Tag Archives: Albert Perry Brigham

Dana Arts Center, Cutten Hall, Bryan Hall, and O’Connor Campus Center built (p. 336)

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also established a scholarship program for five years with an initial grant of $130,000 with the possibility of extending it for a second five-year period.

The expansion of Colgate’s physical facilities, an important feature of the Case presidency, continued during his successor’s. Four new buildings were erected and others modified or renovated. With the destruction of the Administration Building by fire in October, 1963, the old library, then serving as a Foreign Language Center, became the new Administration Building after extensive alterations and the transfer of the language center to Lawrence Hall. The Reid Athletic Center, in use since 1959, was completed in 1966 with the dedication of the basketball court to the memory of Wesley M. Cotterell, ’19, Trustee, 1961-65; the hockey rink in 1965 had been named for J. Howard Starr, Professor of Physical Education Emeritus, and former hockey coach. Alumni Hall was completely remodeled in 1965 and occupied by the Division of the Social Sciences, except for the Education Department which was located in Lawrence Hall; Arthur A. Meggett, ’36, was the architect. The Arts Center, named for Charles A. Dana whose foundation had provided a challenge grant as the basis of the funds raised for the building, was completed in 1966. A striking example of modern architecture, it was designed by Paul Rudolph, and provided classroom, office, studio and performing space for courses and activities in the fine arts, music and drama, and also housed a theater and an art gallery. Two residence complexes, Cutten and Bryan Halls, were completed in 1966 and 1967; the architects were Perkins and Will. The first was named for Colgate’s eighth president and comprised four houses commemorating faculty members active during his term-Albert P. Brigham (geology); Frank L. Shepardson (Greek and University Treasurer); Harold O. Whitnall (Geology) and Melbourne S. Read, (Philosophy, Psychology, Education, Vice President, 1912-21, and President pro tem, 1921-22). The second building perpetuates the memory of Colgate’s seventh president and also consists of four houses named for Dean William H. Crawshaw, ’87; George W. Cobb, ’94, Trustee (1907-45) and donor of the Cobb Awards; William M. Parke, ’00, Trustee (1926-61; President, 1937-48); and Norman F. S. Russell, ’01, Trustee (1928-54; President, 1948-52). The A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Campus Center, designed by Arthur A. Meggett, ’36, and opened in 1967, provided facilities for the

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p. 277 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

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tradition, one of its most violent aspects, lasted until 1919 when the faculty abolished the institution because of increasing intensity of the conflict, the dangers involved, and the money and time squandered. After a freshman accidentally drowned in the “proc” rush in 1919 this contest was replaced the next year by a frosh-soph tug-of-war. Under-classmen faithfully observed the pre-Moving-Up Day customs such as
burying the hatchet in Taylor Lake and smoking the peace pipe. On occasion their exuberance got out of bounds as when some of them in 1915 sheared the “flowing locks” of a villager and were hailed into court, or in 1921 when they burned the Whitnall Field grandstand and in 1922 the horse sheds behind St. Mary’s Church. The behavior of a minority reflected to a degree a relaxed attitude to law and order found throughout the country following World War 1.

Campus leaders wrestled with disciplinary and other problems in the Student Association and the senior honorary societies. The latter, in imitation of those established in American colleges as early as the 1890’s, were composed of those students who were outstanding primarily for extracurricular achievements and service to the University. The first, Skull and Scroll, was organized in 1908 for “the guardianship and promotion of the fair name of the college” with Professors Hoerrner and Whitnall as honorary members. The second, a rival, was Gorgon’s Head, founded in 1912 “to encourage the growth of manly character, scholarship, and College spirit”; Professors Alton, Allen, and Brigham were its sponsors. Distinguished off-campus recognition came to a Colgate undergraduate when Whitney H. Shepardson, ’10, son of the Academy Principal, and member of Skull and Scroll, was named the University’s first Rhodes Scholar in 1909.

To the five existing Greek letter fraternities six were added to meet the needs for social life, dormitory accommodations, and eating facilities brought about by the increased size of the student body. The Iota Chapter of Theta Chi was chartered in 1912 and Alpha Zeta Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha in 1916. In 1917 three received charters-New York Delta Gamma of Alpha Tau Omega, founded as the Madison Club in 1902; Delta Upsilon of Sigma Nu, founded as Theta Delta Sigma in 1914; and Delta of Kappa Delta Rho. The last of the six, New York Zeta of Phi Delta Theta, originated in 1907 as the “Owl Club” which became Sigma Alpha in 1908 and was chartered in 1918. There had been only one house on the campus constructed for a fraternity,

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p. 269 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

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College, 9 for the Seminary, and 6 for the Academy while the second includes 42 for the College, or double the number for 1908, and 6 for the Seminary. The salary scale gradually rose so that by 1921 it ranged from $1,600 for instructors to $3,500 for professors. In the absence of a systematic plan for retirement or for pensions it was customary for men to retire on half salary at the age of seventy.

Four Colgate faculty members were among the charter members of the national American Association of University Professors which first met in 1915; they were Dean Crawshaw and Professors Brigham, Child, and Berry. Believing their number too small as a basis for interesting local discussion meetings they recommended colleagues for membership in the organization and founded the Colgate Chapter late in 1917 or early in 1918.

Experience with the elective system at Colgate, as at other colleges, had made clear that the freedom of choice brought abuses. Dean Crawshaw asserted that the lack of concentration and continuity failed to give a well-balanced education adapted to individual needs and advocated a curriculum organized to give a student “mastery over certain subjects” rather than a superficial sampling. Primarily because of his, efforts, the faculty in 1909 adopted a program of majors and minors and the next year Professor John Greene, as Associate Dean, assisted Dean Cranshaw in giving students personal advice in selecting their courses. To supplement the program, the faculty in 1912 instituted a distribution requirement which provided that a student must complete a minimum of work in two groups, or subject-matter areas, outside that in which his major was listed. The groups were: Languages and Literature, Mathematics and Natural Science, and Mental and Social Science.

During the period immediately after World War I, the faculty felt that scholastic standards at Colgate, in common with other colleges, were declining or being maintained with increasing difficulty. Probable causes for the situation were thought to be the general unrest of the time, the non-intellectual reasons which induced many young people to go to college, extracurricular activities, ease of access to nearby cities, and the practice of the public and many alumni of rating an institution in terms of athletic victories. The two senior honorary societies, also, were concerned and so informed the faculty. In 1920 a committee headed by Dean Crawshaw reported after careful investi-

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Taylor Lake and Willow Path (p. 248)

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Taylor Lake Peninsula, A1000-68, Folder 2, p248

inspiration which came to him from seeing Addison’s Walk at Oxford, his daughter recalled.*  In appreciation of his skill and toil, the Trustees named the lake for the builder whose memory it fittingly perpetuates.

In response to the growing and insistent needs of the physics, biology and geology departments, the President, as early as 1900, urged the Trustees to plan for a science building. It was not until five years later, however, that the $75,000, required before work could start, had been raised by subscription among alumni and friends and that ground could be broken. Student anticipation was especially keen, very much as if each regarded the building as a gift to, him personally. At the formal ceremonies on May 22nd the faculty and the entire student body were present; President Merrill shovelled the first sod and the seniors, followed by the other classes in ,order, pulled the plow which turned the first furrows. Professor Brigham, whose depart-

*Letter, Mrs. Florence Taylor Morris to Mrs. Everett Case, 4 June 1958.

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p. 241 – Colgate in the 1890’s

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circulars for the Geology Department and prepared the University’s first viewbook which was issued for distribution at Colgate’s prize-winning exhibit at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. The format of the Catalogues was modernized.

The trips of the musical and dramatic groups, too, reached a rather wide public and Patrons’ Day and Commencement Week brought large numbers of friends and graduates to the campus.

Colgate constituencies had cause for genuine satisfaction in the University’s vigorous condition and accomplishments as the ’90’s drew to a close. Though there had been no president for most of the decade, morale was good and James C. Colgate and members of the faculty had given wise leadership. Administrative reforms promoted efficiency and the Dodge Fund contributed to financial stability. Landscaping and a new gymnasium were changing. the appearance of the campus. Lively and progressive professors updated and improved the courses of study and enthusiastic students took pride in their fraternities, athletics and expanding extracurricular activities. There was ample justification for expecting continued prosperity as the University stood on the threshold of the new century.

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p. 233 – Colgate in the 1890’s

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University’s benefactors to establish a chair of Semitic languages and in September Schmidt resigned to accept appointment to it.

The extent of faculty involvement in their colleague’s case is difficult to determine. Of those in the Seminary, Jones, in addition to Burnham and Loyd, opposed him while Clarke assisted him and McGregory and Brigham, among his friends in the College, appear to have been active in his behalf. Little publicity seems to have been given to the case until after Schmidt resigned when a long account appeared in the New York Sun. Aside from the issue of academic freedom, valid objection can be made to the procedures employed to effect his dismissal. No definite charges were formally made; no investigation of allegations undertaken; nor was he given a hearing and an opportunity to defend himself. Had he possessed a less pugnacious spirit it is entirely possible that the Trustees could have parried outside criticism of his views and permitted him to continue teaching along with the liberal William Newton Clarke. He “was sent away because he was a troubler of the peace,” Dr. Loyd confessed some years later.* At Cornell he was to win great fame as scholar, author and teacher.

The combined enrollment of all three divisions of the University during the ’90’s fluctuated, with a high of 369 in 1891 and a low of 314 in 1898. The College enrollment reached its peak of 167 in 1895 and its low of 125 in 1898; likewise the Academy with 184 in 1891 and 111 in 1894 and the Seminary with 61 in 1892 and 45 in 1891. The number of graduates from the College entering the Seminary declined from 10 in 1890 to 6 in 1898.

The growing secularization of the University caused concern to the theological faculty who were mindful that its original purpose was to provide an educated clergy. The alumni, too, noted changed conditions and complained about the loss of “the old spirit” which they remembered from the days when a large percentage of the College students went into the ministry.

Student interest in religious matters continued, however, but expressed itself in new forms. In 1891 William H. Cossum, ’87, came to the campus as an agent for the YMCA-related Student Volunteer Movement and organized 57 students from all divisions of the University into the Students Volunteer Band for Foreign Missions. They met for prayer and the study of missions and carried their message and

*Copy, letter, Dr. Hinton S. Lloyd to Rev. E.P. Brigham, January 15, 1902.

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p. 226 – Colgate in the 1890’s

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ship to each other. Students and a majority of the faculty accepted the more flexible curriculum with enthusiasm. On the basis of a careful statistical study, Professor Brigham concluded in 1897 that the students had not abused it by taking a large number of easy courses and that they kept their programs in balance without heavy specialization in a few departments.

Disturbed by the extent of cribbing in examinations, the students of the College persuaded the faculty in 1895 to adopt an honor system which lasted for two years. Unsatisfactory implementation for its enforcement seems to explain abandoning the experiment. It was not to be revived until nearly a decade later when campus sentiment, in line with that in other colleges, once again favored its re-adoption.

Graduate study won only slight faculty endorsement, particularly in view of the limited library and laboratory facilities and the demands of the undergraduate program. The faculty, however, was at pains to encourage able students, especially those expecting to teach, or to go into science, to take advanced courses in the large universities.

The subject matter and instruction of the science departments seemed to be increasingly attractive and relevant to students. Ernest Fox Nichols, fresh from graduate study at Cornell, followed Dr. Osborn in the Physics Department from 1892 to 1898. A very able research scholar, he was responsible for purchasing several pieces of apparatus for the department and for introducing laboratory work which he felt to be of particular value for training in “accuracy of observation, the power of close and exact reasoning, and a discrimination in judging the weight which each cause shall have in making up the main result.” His successor, Clement D. Child, with a Ph.D. from Cornell, came to Colgate in 1898 to carryon in the Nichols pattern. Professor McGregory’s chemistry courses drew such large enrollments that he turned to promising young graduates for instructors or assistants, some of whom were to have eminent careers in the field. Among them were: Edward Ellery, ’90; John B. Ekeley, ’91; and Thomas J. Bryan, ’93.

Albert Perry Brigham, geologist and geographer, began his eminent career at Colgate as teacher and scholar in 1892 when he took over the Department of Geology and Natural History. As a boy in Perry, New York, he came under the decisive influence of “a nature-loving and nature-knowing preacher,” Walter R. Brooks, then pastor in that

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p. 221 – Colgate in the 1890’s

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President George W. Smith, 1895-97, Presidential Photographs (Artificial Collection), p221

public lectures for the recently established University Extension Program were all, no doubt, contributing factors toward his breakdown.

During the latter part of Smith’s, presidency, Professors Crawshaw and Brigham had jointly shared the duties of the office, amicably and harmoniously. From 1897 to 1899 Crawshaw was Acting President and in 1897 also he was made Dean, a position he was to fill with great distinction for 33 years. Though the double load from 1897 to 1899 was a heavy one, the generous support which James C. Colgate gave enabled him to carry the burden.

The Seminary, too, experienced administrative change. Professor William H. Maynard was made its first-Dean in 1891. He resigned in less than three months to be succeeded by the saintly and beloved Professor Hezekiah Harvey who served until his death in 1893. Professor Sylvester Burnham followed him from 1893 until 1913. In each instance these men continued their teaching while serving as Dean.

Reorganization in ‘the Treasurer’s Office included the resignation of William R. Rowlands in 1896 and the appointment of William M. West, President of the Hamilton bank, as his successor. Bookkeeping was modernized to provide closer supervision of accounts and, beginning in 1890, Treasurer’s Reports were published annually for distribution to the Trustees.

For all but two years during the period, 1890 to 1899, the accounts showed yearly deficits, often running to’ as much as $35,000. James B.

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p. 204 – Student Life, 1869-1890

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women’s dormitory. His death in 1890 terminated consideration of such radical departures. The Madisonensis editor in 1870 had heartily disapproved of coeducation though his successor six years later enthusiastically endorsed the idea.

Among the freshmen on the campus in the fall of 1876 there was a fourteen-year old who was to become Governor of New York, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice of the United States; he was Charles Evans Hughes. His classmate, Edward F. Waite, remembered him as no infant prodigy but as a hardworking, good all-around student. Shy at first, he proved to be companionable and “ready for whatever fun was going.” One of the young freshman’s closest friends was a sophomore, Albert P. Brigham, destined to become an eminent geographer and geologist, who was his neighbor in West Hall and a fellow member of Delta Upsilon. Hughes described him as a “real sort of father to me.” The boy’s studious habits did not keep him from ball playing, tramping over the hills, coasting, skating, and even snowballing. He himself told of joining his classmates in painting a cow red, white and blue and putting it in the chapel and in hoisting a stove to the roof of West Hall as a protest against the shortage of coal in the classrooms. Though at the end of his second year he transferred to Brown University to take courses not available at Madison, he cherished fond memories of his friendships and instruction on the Hill.

In the next decade there was another undergraduate whose subsequent career makes his campus years of particular interest-James C. Colgate, Class of 1884. Contrary to his inclinations but in accord with the wishes of his father, James B. Colgate, he entered Madison rather than Yale where his cousins, the sons of Samuel Colgate, enrolled. Furthermore, at his father’s insistence, he lived in Dr. Dodge’s home, an arrangement which neither he nor the President liked. They, nevertheless, worked out a satisfactory modus vivendi– the boy was to have his freedom to come and go as he pleased and in turn, agreed not to leak confidential information. Despite his initial reservations, he maintained in later years that he had acquired a good education, not only in the classroom and study but also in rubbing shoulders with boys less privileged than he. His fellow students found him very friendly and ready to take part in sports and other activities. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, first editor of the yearbook, the Salmagundi, and a leader in the YMCA. He enjoyed hiking over the

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