(c)Why were you able to accomplish what you did when you did?
We have been able to accomplish what we have because of the Land Grant College Act of 1862. In early 1848, Congressman Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont suggested that American colleges might steer away from the portion of the studies that had been established so many years ago and think about moving in a direction of having studies with more practical values. In 1857, he introduced a bill that incorporated leading reform notions in regards to technical education. He proposed that institutions should promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in areas that relate to the professions that people were doing (Rudolph, 1990, p. 149).
This act provided for the support in every state of at least one college. Each state was given public lands or land script equal to 30,000 acres for each senator and representative under the apportionment of 1860. It was because of this and the independent benefaction of Ezra Cornell that allowed for the formation of Cornell University. Since the act provided nothing in the way of supervision we were able to determine how our university would be developed and what curriculum we would teach (Rudolph, 1990, p. 252-253).
It has always been my vision that Cornell University be an institution in that our curriculum should be based upon vocational subjects and courses in applied science. These are the areas that will be the wave of our future. These are the areas in which the future leaders of this country need to be well versed in. It is our goal to provide an education that is useful and meaningful not only today but for many years to come.
(d)What obstacles did you encounter...
These views have on occasion influenced students and their decisions on where to attend school. This has always been a concern in making sure that
enrollment is up and growing.
In the time that has followed the
Civil War; the American people have turned to the state universities and their subsidiaries being public high schools, as institutions that are attempting to generalize what was once a proper education for English gentlemen. Today we are trying to incorporate a sense of
public service and commitment in to our curriculum and culture. The state universities have always had their enemies but mostly they have been widely accepted (Rudolph, 1990, p. 286). Our enemies have mainly taken issue with our choice of curriculum. Often traditionalists have trouble in breaking away from the
status quo and embracing something that is new and different. And sometimes these views are hard to work around when they are as ingrained in the
population as a whole.
I do not feel that there have been any regrets to be had in any of the decisions that we have made along the way. Cornell University has thrived since its inception and continues to have high enrollment each year. The third freshman class in 1871 had an enrollment of 250. The total enrollment was greater than that of any of the other three colleges in New York. We have been successful in what we have been doing and our plan is to continue to do the same things in order to continue to grow our enrollment and continue to be successful.
References
Andrew Dickson White. (2009). Retrieved June 15, 2009, from Cornell University Web site:
http://www.cornell.edu/president/history_bio_white.cfm
Rudolph, Frederick. (1990). The American College and University. Athens: The University of…
