The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1912-04-18
UNIVERSITY 1uP-HEAvY.

I ~ 10 Sdudliy OIuC, Nv "S, ohoo eilC
state university is itself top-heavy.
Then he continues:
Recently the president of a west
ern state university in a public address
spoke of the graduate school as consti-
tuting the genuine university. Our
own state institution is more fully COM
mitted to the theory of looking after
the interests of the one in 10 or Is who
already have college diploma than is
any other state institution with which
| am acquainted. Such procedure is
justifiable only on the basis that the
relatively few students who have COM
pleted the four years of college work
and are enrolled in the university for
graduate studies are of more import
ance than the many who are in the
freshman, sophomore, junior and SEN
Tor classes. | do not believe such a
position can be maintained by argu-
ment for moment among intelligent
people outside college walls. The
mere statement of the conditions is
sufficient refutation of the most elabor-
ate and wordy arguments in defense of
such a theory.
'The fact is that in large part the
shortcomings Of our institution are due
to the large emphasis placed upon this
ii f.antit,n Of 1y,iyranctt, n-ar1y
coupled as it is with the unduly mag
nitied Importance of the research idea.
The University of Wisconsin is main
tanned by the people chiefly for the
sake of the boys and girls who go to
college, including the college of engi-
neering, of agriculture, and the like,
and not for the few who continue their
studies beyond college. The center of
gravity of state university should be
in the colleges, particularly in the col
eye of letters and science, which may
properly be looked upon as the heart
of the institution. Here the most cap
able teachers should he employed, es-
pecially in the instruction Of freshmen
and sophomores.
Parents send their boys and girls to
the university to take up college work,
assuming that they will have the best
possible instruction. But with certain
notable exceptions here and there they
cannot get the best instruction until
they have been in college at least two
years. have in the past four or five
years talked with many graduates of
the university, who say that not to ex-
coed one-half of the instruction they
received could be called good. The
other half fell below that standard.
1t should be borne in mind also that
these students as rule did their ut
most to select for themselves the cap
able teachers.
IF you ask university authorities
why this is so, they will tell you that
it is because they have not money
enough to employ strong and capable
teachers. AT least that is what they
have told me. If the center of gravity
of the institution were in the college
instead OF the graduate school, this
condition would not exist The college
would be looked after first, and then
such money, time, energy, and teach
n hi litv ram innI fnp tha ,rn,J,,
ate school would be devoted to it,
ga study of the students in any grad
uate school usually reveals certain
rather striking facts. One is that
goodly number of them, say one-third,
are on pay either in the form of fellow.
ships or salaries. If my count is cor
rect, about 126 are at this time on the
pay roll of the university. These pup
lis are giving instruction or assisting
in laboratories while carrying on their
advanced studies. Except for few
rather hourishing departments, the
number of graduate students in any
one subject is small. The efforts to
secure these graduate students are
often strenuous. Professors frequent
ly urge students to remain with them
after graduation, and efforts are made
to secure students from other colleges
and universities at the close of their
senior year. They are tempted with
fellowships yielding si0O a year, or
teaching positions yielding 5000 year,
or positions in the capitol paying like
amount
ut may be interesting at this point
to remember that university professors
quite frequently say that many of the
graduate students manifest very ordin-
airy ability. Indeed, it is said that
many of them at college graduation
are not successful in securing good
positions and hence continue their
studies in the hope that something
worth while may later turn up. The
most highly priced degree students get
on the completion of their advanced
study is called the degree of doctor of
philosophy (Ph. d. To secure this
degree student must continue in the
university three years after graduating
from four year college course. These
graduates are often called specialists
or experts. Does the world seem eager
to secure the services of these experts?
The president of great state univer-
sity remarked few years age, partly
in lest, that YOU could get such men by