Evening star., 1953-09-06
HoWordU., ,Nowin 86th Year,
Is Making Educational History

HISICN
educational history far out Of
proportion to its size.
Fifty per cent Of the Negro
physicians and dentists in Amer
lea today took their training at
Howard. Twenty-Five per cent
of the Nations Negro lawyers
studied at Howard.
In the recent Supreme Court
cases attacking segregation in
the public schools, nine Of the
Is attorneys pressing the cases
were either Howard alumni or
teachers.
Unlike any other American
university, Howard is the only
such institution to receive direct
financial anncal aid from the
Federal Government.
Starting with an appropria-
tion of $4,000 in 1879, Congress
until 1928 provided funds in the
form of voted gratuitieS, with
out the support Of a substantive
law. During that period annual
appropriations rose to $218,O00
in one year.
In 1928, however, annual ap-
preparations for the university
were authorized by an act of
Congress for the purpose of
aiding in the construction. de-
velopment and improvement and
maintenance of the university"
Exceed 81 Million.
In the 1928 fiscal year.
Congressional appropriations
exceeded 81 million.
Persuading Congress to in
crease such appropriations is not
Howard's only headache.
One of the greatest needs of
the university is larger endow-
ment fund. It's present endow-
ment-$1 million-iS far less
than the annual operating cost.
New buildings are needed. So
are more library books. teaching
and research equipment, and
more profeSsorships to cope with
the ever growing student body.
Howard numbers some famous
teachers among it's past and
present faculty, such as United
Nations official DR.. Ralph
Bunche, Federal Judge William
Hastie, blood plaSma specialist
Charles Drew and chemist Percy
Julian. DR.. Julian's work with
the soya bean led to the medical
discovery Of a new source of
cortiSone.
But the man most responsible
for making Howard the leading
Negro University in America is
It's president, Mordecai w. john
son.
Greatest Growth.
DR.. johnson, the university's
18TH president, is the first Negro
to hold that position. He was
named to his post in 1926. Under
him, the university has experi-
enced its greatest growth, both
physical and scholastic. Since
his appointment. every separate
school has been reorganized and
now is fully accredited
DR.. johnson was born in 1890
in Paris, Tenn, the son of an
ex-slave and lay minister. DR..
johnson himself entered the
ministry and before coming to
Howard was the pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Charles
ton, w. Va.
When he took over, DR.. john
son found an enrolment of $500,
but a total faculty of only 80
persons, few of whom had ad-
vanced degrees.
In quick order he got Congress
to grant the necessary funds to
start a new library, a new build
ing for the college of liberal arts.
new dormitories and q new med
ical school building.
Majority in Teaching.
He was and still is handicapped
by entrance requirements made
necessarily low by inadequate
segregated grammar and high
schools from which many stu
dents are drawn.
The schools of medicine and
dentistry at Howard are the most
popular. but because of limited
facilities, neither can handle
more than a fraction of the
applicants.
Currently receiving a growing
number of students are the
schools of engineering and archi-
lecture, law, social welfare and
music.
There are now 455 teachers at
the university and 4,800 students
are expected to enroll this fall.