Twenty Years Of Great University Achievement

Twenty Years Of Great University Achievement

TEN years ago when President Alexander G. Ruthven completed his first decade as executive head of the University the occasion was marked by a history-making testimonial dinner in Yost Field House. A feature of that dinner was a pageant in which an astonishing array of models of new buildings erected in the ten-year period paraded before the president. In it, too, scores of groups representing Campus activities paid him tribute for the achievements of his administration.

That testimonial and those tributes were richly deserved in 1939. The accomplishments of the ten years were great. They were part of an outstanding Decade of Progress. Even more fitting would be a like testimonial and like tributes today at the end of the second Decade of Progress, a decade still greater in its accomplishments than the first.

The twenty years embrace one-fifth of a Century loaded with achievements—achievements beyond the dreams of, the revered Dr. James Burill Angell, whose administration of 38 years was the only one longer than or as long as that of Dr. Ruthven.

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WHEN Dr. Ruthven became president in 1929, the University had a resident student body of 10,200. At the end of the First Decade this had grown close to one-third larger, to 13,000. Now at the end of the Second Decade it is 20,618 resident students, more than double the number that even in 1929 seemed to crowd the Campus, the class rooms, and the housing accommodations. That more than 20,000 now seems an enrollment that may be counted on in the future as “normal” not as a temporary after-the-war bulge. Wisely the administration has made advance preparations to serve it.

The physical plant has grown as has the student body.

In 1929 the plant inventory was $35,200,000. In the First Decade it grew to $50,400,000. In the Second Decade it advanced to above $80,000,000, figured largely at pre-war costs. This includes teaching facilities, lands, buildings, and equipment.

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THE Campus has been transformed in the Twenty Years. Notable are the new Administration Building on State St., the School of Business Administration, the addition to the Chemistry Building, the great residence halls for women, the huge East and West Quadrangles, for men, the University Terrace apartments, the University Hospital annexes, the Veterans Center, and various other structures.

The student, the alumnus, the professor who knew the Campus well back in 1929, now needs a guiding map to find his way around.

The faculty, too, has grown. Its caliber has been kept high.

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THERE have been major administrative changes to meet the new and developing conditions. One of President Ruthven’s first steps back in 1929 was to establish what is known as a corporation type of organization, in which administrative responsibilities—educational, business, and public relations—were divided among chief executives. Faculty members were given greater participation in the conduct of the University, operating through committees. Further modifications and advancements in administration have been made from time to time. Among these was the appointment of a fulltime provost to supervise the educational work of the University.

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WHAT has been accomplished has been achieved in the face of stupendous handicaps and obstacles imposed by terrific upheavals in the lives of Michigan, of the nation, and of the world. Within a few weeks after the inaugural of President Ruthven came the beginning of the Depression in the United States—following worldwide economic slumps. And in the Second Decade came World War II.

The war made tremendous demands upon the Administration. First came the departure of students to join the fighting forces. Then came the influx of other students for war training. And there came, too, requests from the government for special courses and for research work. And after the war came the flood of GI students.

The University has had to meet new situation after new situation, crisis after crisis and it has met them wisely and competently.

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NOW it faces fresh tasks of first magnitude. Greatest of these is its research looking toward the utilization of atomic energy for peacetime purposes. The aim is to turn this newly developed force into a helpful servant of humanity, not a destroying agent. Already the University is at work in many departments, seeking to adapt nuclear energy to medical needs, to industrial needs, to other needs.

And when the Phoenix Project—that great living Memorial to those connected with the University who gave their lives in World War II—reaches fruition the University promises to become a world leader in developing atomic energy into a blessing for mankind rather than a curse. Here, too, the administration has shown its foresight and its leadership.

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THE University has made great strides in the two decades under President Ruthven. It is entitled to the congratulations and the thanks of the commonwealth of Michigan to which it belongs. And like congratulations and thanks go to President Ruthven. His record of achievement will constitute a brilliant chapter in the History of the University.