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about 26,504 volumes. These libraries have been largely gifts of generous donors, the chief of whom are President White, Mrs. Boardman and Mrs. Williams, Willard Fiske, Goldwin Smith, William Kelley, Eugene Schuyler, and William H. Sage; ex-Governor Flower is the donor of the Flower veterinary library. The library owes its building and its permanent endowment to the generosity of Henry W. Sage, who erected the building at a cost of over a quarter of a million of dollars, and provided the library with a permanent endowment of $300,000. The library is managed by a body known as the library council, consisting of the president of the university, the librarian, a member of the board of trustees, and four members of the university faculty. The law library is administered by the law faculty, and is in charge of a librarian. Since 1893 the librarian has been A. H. R. Fraser.

A summer school was first organized in 1892, and courses were given in botany, chemistry, mathematics, philosophy, physics, English, French, German, drawing, and physical training. It was, however, not officially a part of the university system, but was conducted by professors as a voluntary undertaking. In subsequent years the courses were increased by Greek, Latin, history, political science, law, and some other subjects. It continued upon this basis down to and including the summer of 1898. By recent action of the trustees a summer session has been added as a part of the general university scheme, and hereafter such courses will be given as are specially fitted for the needs of teachers. Under this plan the summer session is officially a six weeks' term of the academic year, and all professors are instructors in and after 1899 are regularly appointed and paid by the university.

VII.

THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.

A. THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS.

The number of students actually matriculated upon the books of the university during its first thirty years (excluding those in the summer school and in the winter school in agriculture) was 10,759. Of these, 3,599 were enrolled during the seventeen years of President White's administration, 3,252 during the seven years of President Adams's administration, and the balance during the first six years of President Schurman's administration. The largest number of matriculates in any one year down to 1887-88 was in the first year of the university. Four hundred and fourteen students presented themselves and were accepted during the opening year and 457 during the twentieth year. There has been a steady increase since that date, and in the thirtieth year there were 657 matriculates. The smallest number in any one year was in 1880-81, when only 125 matriculated.

The number of first degrees conferred down to June, 1898, was 4,235.
The number of advanced degrees was 520, of which 129 were doctors'
degrees. Of the first degrees conferred, 476 were in arts, 52 in litera-
ture, and 418 in philosophy, making 946 in courses requiring Latin
or Latin and Greek for admission and graduation. In letters 259 first
degrees were conferred, in science and letters (degree B. S.) 223, and
in science 539 (of which 8 were in engineering). This makes a total
of 1,013 degrees in courses requiring neither Latin nor Greek. The
total number of degrees in the department of arts and sciences was
therefore 1,959, of which 946 were in classical courses, 482 in modern
language courses, and 531 in scientific courses. The first degrees
conferred in the technical and professional courses were as follows:
Agriculture, 103; architecture, 174; mechanical engineering, 918 (of
which 461 were in electrical engineering); civil engineering, 459;
veterinary science, 11; pharmacy, 3; law, 608; total, 2,276.

The matriculations, attendance, and degrees for each year of the
university are shown by the following table:

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The decrease in attendance from 1877 to 1881 has been attributed
to various causes. Probably a combination of causes contributed to
the result. The university was at that time in sore financial straits
and little or nothing could be done in the way of enlarging the facilities
and equipment of existing departments, or of creating new ones. This
was also the period of President White's absence as minister of the
United States at Berlin. With the beginning of the academic year
1881-82 the number of new students, and consequently the aggre-
gate attendance, steadily increased. It was at about this time that
the department of history and political science was practically created

and new professors were called to take charge of it. A little later the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering was reorganized and strengthened and the increase in attendance there was very marked.

Attendance has always been affected also by the requirements for admission. During the early years of the university these were not very exacting, except in the courses of arts, literature, and philosophy. At various subsequent times the requirements for admission to the other general courses and to the technical courses have been raised. At present the requirements for admission to all the courses are about equally exacting in the amount of time required for preparation. Altogether it may fairly be said that the entrance requirements are now as high, measured by the amount of time required for preparation, as in any of the leading universities where the requirements are based mainly on Latin, Greek, and mathematics.

B. THE ADMISSION OF WOMEN.

Both Mr. Cornell and Mr. White had expressed the earnest wish in their addresses at the inaugural ceremonies that the university might speedily offer every advantage necessary for the higher education of young women equally with young men. "Speaking entirely for myself," said the latter, "I would say that I am perfectly willing to undertake the experiment as soon as it shall be possible to do so."

The possibility came sooner than he had ventured to hope. Mr. Henry W. Sage, upon the evening of the inaugural day, went quietly to President White and said: "When you are ready to carry out the idea of educating young women as thoroughly as young men, I will provide the endowment to enable you to do so."1 Mr. Sage's purpose strengthened with the growth of the university, and shortly after, all other difficulties being then practically removed, he renewed his offer. A committee, of which President White was chairman, made an exhaustive study of all questions relating to coeducation, visited the leading institutions in which it had been tried, corresponded with eminent educators, and, in a report which reviews at length the whole problem, recommended the acceptance of the offer. That offer was of an endowment of $250,000 upon the simple condition that "instruction shall be afforded to young women, by the Cornell University, as broad and thorough as that now afforded to young men."3 In April, 1872, the offer was formally accepted by the trustees, and women were admitted to all the privileges of the university.

Probably this action by the trustees conferred no privileges upon women which they might not already have claimed under the charter; but the noble gift of Mr. Sage made it possible to offer to such as

1 Proceedings at the laying of the corner stone of the Sage College (Ithaca, 1873). Remarks of President White, p. 6.

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should come the comforts and conveniences which, however dispensable in the case of men, were absolutely necessary for the care of any considerable number of young women. The Sage College is simply a home for women students, and in no sense an annex." The women go into all classes with the men, pursue the same studies, hear the same lectures, work in the same laboratories. Mr. Sage simply provided them with a home where, under the care and advice of a lady principal, they are freed from the vexations and embarrassments of the ordinary boarding house.

This fine building was erected and furnished by Mr. Sage at a cost of $150,000, and received from him for its care and management $100,000 more. It was opened for the reception of the women students in the fall of 1875.

Eighteen young women applied for entrance to the university the same year (1872-73) that the trustees passed the formal resolution for their admission. From that time the number has steadily increased. In 1872-73 the proportion of women students was 1 in 40; in 1882-83 it was 1 in 8; in 1892-93 it was a little over 1 in 8. The total number in attendance in 1892-93 was 221.

In the report of President Adams for 1890-91 occurs the following passage:

In former reports I have frequently called attention to the general good standing in their classes of the young women in the university. It is gratifying to know that the average proficiency of this class of students continues to be highly creditable. Indeed, if we were to judge of the comparative rank of the young women from the number of those who are unable to pass the examinations, we should be obliged to infer that their proficiency was considerably greater than that of the young men. Of those dropped from the university or from one class to another for deficiencies in scholarship, the proportion is far less than the proportion of the class as a whole. For obvious reasons this is not a correct means of comparison; but when every modifying circumstance is taken into consideration, we are forced to conclude that the average standing of the classes is made somewhat higher by the presence of women. (Pp. 22-23.)

In the report of President Schurman for 1897-98 is the following: Coeducation is so firmly established and so thoroughly accepted at Cornell University, it is so much a fundamental idea of the institution, that any reasoning in favor of the principle or indication of it drawn from experience could not but seem a wasteful and ridiculous excess of words. There is no call even to discuss the workings of the system, as the presence of women at Cornell on equal terms with men has not created any specific problems for the authorities of the university.

C. PROVISIONS FOR THE ACCOMMODATION OF STUDENTS.

In his report on organization, President White recommended that the university make no provisions for dormitories other than rooms that could be spared for that purpose in the regular university buildings. This policy has been continued down to the present time save in the case of Sage College, which was erected by private funds for the accommodation of women students. Cascadilla Place was from the

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