Category Archives: Chapter 9

p. 180 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 180 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

in having the State Board of Health send representatives to the campus. The immediate effects of their critical report are difficult to determine beyond the resignation of the janitor and the Board’s choice of a Buildings and Grounds Committee consisting of Dr. Dodge and Professors Spear, Osborn, and Taylor. The latter accepted appointment only on condition that Professor Spear not be allowed to stand in the way of change, an arrangement which was to permit Taylor to begin a notable career as Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. In fairness to Spear, however, it should be noted that in his years as Treasurer when funds were scarce he had learned to keep expenses to a minimum and any outlay for landscaping he could well regard as of dubious value. It was reluctantly that Dr. Dodge acknowledged the need for improvements and James B. and Samuel Colgate were slow to be won over. The former had been prodded by his son, James C., a sophomore, who called his attention to situations needing correction, many of which were probably not evident when Mr. Colgate made his annual commencement trips to a campus polished and garnished for visitors. One of Taylor’s first moves-arranging for the use of lawn mowers on the area north of East and West Halls-meant that trash had to be removed and some grading done. Competent janitorial service for the dormitories was also instituted. The new dispensation met with enthusiastic student approval, needless to say.

In the fall of 1883 James B. Colgate brought the designer of Central Park in New York and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the eminent landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, to the campus and they, with President Dodge, and presumably Professor Taylor, spent a day walking over the grounds to locate projected buildings and layout improvements. The celebrated visitor was reported as “quite enthusiastic” about the picturesque site of the University. No plans drawn up by Olmstead have been found but Taylor acted on some of his recommendations in laying out paths and roads, grading, and planting trees. Students organized by classes contributed a good deal of the labor and for this purpose were given holidays in the spring and fall. Since many had grown up on farms they were not unused to planting or felling trees, digging stumps, or drawing stone. Additional labor came from the Irish immigrants who were being hired as janitors and groundsmen, the best known of whom, Lant Gilmartin, became head janitor in 1888. For many years he was Dr. Taylor’s “right hand man,” a distinc-

Comments Off on p. 180 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 180

Tagged

p. 179 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 179 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

The University, in accordance with its agreement of 1853 with the Baptist Education Society, paid operating expenses and faculty salaries for both the Seminary and College but left to the Society the responsibility of providing for the beneficiaries. Collection and disbursement of the Society’s funds and supervision of its investments were the major duties of its Treasurer. Agents assisted in making collections in the Baptist Churches throughout the state as they had done since 1817. The Madisonensis editor in 1872 objected that some of them often exaggerated stories of student privations to play on the emotions of potential donors and that such an approach cost the University a loss of respect and standing. The agents competed with their opposite numbers from the Rochester Theological Seminary but by the late 1870’s a plan “for the equitable tilling” of the field had been drawn up.

The increase of tangible assets is a useful measure of growth in the Dodge regime. The major items are, of course, land and buildings though this heading also covered the contents of the library and museums and instructional apparatus and equipment. Valued at $91,000 in 1869, they were worth $312,000 in 1890.

The campus of the 1870’s and the early ’80’s was in deplorable condition. Professor James M. Taylor described it as a “third class farm” Envious of other institutions, students published their frequent criticisms in the Madisonensis, noting the overgrown fields kept as a pasture for the janitor’s cow, the large unsightly tree stumps, ash heaps outside the dormitories, ancient fences, and tumbled down barns, and sarcastically urged that something be done to make the buildings and grounds “look less like a county poor-house, and more like a University.” Any improvements made represented the labor of students and faculty, usually on a volunteer basis; most of their efforts were devoted to tree-planting. In 1877 the faculty petitioned the Trustees to employ a landscape architect to draw up an over-all plan. The Board responded by asking Professors James M. Taylor and Lucien M. Osborn to make a topographical survey as a first step, but here the matter dropped. President Dodge was averse to bringing in outside experts and Treasurer Spear opposed any changes.

The final impetus for campus improvements came from an outbreak of diphtheria among the students in November and December, 1882. This focused attention on the unsanitary conditions in the janitor’s barns and in the dormitory, East Hall. To ensure an objective investigation, Professors Taylor and Alexander M. Beebee were instrumental

Comments Off on p. 179 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 179

Tagged , , ,

p. 178 Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 178 Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

tration were the Treasurers of the University and the Education Society. Professor Philetus B. Spear, Class of 136, who had been appointed University Treasurer in 1864, continued in that office until 1888. He had a well-deserved reputation for shrewdness, thrift, industry, and energy in the solicitation of funds. Through his management, and with the cooperation of James B. Colgate, the University added several acres to the campus to extend the northern boundary to its present limit.

Spear’s immediate successors were James W. Ford, ’73, former teacher and Principal of Colgate Academy (the Academic Department or Grammar School), who served from 1888 to 1889, and William R. Rowlands, ’74, who was in office from 1889 to 1896.

Deacon Alvah Pierce, University Trustee, 1846-47, 1850-91, and Treasurer of the Education Society since 1837, completed his 50 years of service in 1887. His successor was Hinton S. Lloyd, Class of 1856, and a graduate of the Seminary in 1858, who, following pastorates in New York State, had already been the Society’s Corresponding Secretary since 1877. On being appointed Treasurer ten years later he carried on in both capacities until 1907 when he retired as Treasurer but continued as Corresponding Secretary until 1915. He, like Spear, was astute, industrious, and had a painstaking zeal for ministerial education.

Financing the University in the Dodge period posed few problems, thanks in large part to Treasurer Spear’s frugal management and the generosity of James B. Colgate and members of his family. Mr. Colgate enjoyed making his donations as, for example, the “Arizona” gift of $50,000 for endowment. This was a free-will thank-offering made in 1880 “to recognize God’s providence” in preserving that steamship on which he had been a passenger when she was en route to Liverpool the previous November and seemed sure to founder after striking an iceberg. This gift and others helped to raise the total endowment of $177,000 in 1869 to $539,000 in 1890. Annual income from student fees, investments, and other sources for the same period rose from $23,000 to $40,000 while annual expenditures showed an increase from $25,000 to $36,000. For 11 out of the 22 years of the period there were modest deficits. In the early 1870’s the Grammar School shared in the Literature Fund as distributed by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.

Comments Off on p. 178 Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 178

Tagged , , ,

p. 177 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 177 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Samuel Colgate, p177

he served as President from 1861 until his death in 1897. Four years younger than his brother, he and James were very fond of one another and shared many interests, denominational and philanthropic and also artistic and horticultural. Samuel lived in Orange, New Jersey, where he had an estate called Seven Oaks after the village in Kent, England, associated with the Colgate family. He had flower and vegetable gardens, a conservatory, and greenhouses and he and Mrs. Colgate often had their big red brick house filled with guests.

Both James B. and Samuel Colgate, following the precedent set by their father, sought to interest their sons in the University. The first saw his son, James C., become a University Trustee in 1888, while Richard, the eldest of Samuel’s sons, was made an Education Society Trustee in 1889. Subsequently, Richard’s brothers, Sidney and Russell, joined him on the Society’s Board and Sidney, Russell and a fourth brother, Austen, became members of the University Board.

Along with Dr. Dodge, important figures on the campus in adminis-

Comments Off on p. 177 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 177

Tagged , , , , , ,

p. 176 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 176 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Their sagacity, industry and probity, which brought prosperity even in times of financial crises, gave their firm a stainless reputation. Their success, however, Mr. Colgate ascribed, in a spirit of genuine humility, to “God’s hand” leading them and he prayed that the record might show he had been a faithful steward of his earnings.

A feeling of responsibility for Madison University was a family legacy for James B. Colgate and his brother, Samuel, who had continued in the flourishing soap business their father had established. Several of their relatives and friends were quite indifferent to Madison University and could not understand why the brothers should spend their time and money on “an insignificant Baptist school.” A large part of the answer at least may be found in their reputation as two of the most committed Baptist laymen of their time. They were active in many denominational enterprises’ for which the institution had as its primary function the training of qualified young men. As he grew older, James B. Colgate believed more firmly than ever that religion and education should join forces; universities which stressed intellectual distinction without regard for Christian character he strongly opposed. He did not wish to impose Baptist doctrines on others but urged that the claims of religion in general be presented to students and he hoped that the trustees and faculty of Madison University might always be Baptist.

Prior to Dodge’s presidency, James B. Colgate, a Trustee since 1861, had already contributed generously to its needs, individually, and in association with his brothers, Samuel and Robert, and his partner, John B. Trevor. On his 70th birthday, 4 March 1888, after writing in his journal of his gratitude for health, family and friends he noted that

 

God has helped me with an abundance of this world’s goods. I hope I
shall make a wise use of them. As God’s steward, I have made some
distributions for His cause from time to time. I hope wisely, for in my
gifts I have tried to act conscientiously.

 

 

He felt generous giving to be a duty; no matter how little a man might earn, a percentage should be expended for charity. “The value of all you possess,” he said to students in 1878, “grows out of the community in which you live. Therefore you are its debtor.”

Samuel Colgate had been a trustee of Madison University since 1857 but his particular interest was the Seminary and its supporting organization, the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York, which

Comments Off on p. 176 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 176

Tagged

p. 175 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 175 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

James B. Colgate, A0999-3, p175

department” and that intellectual freedom should be extended to professors and students alike. If a younger colleague needed “eldering” Dr. Dodge gave him counselor criticism in the most kindly and understanding spirit. The faculty regarded him as a genuine friend who was especially concerned with their personal welfare and professional achievement. His ideals of character and attainment constantly stimulated them to “higher intellectual exertion and nobler living.”

James B. Colgate matched Dr. Dodge in sturdiness of character. Though often gruff in manner he could be genial on occasion. His outlook on life, however, was anything but light-hearted. He opposed the use of alcohol, tobacco, card-playing, theater-going, and dancing and asserted that the waltz was “conceived by the evil one and should be condemned by all.” He did, surprisingly, have a keen delight in oil paintings, gardens, and flowers and kept an extensive greenhouse on his estate at Yonkers. Without much formal education, he had a sharp analytical mind and wrote with clarity and grace. His religious faith was “simple and childlike” and his conservative Baptist doctrinal views he held tenaciously. His great wealth came from his Wall Street activities in securities and specie in partnership with John B. Trevor.

Comments Off on p. 175 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 175

Tagged

p. 174 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 174 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

President Ebenezer Dodge, 1868-90, Alumni Files, p174

and decisively. Referring to the presidency of Madison University, he once said in good Yankee language “If I were to give any advice to one who aspires to such a position as I now hold, I would say to him, first of all have grit and a good deal of grace. It is not simply grace that makes a man, but grit and gumption.”*

Dr. Dodge confined his interests and energies to the classroom and University and campus affairs. Though he appeared to be in good health, chronic intestinal disorders deterred him from much travelling and speaking. He was over six feet tall and slender. His gentle and sympathetic smile won affection, yet in moments of excitement and indignation his eyes would flash and his form take on majestic dimensions as he made his pronouncements. One student recalled that, “He seemed to me at times the very herald of Jehovah.” His unpolished and rugged preaching carried a direct freshness and assurance. “The closing of his sledge hammer sentences came upon the audience like a literary spile-driver,” one listener reported.

Dr. Dodge’s relations with the faculty seem to have been entirely harmonious. He maintained that “each officer is sovereign in his own

* Madisonensis (December 17, 1887).

Comments Off on p. 174 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 174

Tagged

p. 173 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted on June 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on p. 173 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Chapter IX – ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY, AND INSTRUCTION IN THE DODGE ERA

Ebenezer Dodge, President of Madison University, and James B. Colgate, President of its Board of Trustees, were the dominant figures in its development from 1869 to 1890. They were easy yoke-fellows as they worked and counseled together for its advancement. Dodge was fifty at the beginning of the period and Colgate fifty-one. Their families had been on terms of intimate friendship since the 1840’s when Dodge was pastor, first at New Hampton and then New London, New Hampshire; the latter was the home of the Colbys, Mrs. Colgate’s family. Dodge was a welcome guest at Glenwood, the Colgate estate overlooking the Hudson at Yonkers, and his host, of course, always stayed at the President’s House when he made his annual visits to the campus at commencement. Colgate confided to his journal soon after Dodge’s death in 1890, I had no friend like him outside my family, and again, “His entering my home was always a joy & when he left it, it was a Regret to all… his great & grand thoughts touched my nature and always after his leaving me I felt myself a better man & my home enriched by his presence.” It was singularly appropriate that Mr. Colgate’s daughter, Mary, when she gave the chapel in her father’s memory nearly a generation later, Should provide two marble plaques to commemorate him ,and his co-laborer and friend.

Dr. Dodge’s administration was to a large extent the reflection of his own personality, perhaps too much so, though he was devoid of ambition, self-importance or self-assertion. His role was somewhat that of a pastor who exercised his responsibility toward his people, not in a dictatorial fashion but in such a way that there could be no uncertainty as to his views or wishes. His quick temper, which he almost invariably kept in control, was well known and on occasion he could act swiftly

Comments Off on p. 173 – Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era

Posted in Administration, Faculty, and Instruction in the Dodge Era, Chapter 9, p. 173

Tagged , ,