The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-07-31

the central institution, the nrst OF Wnion - ~,
completed in lS41 and the support OF the
branches absorbed the whole of it, and 1t was
not until portion was Withdrawn from I9 sn9
latter, in 1872 that additional professors coulu
be appointed, and the regular oolegiate uePa Ps.
ment thrown open for the admission oi s'u
dents. In the year 1884, the ne nsSsun Iata ~
length got under way, with 10 students IN
attendance in addition TO large numoer IN
the preparatory department. The last, now
ever, was soon after wisely abandoned. In
l944-4b, the students numbered "a, and the
first class, Of IL members, was graduated
Until 1852 the University was without an ex-
ecutive officer, the duties being performed by
the members of the Faculty in turn. During
this period its progress was far from flattering,
and gave but little promise of the brilliant
future. The greatest number of students was
in 1S46-47, When there were SO in attend
ance, and IL in the graduating class.
The class of 1S49, however, rose to %,
although the whole number of students fell
to II. In 1850 the Medical Department was
established, with 95 students in attendance;
and in 1851 the degree of "Doctor of Medi-
cine" was conferred upon graduates. In
1852 the number of students in this depart
ment had increased to 159, and the lumber of
graduates to q. Such were the beginnings
of what is now the largest school of medicine
in the United States.
Previous to 1851, the Regents had been ap-
pointed by the Governor of the State, subject
to the confirmation of the Senate. But in the
amended Constitution of this year, the organi-
cation of the University was made part OF
the fundamental law Of the State, and it was
provided that the Regents should henoeforth
be elected by the people, each Senatorial dis
trict in the State being entitled to one member
of the Board who was to remain in Office for
six years. This provision remains unchanged
to this day, with the exception that, by an
amendment to the Constitution adopted in
1862, the number of Regents is restricted
to eight, all of whom are elected at large
for eight years, the terms of office of two of
them expiring every alternate year. 1t was
Immediately after the first of the above modif-
cations in the government of the institution
had gone into effect, that the Regents, upon
careful deliberation, filled the Office of Chan
cellor by the election of the Rev. Henry P.
Tappan, D. D., LII. D., who entered upon the
discharge of his duties in December, 1852.
DR.. Tappan is an eminent divine of the
Presbyterian Church, and was we'll qualified
for the position, having devoted himself for
years with great earnestness to the study of
University education in all its bearings and
requirements. He had, moreover, acquired
considerable reputation, abroad as well as at
home, by his metaphysical writings and had
for some years held a Professorship in the
University of the city of New York. From
his accession to the Chancellorship OF the
Regents in 1868, he devoted himself with un-
tiring zeal to the task of building up this seat
of learning in the West; and so great was his
success that in the course of these ten years he
raised the institution from the lowest rank of
Western Colleges to the third position in the
country in point of numbers. At an early
| period in his administration difficulties oc-
| Cured between him and the Board of Re-
gents, some of the Professors taking sides
with the latter. The dispute eliminated in
| the summer of 1868, when the Board, Just as
| their term of Office was expiring by limitation
| of the Constitution, relieved DR.. Tappan from
| the ChancelloTship, and elected in his place
the Rev. Erastus o. Haven, ID. D., LII. D., a
popular New England divine, of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. DR.. Haven had been con-
nected with the University as a Professor from
| 1852 to 1856, and had then been held in high
estimation by all who came in contact with
him. If he had been made Chancellor under
any ordinary circumstances, it is probable that
his former popularity would have rendered the
task before him comparatively easy. But the
removalo of DR.. Tappan raised storm through
out the State, and, in fact, throughout the
whole Northwest, for the students and their
friends were to be found in almost every town
in that section of the country. Meetings were
held by them on all sides, and rem0nstrances
against DIR. Tappans removal and petitions
for his restoration poured in upon the new
Board OF Regents on their accession TO ONCE III
January, 1864. In the meantime DR.. Haven
had entered upon the discharge of his duties,
finding them anything but pleasant for the
first year or two The new Regents however
made no change in the management of the
University, and all the students who had en-
tered the different departments during the ad
2 ministration of Dr. Tappan having now com
l pleted their courses, the new regime encoun
ters less opposition and is more efficient thar
it was at first. The prosperity of the Uni
versity, happily, was not interfered with b.
the change, as during the four years of DR.
, HaYen's term of Office the number of student
: has risen from 654 to 1855.
II In the fall of 1859, the Law Department
9 was fully organized, the students numbering
, 90 the first year, and the graduating class G
I 1860 containing 81 members. Within tn
brief period of eight years, this has becom
Q the largest law school in the country, tn
q number of students in attendance during 1856
u ST being 1876, of whom l53 were in the senio
) or graduating class. The wonderful increas
y in the number of students in the various dc
= partments is shown in the following table,
: Year; Academtc. Medical. LalO. T0ya
% l646-44 .....'.'...." ~ ".
n l64O-4I I.......,.,.., W %.
s 1653-64 64.........,... 93 l6l . "a
u 1854 55..........l55 1873 q. q
u l656-67 -.,,,...,...3l2 1877 ." a
n 1859 6O........,...26S l67 92 B.
n n 1862 68.,......,a..,2GS 252 1856 81
= 1901 -oO'..''....Zl0 Az 1Oo "
| 1870 6b......,..,...3O4 467 80 IL
l. 1866 67.............S35 525 395 10
Of The number of students in attendance du
i ing the past two years has been as fOllows:-