Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1911-12-12
Hodges Inauguration At University.

extension work and a better organiza
ation of its forces We have every rea,
son; To- hope that agricultural educa,
ton viii be as IT ought TO be, a lead.
ing feature. of our university's work.
Probably in no other way can the uni
versity serve so many of its students
The extension schools enable the uni
versity to go to those who can not
come to it, and to demonstrate its
ability to serve the people
Il Extension work is no longer an ex
II pertinent, but has become well-recog
nized division of state university eff
4 fort Agriculture affords for it the
most inviting and promising field. In
/ every county in the state there are
men making earnest effort, from the
4 light that they have, to do up-todate
| intelligent work upon their farms. BY
such as these the extension schools
! with their trained instructors outlin
ing and exemplifying agricultural
/ methods that have stood the test OF
| practical application are most cordial
i ly welcomed. Here is an open door
| for service to the people of the state
/ Shall the university enter?
by small appropriation for one
] phase of extension the last legislature
| gave approval to the idea. May we
j not expect the next one to make pro
] vision liberal enough to enable us to
carry the work of the extension
schools along all lines into any
/. county,
Concerning the future development
1 of the university, he said, in part:
I'VE should have definite program
of development, and that program
! should lead us rather to develop the
fields in which We are now working
than to seek to increase the area of
our efforts. It will be better for us
4 not to try to do anything, but to push
on with the lines of work that we have
undertaken, beginning only such new
activities as are called for by definite
demand of our constituency.
President Hodges made strong ap-
peal for the establishment of grad
uate school in the university for re-
! search work and investigation. He
said:
THE university in making better
provision for such advanced work
would not only raise it's rank among
universities, but would do better
! thing-open the door of opportunity to
many who long to become scientists
ard scholars
"A university must have great teach
ers; that is, all-important But these
teachers must also be great scholars.
great thinkers, original investigators.
They must be men who can not only
present to their students in an attrac-
tive way something of the great body
of truth already discovered and ac-
cepted, but men who can bring into
their work that stimulus to which
there is no other stimulus comparable,
the joy of a new discovery of value to
their fellowmen.
Grant that the university may be
come center from which shall spring
to every section of the state the slim
illus of real, intellectual efforts.
The warm sympathy that President
Hodges has with student life was
evinced in the close of his address,
/ which shows his clear insighh into
modern educational problems;
Il have had much TODD with college
students in my life and have seen
great many of them with whom l have
j not had so much to do. In entire
i ca1mness of mind and weighing my
words carefully want to express my
Il opinion that there could not be
4 brought together an equal number OF
young men from any other vocation
or employment in which young people
of that age may be found in which
that standard of general behavior, OF
individual morality and of personal
character would be so high.
Some timid souls also have feared
or imagined sort of danger to the
morals of young men who come to the
university because it is, as they have
| characterized it, goddess This is a
great and; | may say, objectionable
mistake. Because an educational in
therefore can not devote itself partic-
ularly to the teaching of any form Of
religion, it does not follow that it
must be goddess. Religion is not a
thing merely of opinions and beliefs,
but it is vitality a question of life.
Irreligious men can very rarely meas
ure UP to the standard of efficient
service in educational work. The
spirit of a man to be really forceful
should be vitalized and energized by
the religious impulse, and few men
without this vitalizing and energizing
impulse have great power. For this
reason, If no other, no state institu'
ton of learning is likely to become
goddess. | need not take time to state
how large an influence is now exerted
by the positive efforts of the Young
Mems Christian association in the uni
versity, the active interest of local
pastors and their congregations, and
best of all, by the splendid example Of
righteous lives of Christian men and
| women in our faeulty-a faculty, an
glad to say, that contains as large q
proportion of men and women en-
] gagged in active religious work as car
be shown by the average of the de
nominational colleges.
A good word was said for the time
honored college yells. After dra
!! matte portrayal of the student bod.
3 passing through the streets at nigh
q with their yells for West Virginia,
4 he asked:
ssWhat is this? Is it spirit of dis
q order, of lawlessness, of defiance o
= rebellion? No! A thousand times
q No. How should we characterize it
4 | know nothing better by which t