Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-06-25
In and About the State
UNIVERSITIES GREAT GROWTH.

Wednesday marks the completion of
the first five years of the presidency
of Dr. Charles r. Van Hise at the Uni
versity of Wisconsin. A review of
this period shows a most remarkable
growth and development of the insti
tuition. Attendance has increased
nearly 40 per cent, the legislative ap-
preparation has been larger than be-
force, and seven new buildings have
beeen added In the college of letters
and science course, in chemistry,
home economics and journalism and
training of teachers have been added
In the college of engineering courses
in chemical and mining engineering
have been introduced, and special five
and six year courses have been ar
ranged. In the college of agriculture
middle tWo-year course has been
provided. A medical college has
been organized, with two years of work.
Five years ago the attendance was
1870. This year it is 4,013, an increase
of LAB, or 40 per cent. The output
of the university, as represented by
the number of students granted de-
grees has grown from 373 to 555 this
year. The number Of bachelor de-
grees has increased from 344 to 467;
the number of masters degrees from
Is to II, and the number of doctors
degrees from to H. In five years
the graduate students have nearly
doubled their number, having in
creased from 119 to 232, and in the
summer session from 102 to 1877. This
year SO advanced degrees have been
granted, nearly four times as many
as five years ago. In addition to
those regularly in attendance over
1000 students have registered for cor
respondence courses thus far this
year. The director of university ex-
tension, DR.. Reber, estimates that dur
ing the year at least 1000 people in
the state have been reached in one
way or another by the extension di-
vision This estimate does not take
into account the extension work of
the professors of the college of agri-
culture, through which thousands of
people have been instructed, nor the
farmers Institutes which during the
year have been attended by more than
$4,000 people.
This growth has been rendered pos
sible through the liberality of the
state, President Van Hise pointed out,
the legislature of which in 1905 sub
stituted for the inadequate specific ap-
preparations for support a two-seV-
enths of mill tax, and provided a
permanent improvement fund of $780,
900 a year for three years. This leg
islation was further supplemented in
1907 by special Appropriation for
university extension by an additional
permanent improvement fund for stu
dent buildings of 100000 year for a
period of years, and by the extension
for two years of the 100000 fund.
During the past five years practi-
cally eight new buildings have been
provided-the new north wing of
University hall, which nearly doubles
the capacity of that building; the
chemical laboratory, the hydraulic
laboratory, the agronomy building,
the farm engineering building, the
administration building and the partly
completed central heating plant
eff the increase of students at the
university continues for the next thir-
ty years as for the past five years,
there will be here at the end, of that
time more than 10000 Students" pre-
dicted President Van Hise in review
ing the recent growth. THAT this
basis of computation is reasonable is
shown by the fact that the large in
crease for the past five years has eX-
ceeded that of the previous five years,
great as was this earlier growth In
1878, ten years ago, the number of
the students in the university was ex-
actly 1900 Thus, during a decade,
the attendance has more than dou-
bled, for this year there were 4,013.
Surely, in planning Tor the future con-
structional development of the uni
versity on the basis of 10000 students,
the regents and educational officers
are conservative rather than other.
wise w.