The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-24

der the terms of the Morrill, act TIL
policy of CornelPs manag gers has beef
to invest her funds in municipal bond;
and western farm mortgages. One o
the curiosities of college financiering i
the fact that the good times of the pas
two years has injured the university
The farmers Of Kansas and other west
ern states have paid their per cen
mortgages instead of renewing them
and the university was compelled to re-
invest at a much lower rate of interest
Many of the colleges own city real es
tate, having received gifts in that form
but the majority OF college endoWments
are in bonds of one sort or another
The largest real estate owner OF all the
colleges is the University of Texas
which holds title to more than 2.000 OOC
acres of land and should some day be
one of the richest institutions in the
country.
Tremendous Organization.
The actual management of univer-
/ Slty'S business affairs is conducted
much like that of town or city. At
the beginning of the year an estimate
OF the probable income is made. From
this the expenses of the business man
agement are first deducted, leaving
about 80 per cent for instruction and
administration.
1 GSAC NCA TAIN llACQ "
come out of the latter sum, such as the
salaries of professors, the repair and
care of buildings, fuel, lighting and in
Surance and the payment of scholar
ships and prizes. The remainder is
distributed among different depart
ments. just as a board of apportion-
ment does in the case of q city.
| All this is done by committee of
the board of trustees, and the annual
n hi t.
casion of fight between the different
departments of the university, each
one of which wants about twice what
can be actually allowed it. This con-
slant pressure from within on the part
of the institutions own officers, and
from without on the part OF students
seeking admission, makes every uni
versity live up to its full income, and
keeps it in a condition of poverty. no
matter how great it's wealth may be-
come. Thus the constant cry for more
FUNDS that goes up from almost every
institution of higher learning in the
country is not ill-founded. There is
probably no college of the first rank in
the country that could not use twice
the wealth it now possesses to advan-
tage.
Their wealth is growing rapidly.
During the past year American col
leges and universities have received
S2o,OO0,000 in benefactions of one kind
and another from individuals. The
prlncely nature of some of these gifts.
especially of Mrs Leland Stanfocd's
donation of $10,OOo.O0O to the institu-
ton named for her son, has removed
the cry that too much of the money
given Tor philanthropic purposes in this
country goes to great universities, and
tnat 1t is creating an ''aristocracy Of
learning On the other hand. the man
ayers of these institutions say that the
greater the amount of funds at their
disposal, the more free scholarships
and prizes they can found, the greater
VIII be the number of poor, but deserv-
Ing, youth who can receive the advan-
tages of college education. If the
growing number of students annIvino-
to them for admission are to he re
ce1Ved, 20,0O0.000 per year is none too
large sum for private philanthropy
to bestow toward keeping up the equip
ment OF the colleges and their present
grade of instruction.
While large part of the business
management Of university is directed
py the BOARD OF trustees, the growth in
SIZE ana wealth of our greatest insti-
buttons has made it more and more no
cessary that their presidents shall he
men OF business ability as well as of
broad scholarship. 1t is generally adj
nltted nowadays that the ability To
OBTAIN and successfully administer
large sums for the benefit of the col
!ege is more important qualification
TOT the presidency than an intimate
hnoWleuge OF Greek roots or Hebraic
history. While scholarship is not sac
rlnced IN the case of the modern COL
lege president, business ability is also
demanded. If it comes to a question
between the two, business ability is
likely to have the preference.
Business Men as College Presidents.
Columbia led the way in this move
ment by putting Seth Low at the head
Ui us aHalrs. a generation ago a. man
i al Mr. Low, who had made his career
IN business, never would have been
lhought of for such position. Presi-
gents Schurman of Cornell, Angel of
Michigan, Harper of Chicago. and Tor
Gan OF Leland Stanford were ali COL
lege professors before being appointed
10 their present positions But they
nad all proved that they were success
tul administrators, as is shown by the
Iact that they have all been called upoa
to fill important governmental posi- |
tlons. The appointment of President |
Hadley to be president of Yale is under |
STOOD 10 be due to the belief that that |
has suffered from a lack of |
business enterprise and needs a clever |
business man to direct its affairs.
The hole tendency OF the present |
time is. without detracting from the |
educatlonal work of the university, to /
make it more and more a business ur- |
dertaking, conducted on strict business /
principles, and arriving at its results |
by business methods.
Doing the Office Work.
The actual direction Of a universities |
business affairs is usually in the hands |
OF treasurer, whose duties are much /
the same as those of a bank presi- !
dent. He investigates proposed invest
ments and has the general oversight of |
all the financial activities of the insti- |
tuition. These activities are directly in I
charge OF separate bureaus or depart /
ments. One of these. in the case OF the
larger universities employing half a
dozen clerks, looks after the collection |
Of tuition and other fees from stu
dents. Another and larger force of
clerks looks after the renting of rooms
in the college dormitories, and, in cases
where a commons is maintained, the
supply of food to the college dining
rooms. AS many as loo men are en-
ployed in this branch of the business
office of a university like Harvard.
Still q third department is that which
looks after the universityss investments
and the collection of it's income from
these investments. In institutions like |
Cornell, which are large owners of
real estate, this may be the largest and
most important department of all. Cor
hell, for example. has force of farm
oan inspectors, woodsmen and map
and maintains a land office at
Eau Claire, Wis, to look after its west