well trained men on the faculty are the peers of men of any similar institution. No better equipped young men go out from any Ag- ricultural College. Yearly there go out from the Col- lege of Agriculture 0f the University 0 f Tennessee young men to the farms to put into practice the knowledge gained and to become community leaders, to schools and colleges as teachers of different phases of agriculture, to community centers as extension workers in various lines, in the field of research as scientific investigators, and to other positions too numerous to mention. --0. A. WTLLSON PASTURE SCENE Page Twcnly-four

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Elie 011111ng E Engineering Tennessee needs Captains of In- dustry. We talk much of our 1111- developed resources; of 0111' water power possibilities; of our virgin forests of fine timber; of our rich mines of iron, copper, zinc and coal; of our fertile soil and excellent eli- mate; of King Cotton and King Corn. We are too easily satisfied. We are content to ship our cotton in bales to England and New England, there to receive the touch of skilled hands that will enhance its value many fold. Our raw materials, prepared for market by unskilled labor, are the source of wealth of industrial centers; our timber is converted into beautiful furniture in Grand Rapids. When we furnish our homes we pay freight both ways on our own timber and support a city of beautiful homes in another state, peopled by skilled workmen. We own in Tennessee a hundred million dollars worth of automobiles which We did not build. We need leaders of Industry in the South; men properly trained in the sciences, in their application to the practical problems of life, men Who will convert the materials and forces of nature to the use and comfort and con- venience of mankind. This is the law: no modern community can grow wealthy and support the culture that is based 011 wealth, dependent wholly on the products of unskilled labor and on the products of the soil. The time must come in the history of every state when it can no longer depend on the hounties of nature; when it must educate its people in the sciences and train them in malmfaeturing and industries, or it will go down. Scientific education is the forerunner of higher prosperity, and the state which fails to develop the intellectual faculty for pro- duction must degenerate, for it cannot stand still. We need skilled workmen in Tennessee. The old time apprentice system is gone, but it would he out of date in this age of rapid movement. A com- munity of skilled workmen cannot be moved. They must be trained and it is the problem of the trade school to supply this need; the school equipped to turn out men whose skilled hands are guided by trained intellects. The College Of Engineering has a three fold task. Tts first work is to train leaders of industry, men who can fill positions of responsibility in the factories, in transportation, in teaching the sciences and their application to modern life. The College of Engineering must he the Statets laboratory for research, where the resources of the state may be studied and understood, where waste may be eliminated, where new processes may be discovered that will add to human progress. The College of Engineering needs to reach beyond the campus to teach the masses of workmen the theory back of their trades, that they may become skilled workmen. MACHINE SHOP eCHAs. E. FERRIS DRAWING ROOM Page Twenly-six