Alumni and Friends, doubtless one of the first of its kind in the United States. One of its primary objects was fund raising. Any person could belong by paying an annual membership of $10.00 or a life membership fee of $50.00. The founders of the organization hoped that, when ministers felt unable to contribute either sum, their churches would contribute for them. Within a year the association had collected $170. Its annual meetings held during commencement” week were occasions for renewing old ties to the Institution and for learning of its, prospects and needs.
By 1833 careful nurture by the faculty and officers of the Education Society had developed the project which the Thirteen Men had initiated into a “school of the prophets” which successfully met the educational standards of the time. The introduction of a four-year college course represented a substantial achievement. Growth had come in response to inward zeal and outward need and had won denominational approval. The Institution’s high-minded, hard-working students showed themselves after graduation well’ prepared to serve their generation. A good foundation had been laid for the advance of the next two decades.