The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-11

.MMhn As4%E23 EZS@Z foundations of the commerce school. It is also taken by engineers and studens III the College of Arts and Sciences, and some idea of the mag nitude of the commercial work at the university can be gotten from the fact that 315 students enrolled in the class in American economy dur ing the year just closed. This is larger than the class in elementary economies in the University of Wis eonsin 70 years ago, and that was then one of the largest classes in that great institution.
 The work of the junior and senior years consists chiefly of commercial and corporation law, of the higher courses .n accounting, and of the advanced courses in economies. with room for two or three electives. Eight advanced technical courses in economies are given thfs year. They are statistics, money, and banking, corporation finance, investments, in- dustrial organization and manage ment. business concentration, rail- road transportation and foreign trade. The average number of stu dents taking each of these classes is about 40.
 Tn ecommercia1 course embraces 12s semester hours, or four full years of university work, and leads to the degree of B. s. in commercial and business administration.
 When the School of Commerce an- Business Administration was organized, in the middle of the ses- sion of 1919-20, number of students in other divisions of the university transferreed to 1t, receiving credit for such parts of their work as could be appropriately counted to- ward the commerce degree. All sac- rificed several hours of credit to make the change. The first class to graduate is composed of more of these transfer men. They received their degrees at commencement a few days ago. Another and some- what larger group. also made up of transfers, constituted the junior class of last year. They hope to graduate in May, 1928. The first big class to graduate, and the first whose university career will have been in the School of Commerce, will graduate in May, 1924.
 Repute Outside State
 The School of Commerce and Busi- ness Administration has already gained some repute beyond the limits of the state. Despite the fact that students from other states pay tui- tion, while those from Alabama de- not, "A men from nine states other than Alabama were enrolled during the year just closed still more in- teresting fact Is that about 50 Ala bamians who were studying in uni- versailles, technical schools and col leges outside of Alabama. returned to the home state to enroll in the new school.
 The school has met with the great est and most sympathetic interest or Alabama business men, who have been ready to lend encouragement and ad- vice, and to send students. The chief milestone in the progress of the school so far is the gift of the Jeff ferson medal, to be awarded to the student who makes the highest aver age grade in the School of Commerce and Business Administration. This gold medal is the gift of H. H. K. Jefferson, vice president of the Amer ican Trust and Savings company of Birmingham It has been announced in the catalogue of this year, and was presented for the first time at commencement May 23. It was won by Sidney J. Hohr of Montgomery The faculty of the school feel that this gift. coming from leading banker who Is not an alumnus ot the university will not only stimulate the best students to excel in com petition for it. but that 1t will en- courage the entire student body to more earnest efforts, as they realize the keen interest taken in them by one of the outstanding business men of the state.
 The attendance from Birmingham. Mobile and Montgomery has been larger than was expected, but 1t has been relatively exceeded by the at- tendance from the smaller cities and country towns. About half of these young men are the sons of local business men, manufacturers, mer- chants and bankers. Their business careers are planned before they enter the university. Many of them ex- pect to succeed to their fathers re- sponsibilities. The opening of the School of Commerce and Business Administration has made it possible for them without going outside the state to secure adequate training for the executive duties which are to be placed upon them and which will be larger and more difficult than those Of their IalneTS. HIS IS tic CidoS oi student that returned to Alabama in such numbers upon sthe opening Of the school.
 The other half of the student body is composed of county and small town boys without special advantages. most of them poor. and many of them working their way. To them the school means their only chance at the kind of training that will pat them in line for executive positions in business--the kind of position that in the great Birmingham corporations have so far gone almost entirely to men trained in northern universities. It is a new door of hope to our own ambitious boys. Common schooling honesty and willingness to work are not the only requisites needed now to give a young man chance to rise. Most executive positions are open now only to the specially trained man. A Birmingham banker said to the dean: When I started in the banking business there were not all the complexities that there are to- day We worked out >or put in all these intricate systems as the busi- ness grew and required them. But the young, fellow who starts in now