work developed, and in 1890 a charter was obtained for a University. John D. Rockefeller took so prominent a part in the movement, giving a very large proportion of the endowment (now more than £1,000,000 sterling), that his name now stands as that of the founder. Two-thirds of the trustees and the president must be Baptists, but there is no other religious test or limitation; four blocks on one of the parks on the south side were obtained, occupying about twenty-four acres, and buildings of grey stone in the English University style, somewhat resembling the new part of Caius College, Cambridge, have been erected. When complete the University will be as beautiful (and more enduring) than the White City of the World's Fair. The president is William R. Harper, Ph.D., late Professor of Semitic languages at Yale; the staff numbers 189 already. No instructor is required to lecture more than thirty-six weeks per year (ten to twelve hours a week). There are now about 700 students, but as the buildings are finished more will come; women are admitted on equal terms, there is a special hall of residence for them, and a woman as dean; 23% of the students are women. Fellowships are given liberally. The session has four quarters, each of three months, and a student is usually only allowed to take three quarters in the year; the courses are complete in themselves, and thus a student can earn his or her living during part of the year, and in time complete the whole work for a degree. The University extension work is of great interest; 1 the faculty numbers fifty, who lecture in Illinois and the neighbouring States; sociological work and University settlements are also to be founded. The eminence of the names on the list of professors shows clearly that the University of Chicago is intended to be one of the great educational institutions of the United States;-to see this University in the making, not by fiat of the State, but by individual effort, not across the mists of tradition and antiquity, but in the clear daylight of the modern world, was as remarkable an experience as could well fall to the lot of an inquirer. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN THIS University may be taken as a type of the State Universities, which are the only institutions of higher education in America, that form part of the State system. It is by far the largest and most important of all these; indeed the statistics for it and for the University of Minnesota, in the Bureau of Education Report, stand out conspicuously in respect to the number of students, wealth, and equipment. The State Universities which have been established in all the Western, and some of the South Western States, are modelled to a considerable degree on this University. It is also noteworthy as one of the first great institutions to open its doors to women, and it has thus had an important influence on the whole question of women's education. The system of admitting "on certificate" from High Schools to the Universities also originated here; on these grounds the writer has deemed it advisable to devote a chapter to this institution, which touches at several points the subject of the present inquiry. When the Congress of the United States, after the conclusion of the War of Independence, laid down an Ordinance for the Government of the North-West Territory, it declared: "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall for ever be encouraged." Michigan was one of the districts formed from this territory; in accordance with the Ordinance, a certain amount of land was reserved for the purpose of maintaining a University. This is the origin of the University of Michigan, and the sentence quoted above is placed upon the walls of its chief building. The original plan as drawn in 1817 was remarkably broad, though its language was pedantic. In what was termed the "Catholepistemiad," or University of Michigania, the President and Professors of the University were to have the entire direction of collegiate, secondary, and lower education. This plan was however not carried out, but the educational system of Michigan has always been characterized by a remarkable degree of unity. In 1837 the newly settled district had grown populous enough to be admitted as one of the States of the Union; and the University proper was founded in the same year. Many of the men who framed its first constitution were from New England, themselves College graduates, and were zealous for higher education. One of them, Isaac E. Crary, had made a study of Cousin's famous Report on the Prussian System of Education, and the University of Michigan was from the first modelled on the German system. Its government is by a Board of Regents; there are now eight of these elected by popular vote for terms of eight years, as provided in the Constitution of the State. For many years the only resources of the University were the public lands already referred to; these had been mismanaged, and the work of the University was thereby limited. In 1867 the State Legislature voted money from the public treasury; in March, 1893, the Legislature increased this grant to one-sixth of a mil on each dollar of taxable property, which gives an income of £40,000, on the present valuation. This shows clearly the close bond between the State and the University. The number of students in all departments is 2,778 (in 1893). No charge is made for tuition, the only fees being the matriculation and incidental expenses (library, etc.); persons who do not reside in the State are required to pay rather more than Michigan students. There are no dormitories; the students live where and how they please. The reasons given for this are, first, that the University has not then to deal with questions of internal discipline, and second, that the aggregation of young people in large numbers under one roof is an artificial condition and has injurious influences. The University of Michigan in this resembles those of Germany or Scotland. It has six departments, to all of which women are admitted on equal terms. They are:-1. General Department, i.e., Literature, Science, and the Arts. 2. Medicine and Surgery. 3. Law. 4. Pharmacy. 5. Homeopathic Medical College. 6. Dental Surgery. It is unnecessary to enter into details as to the courses of study; 1,491 |