Tag Archives: Curriculum

Vincent M. Barnett Jr. becomes president (p. 333)

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Chapter XVI -THE BARNETT PERIOD, 1962-1969

If the reference to Josiah Quincy’s reluctance to cover in detail the history of Harvard for the half century prior to the date of publication, on the ground that he lacked proper perspective, had relevance for the Case administration in the previous chapter, it is especially pertinent for the last seven years which round out Colgate’s century and a half. The University’s historian of the future may well evaluate this period as one which saw the most rapid and far-reaching changes of any of the institution’s entire development. For the present, there remains the task of attempting to record some of the high points.

To serve as Acting President until a successor to Dr. Case could be found, the Trustees, in June 1962, selected James A. Storing, Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Political Science. His wide experience and familiarity with the Colgate scene eased the transition from the old to the new regime. Vincent M. Barnett, Jr., the President-Elect, took up the duties of office in February, 1963, and was inaugurated the following April. A graduate of the University of California, he had a Ph.D. in government at Harvard and had been a member of the Williams College faculty since 1939 where he was Professor of Political Science and Chairman of the Department.

The first major change was the reorganization of the curriculum and calendar. The proposals which the faculty had studied extensively prior to Dr. Barnett’s arrival were adopted in the spring of 1963 for introduction in 1964-65. They provided that students would normally enroll for four courses rather than five as had been customary; the regular term was shortened from 16 to 14 weeks-that for the fall beginning in early September and ending in December and that for the spring starting in February and ending in May-and incorporated

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p. 300 – The Cutten Period, 1922-1942

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Club of Colgate University “to furnish opportunities for social and literary association among its members.”

Faculty meetings at the outset of the Cutten administration were usually held once a month but presidential impatience with tedious professorial discussion led to scheduling them only three times a year-at the opening of the fall and spring semesters and in May or early June. Well-chosen committees were empowered to take action on many matters which would normally have come before the faculty and, from the late ’20’s on, their chairmen and the department heads met Sunday evenings at the President’s House. Meanwhile, the meetings of the Colgate Chapter of the American Association of University Professors became a substitute for faculty meetings and a free forum for airing opinions on campus affairs, especially in the late 1930’s when there was considerable dissatisfaction over the relationship of faculty, administration, and trustees in the operation of the University. Academic freedom or untrammeled classroom discussion the President staunchly supported.

The extensive curricular reorganization and innovation of the Cutten period may be traced to the Faculty Committee on Scholastic Standards, under Professor Greene’s chairmanship, which had been active prior to 1922 and which had been particularly concerned with freshman failures. Well-versed in literature on the problem as seen at other colleges, they recommended a special freshman course taught by a number of professors which was instituted in 1923. The first semester, called “Orientation,” covered such topics as: the University’s history, tradition and ideals; the meaning of college; the value of extracurricular activities; religion in the life of a student and how to study. The second, “The World of Nature and Man”, was an introduction to the physical, biological and social sciences. With the inauguration of the new surveys in philosophy and religion and in the biological sciences in 1928 and 1929, to be discussed later, and the promise of two more in the physical and social sciences, the course lost some of its usefulness and was abandoned. Meanwhile, in 1924, a special orientation program: in advance of registration had been established for a portion of the entering class, and six years later it became a project which the YMCA sponsored at nearby Lake Moraine. After 1937, however, all freshmen were required to attend a week of orientation on the campus.

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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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p. 251 – The Merrill Presidency, 1899-1908

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Education Society Trustees, who were especially concerned over the poor furnace system of Eaton Hall, made it possible. In 1907 a stone power house with a five-boiler capacity was constructed to the south of Whitnall Field; two boilers installed; and a pipe-line to Eaton Hall laid. As occasion arose the main could be extended to the other buildings on the campus.

The size of the faculty grew from 29 in 1899 to 38 in 1908, the biggest change being in the College where the number increased from 16 to 21; in the Academy it rose from 6 to 10 while the figure remained at 7 in the Seminary. By 1908 the average salary in the College and Academy had reached slightly more than $1,700 and in the Seminary approximately $2,000, levels which the President felt were much too low.

During the Merrill period the chief curricular change was a revision of the Sophomore program in 1903 so that, except for a public speaking course, it consisted of electives chosen from three well-defined areas. Also, the Ph.B. was abolished and the philosophical and classical courses were amalgamated into a new arts course leading to the A.B. degree. The faculty took this action by nearly unanimous vote with the President and Professor Andrews alone opposing the move because it involved dropping Greek as a requirement for entering the arts course. Nevertheless, Dr. Merrill reluctantly accepted the change as in line with current practices of American colleges. Colgate now granted two degrees-A.B. and B.S.

The rapidly growing interest in science, as rising enrollments in science courses and the construction of Lathrop Hall and the Chemistry Building addition indicated, gave pause to Dean Crawshaw in 1906. He acknowledged, in his report to the President, that the facilities had been sorely needed but he called for equal emphasis and opportunity for the humanities as essential for liberal education which was the University’s primary purpose. There was no more staunch supporter of the Dean’s position than the President himself who had repeatedly stressed the importance of the humanities both in terms of course offerings and non-classroom activities, such as concerts and lectures, and who enthusiastically encouraged the expansion of the University’s art collection of plaster busts. and reproductions of classical sculpture housed in the Library.

Aside from the science courses, perhaps those in public speaking

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p. 225 – Colgate in the 1890’s

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mained the fundamental objective but a broader approach can be detected in James C. Colgate’s remarks at the dedication of the Library in 1891. He said:

It always seems to me to be a lack of faith rather than indication of reverence when people are afraid to have their beliefs examined in the broad light of day. A university should be a source of light. While we make no boast yet we believe that the principles for which this university stands . . . need never fear the white light of keenest criticism.

Five years later he explained to students that the chief aim of a college course was “culture” which he defined as a “passion for knowledge”combined with the ability to use knowledge intelligently. The educated man should be able “to reason rightly, to judge correctly, to perceive the beautiful and recognize the true.” In making his point, however, he did not overlook morality as the source for proper conduct and for sound religion. The college provided conditions congenial for the growth of culture, he asserted, but the responsibility for its attainment rested with the individual student. His advice to those unable to benefit from a college experience was, “Go to work, or, if you must go to college, go anywhere but here.”

Mr. Colgate’s statements suggest to some degree the extensive re-examination and revision which the faculty, spurred on by the younger members such as Terry and Brigham, were ‘giving to the entire educational structure. Fewer freshmen were admitted with conditional credits for uncompleted work and admission requirements in the ancient languages were lowered. The grading system and absence regulations were revised. The major changes, however, were to be found in the reduction of the amount of Greek and Latin required and the expansion of elective choices. From 1890 to 1893 there were five courses of study; that for the Bachelor of Arts degree followed the traditional pattern in stressing Greek and Latin; the two courses for the Bachelor of Philosophy gave a choice of Greek or Latin and required French and German; of the two for the Bachelor of Science one required Latin and German and one only German. In 1893 the five courses of study were consolidated into three-A.B., Ph.B., and B.S. with the requirements substantially unchanged except that the candidates for the last took French and German.

After 1896 all the work of the senior year was elective. The student was encouraged, however, to select courses which had some relation-

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Introduction of electives (p. 189)

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fervent and healthful piety is directly encouraged.”

Dean Andrews maintained in 1872 that every teacher, no matter what his subject or how great his erudition, should communicate to his class morality and ethical judgments. At the Convocation of the University of the State of New York in 1886, President Dodge, in defending the philosophy of liberal education versus the utilitarian approach, held that the true test of a college subject was not whether it would help one make money but whether it would develop manhood. Especially valuable were the languages, literature, and civilization of the Greeks and Romans. He would not exclude other subjects,however, and stressed the importance of cross-fertilization for increasing knowledge. Fearful perhaps of a drift from the old moorings, James B. Colgate, in 1889, at the cornerstone-laying for the Library, took occasion to reiterate his view that “When intellectual distinction and not Christian character becomes the highest object to be obtained, Universities become, by their stimulus to worldly ambition, centers of pride and error.”

To give flexibility to the curriculum, the faculty had from time to time arranged for abridged courses of study for older students who wanted to begin their preaching careers with the minimum preparation. In the 1850’s a shorter “Scientific Course”-from which Greek and Latin were omitted-was instituted. Relatively few students availed themselves of this short-cut for which a Bachelor of Philosophy degree was granted and it was eliminated in 1885.

The revolutionary curriculum change was, of course, the introduction of electives. Stimulated by President Eliot’s innovations at Harvard which caught the imagination of the younger faculty and students, it encountered vigorous opposition, especially from the professors of the classics and mathematics. Slowly, however, the wave of the future engulfed them and in 1885 a radically revised curriculum emerged which provided, in addition to the old Classical Course, three different Scientific Courses, one which included only Greek; a second, only Latin; and a third which omitted both Greek and Latin. Students in the Classical Course were candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree and those in the other three for the Bachelor of Science. Within each course, electives were offered to juniors and seniors. Professor William S. Crawshaw, who as a young instructor had attended the heated discussions, commented years later in his autobiography, My

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p. 157 – Recovery and expansion, 1850-1869

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only for brief periods. Salaries in 1850 ranged from $600 to $800, but by 1869 they had reached $1,500 for professors and $2,000 and the use of his house for the President.

The traditional classical curriculum of the 1830’s and ’40’s underwent few changes. The classes in intellectual and moral philosophy, political economy, and evidences of Christianity continued to occupy a prominent place in the upper-class program. Taught for the most part by Presidents Eaton, Taylor and Dodge, they played a vital role in shaping student thinking in the fields now known as psychology, ethics, government, economics, and religion. Like similar courses in the curricula of other American colleges, they were designed to provide practical standards for deciding moral issues. Instruction was focused on the ideas of the “common sense” Scottish philosophers and the Englishmen, William Paley and Joseph Butler, plus the teachings of the Bible. Among the textbooks most often used were Francis Way­land’s Moral Science and Political Economy, Thomas C. Upham and Joseph Havens’s works on mental philosophy, and Butler’s Analogy.

In related courses under Professor Beebee, juniors studied Richard Whatley’s Logic and Lord Kames’s Criticism, and sophomores, Whatley’s Rhetoric; all three texts had been in use since the 1840’s. Professor Lewis introduced Henry Copee’s Logic and Karl W. F. von Schlegel’s History of Literature. To supplement regular classroom instruction, he required all students of the College to attend special exercises in the chapel once a week at which they read their essays and gave original orations. The response to his drill was enthusiastic and its effect was soon evident in the high quality of the performances at the literary societies’ public exhibitions.

Various members of the faculty, as the need arose, gave private lessons in French and German in addition to their regular duties, until qualified students relieved them of the burden in the middle ’50’s. Jean F. P. Wehrung, a native of Strasbourg, France, who was a student in the Academic Department, gave instruction in German, and Auguste Armagnac, of Port au Prince, Haiti, also in the academic department, instruction in French. In 1855, Carroll E. I. Dudley, a freshman with a flair for language, inaugurated the teaching of Spanish which he seems to have learned while residing-in the Southwest with a missionary uncle. Modern language instruction remained a sideline, however, until Professor Knapp’s appointment when the faculty prescribed

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p. 73 – The expanded program, 1833-1846

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Address. When the Board chose a professor, however, they probably knew beforehand enough about his ideas and had’ enough confidence in his character to make such procedure superfluous.

The new appointees in their inaugural addresses at the time of the Annual Meeting explained the importance of their fields of instruction to the Education Society members and thus indirectly to the denomination. Objections to education for ministers had begun to wane among the Baptists, but many were still lukewarm and gave grudgingly to the Institution. Dr. Kendrick tried to rouse them repeatedly in the Annual Reports and in the columns of the Baptist Register where he had the sympathetic assistance of editor Alexander M. Beebee and professors Maginnis and Eaton.

The faculty reported with pride to the Society in 1834 that the wisdom of expanding the course of college instruction to the full four years had been borne out by the first year’s experience. The attendant disorganization had been slight and the students responded enthusiastically to the changes which placed the Seminary “by the side of kindred institutions.” Two years” study in the preparatory department, four in ‘the collegiate, and two in the theological, the faculty was convinced, provided adequate training for young men going into the ministry. For those whose age or other circumstances made so extensive a preparation impossible, there was the four-year “English course” which omitted the classics and Hebrew but included specified work in all departments.

A few young men who were anxious to begin preaching or get into the missionary field as soon as possible chafed at the delay the lengthened course imposed. The majority, however, seem to have been glad to take advantage of their opportunities, which, it should be remembered, had been widened by demand of the students themselves. The faculty, naturally, discouraged the more impatient ones who wanted to leave before completing the course, and William Dean of the Class of 1833 advised all who planned to join him in missionary work in Siam not to cut short their studies but to learn all they could. The faculty believed that satisfactory work required two hours of study for each hour of class. Usually a student took three subjects a term with daily recitations in each. The academic year consisted of three terms-winter, spring and summer.

Language study, the classics, Hebrew, and English made up the

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p. 39 – Teaching and learning, 1820-1833

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Chapter III – TEACHING AND LEARNING 1820-1833

Adequate training for ministers, English and American Baptist lead­ers had insisted, must include a “liberal as well as a theological education.” The Rev. John Ryland, President of the Baptist college at Bristol, England, recommended as background the study of science, history, modern and ancient languages, the “heathen” (classical) writers, and English. John Stanford of New York and William Staughton of Philadelphia agreed with him and carried out his ideas in their instruction of prospective young preachers who had come to live in their parsonages. The Board of the Triennial Convention, too, gave its assent to liberal education as preparation for a theological course.

Because Baptists throughout New York State generally were several steps behind the leaders with regard to educational ideas and because the Seminary at Hamilton depended solely on them for its support, The Institution had to walk cautiously. Until 1829 only a three-year regular course was provided. As the Trustees stated in 1835:

in its infancy, with little experience and less means, it was unable to go far in opening the fountains of science and theology, and in giving to an unexpected number of young men, all that mental culture … desirable. Nor, indeed, were many . . . prepared for anything more than a limited course.*

The first-year class concentrated on Latin and Greek though they gave some attention to English grammar and arithmetic. The second- year class continued Greek, but branched out into geography, natural philosophy, astronomy, logic, rhetoric, and, by 1827, mathematics. The third-year class devoted their whole time to moral philosophy and theology, professional subjects which fittingly climaxed the course.

* Baptist Education Society, Annual Report, 1835, 6.

 

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