James Blythe, D. D
.1832-1836
Duncan McAuley
March to July, 1838
Erasmus D. MacMaster, D. D
1838-1843
Sylvester Scovel, D. D
1846-1849
Thomas E. Thomas, D. D
..1849-1854
Jonathan Edwards, D. D., LL. D
1855-1857
James Wood, D. D
.1859-1866
George D. Archibald, D. D
1868-1870
George C. Heckman, D. D
.1870-1879
Daniel Fisher, D. D., LL. D
1879-1907
William A. Millis, A.M., LL. D
...
.1908--
The total number of years of actual incumbency of the eleven presidents to date is eighty-four years and four months, or an average of seven years and eight months. With three exceptions considerable intervals were allowed to occur between the administrations, usually due to the difficulty experienced by the Board in finding men willing to assume the burden. Of the entire period of ninety-five years one-half of the time is covered by the administrations of Presidents Fisher and Millis if the interval of one year between them be counted.
[Page 55] All of the presidents have been Presbyterian clergymen, one however, having been dismissed from the ministry by his Canadian Presbytery prior to his call to Hanover on account of unbecoming conduct. Two of the gentlemen did not secure their theological training in a seminary, Presidents Thomas and Millis, the latter coming into office as a layman. So far as can be ascertained their ages at time of induction into office varied from thirty-seven to sixty-seven, Dr. Thomas being the youngest and Dr. Blythe the oldest. With the exception of the present incumbent none pursued formal graduate study, aside from their professional courses in the seminaries, but all had sound liberal education, and among them were a member of ripe scholars.
Six of the eleven presidents were called to the head of the College directly from the pastorate. Dr. Blythe came from the Chair of Chemistry of the Medical School of Lexington, Ky. Prior to that he had served as President of Transylvania University. Mr. MacAuley, at the time of his election, was principal of a school in Columbus, Ohio. President Millis came from the Professorship of Education in Wabash College and the superintendency of the city schools of Crawfordsville. He had also taught in Indiana University and was Dean of the Faculty of Winona Summer School for seven years. Dr. Scovel was an "agent" of the "Board of Domestic Missions" of the Presbyterian Church when called to Hanover, and Dr. Wood relinquished the office of "Associate of Corresponding Secretary" of the Presbyterian Board of Education President Thomas taught for two years before his ordination into the ministry, and President Edwards four years. Two of the number, MacMasters and Edwards, engaged in college work after leaving Hanover; Dr. MacMasters as President of Miami Uni- [Page 56] versity, and Dr. Edwards as President of Washington and Jefferson College, of Pennsylvania.
It is said that history has a curious way of anticipating the reformer. A prominent issue raised recently in the ranks of college and university professors is the supposedly original demand that faculties be consulted if not given the right to choose their presidents. It is interesting to discover that the first five, possibly six, Hanover presidents were nominated to the Board of Trustees by the Faculty, and one rather suspects that they were "handpicked" by Dr. Crowe who at all times had great influence with the Faculty, and particularly since for much of the time be was de facto president when the chair was vacant. President MacMasters was chosen by a joint committee of trustees and teachers. Dr. Archibald was selected by a special Committee of the Board, as were Presidents Heckman and Millis. Dr. Fisher was nominated and elected at an open meeting of the Board without previous consultation. President Edwards, possibly, was recommended by alumni. He is the only alumnus of the College to hold the office, and the only one to resign the presidency to accept a call to a "better" position elsewhere. It must be admitted that the primary burden laid on the shoulders of the presidents of Hanover has been the extrication of the institution from its financial difficulties. Obviously these leaders were chosen during the first half of the period with the thought of their ability to organize the support of the Presbyterian Church back of the College as well as for their pulpit ability, which latter was no small consideration, and one not at all to be despised in these modern days of professional education. As long as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, no teaching function of the college is more vital than the presentation of the gospel of life. Dr. Fisher, apparently, was [Page 57] chosen because of his general availability - his business sagacity, his scholarliness, his executive ability, and his prominence in the councils of the Church.
Dr. James Blythe, the first president, set a splendid pattern for his successors in office. We meet him first as the pastor of young John Finley Crowe, the student at Transylvania University. Subsequently he was professor of chemistry in Transylvania, and later its president. When called to Hanover upon nomination by Dr. Crowe he was in the faculty of Lexington Medical School, the strongest school of its kind in the West at that time. Dr. Crowe describes him as "a man of ardent temperament, warm in his attachments, firm in his purposes and always reliable. He had no concealment, always frank and explicit in the expression of his sentiments. He had moreover important qualifications for the place which he occupied as the head of the College. Although not among the profound scholars of the age, yet he had a good general education, together with a fluency of speech and a flow of animal spirits which rendered him uncommonly interesting in the social circle. At the same time few men had more dignity of character. He had a remarkable person, rather inclined to corpulency, but always erect in his position, and as faultless in his movements, as if belonging to the school of Chesterfield." Dr. Blythe's administration seems to have been successful in every respect. He secured what was for that time a large subscription to the endowment of the infant college; collected a laboratory equipment of which the College boasted; and gathered together a quite respectable library. The only educational measure of his administration was the adoption in toto of the curriculum of Miami University. During the fourth year he seems to have lost ground somewhat with the students for two reasons. The seniors were not [Page 58] pleased because he ventured to change a text-book employed in one of his courses. And the general student body was dissaffected because lie was opposed to their discussion, except behind closed doors, of New School and Old School theology, "Jacksonism and Anti-Jacksonism" and other political problems of the day. It will impress the modern generation as lacking in perception to attempt to keep Hoosiers from discussing politics. The faculty was disposed to sympathize with the students, two professors notifying the Board of their intention to resign if the president was not removed. His resignation was secured in a manner that caused some regret later to those who controlled the situation. His continued loyalty to the College, and his generosity towards those who had wounded him reveal the superior quality of his manhood. The two professors who accomplished his dismissal were unwilling to stand by the College during the period of demoralization which they precipitated. This brief reference to the first leader must not close without reciting another incident which illustrates the distressful experiences that too often befell the builders of our institutions, as well as the remarkable courage of Dr. Blythe. During his last years in office his mind was distraught with a great sorrow. He went east in mid-winter to raise money for the College. Before he reached New York he was overtaken by news of the death of his wife whom he had left at home in apparently perfect health. Recovering from the first shock, he courageously resumed his task, and returned in the spring to pour out his heart at the grave of his lost companion
The story of Duncan McAuley is as unique in college history as it is distasteful to record in this volume. Following the resignation of Dr. Blythe the Faculty and Trustees took up the search for a new president. One or two overtures were declined. The [Page 59] tornado of 1837 almost completely wrecked the College and the village. Dr. Crowe nominated Rev. Duncan McAuley whom he had met on one of his trips "abroad," which then meant away from the immediate vicinity of Hanover. McAuley seems to have been a very plausible individual and came well recommended in a letter written by a prominent Presbyterian divine with more unction than strength of character. Mr. McAuley was unanimously elected in January, 1838, inaugurated with enthusiasm March 27, and summarily dismissed July 20 on "the most indubitable evidence that their president was an impostor, that he had been deposed from the Gospel Ministry some twelve months before, by a Presbytery in Upper Canada, for gross immoralities." Dr. Crowe also intimates that some doubt was cast over the report that the gentleman was graduated with high honors from one of the great Scotch universities, and states that the letter presented by the Ohio minister had in fact been prepared by the beneficiary and copied verbatim. The subsequent history of the deposed president is shrouded in total darkness.
The Rev. Erasmus Darwin McMaster came to the Presidency from Ballstown, New York, during the summer recess of 1838. Dr. Crowe seems to have had Dr. McMaster in mind when his attention was attracted to Mr. McAuley, and negotiations were begun immediately upon the deposition of the latter. While it is difficult for the loyal partisan of Hanover to forgive the dramatic removal of the College to Madison and the almost comical denouement of the paper Madison University, the candid reader of the Crowe manuscript and of the record of the Board of Trustees must credit President McMaster with the possession of a high degree of administrative ability. The feelings of both parties to this episode, which will be related in a subsequent chapter, ran so high that they [Page 60] overlooked the masterly rescue of the institution from a muddle of its financial affairs that seemed hopeless. One must admire Dr. Crowe's fairness in telling of this rescue, and of the successful reorganization of the College by the President, before he enters upon the rather vitriolic account of what Crowe calls the destruction of the College. Dr. Crowe speaks of having regarded President McMaster up to this time as its greatest benefactor. One must wonder what might have been the outcome if the President had not gone to Madison, or if Dr. Crowe had come with him. In either event we should have a very different story to tell at this centennial. It is recorded that upon his arrival in Hanover, Dr. McMaster immediately commenced an investigation of the condition of the college with the view of devising ways and means to promote its prosperity. His first suggestion was the establishment of a law school in connection with the College, somewhat to fill the place left by the failure of the trade schools, and to bring the College into closer contact with the practical affairs of that day. The law school was established at the first meeting of the Board, and Judge Jeremiah Eggleston of Madison called to the single professorship. This action together with the theological seminary and the trade school ventures is pertinent to recent discussion of the question whether the creation of a department of education involves the introduction of a foreign policy into the administration of the College. The law school was abandoned two years later when Judge Eggleston was compelled by the state of his health to retire. The new presidents' second proposal was the adoption of the "scholarship" plan of raising endowment funds. The scheme involved the granting of free tuition or other privileges "forever" in proportion to the sum given, to the appointees of donors of amounts ranging from $400 to $1,000. "The right of appoint- [Page 61] ing the incumbent of the $1,000 scholarship, is vested in the subscriber, his heirs, or assigns forever." The system was adopted, and in later years was the cause of endless and perplexing embarrassments. The paltry income received from the investment of these scholarships, in many cases of which the principal was never paid in, an interest-bearing subscription note being substituted for cash, did not at all approximate the per capita cost of instruction, nor the tuition fees paid by those who were so unfortunate as to fail to procure the use of a scholarship. At one time there were more students on scholarships than were paying the advertised tuition charges. Besides, there was more or less of haggling over the use of these privileges, which created an atmosphere of hostile feeling. At last, years later, the Trustees got rid of the situation which had developed, by the somewhat dubious method of making "tuition free to all students" and creating a contingent or "term feel" payable by all students. President McMaster also planned a system of bookkeeping and safeguarding of funds which put an end to some of the loose practices into which the College had fallen, and also effected sales of property and other adjustments by means of which he paid off most of the debts which had well nigh strangled the institution. He also arranged an amicable adjustment of the contentions between the College and the former theological department over the division of funds which had been improperly merged, although it appears now that he was entirely too generous in his concessions to the New Albany institution.
Dr. McMaster seems to have been equally successful with the internal management of the college, with the effort to secure the support of the church, and with the development of an esprit de corps. In the move to create a University in Madison which would become "the leading institution for the whole central [Page 62] and lower part of the Ohio Valley," he worked himself out of the office which he was filling with great distinction. A little later he was called to the presidency of Miami University.
Patient reading of the record of the meetings of the Trustees of the College gives one the impression that the office of president was regarded as an expensive luxury except when the institution got in debt. On the wave of local enthusiasm which attended the restoration of the College to Hanover in 1844 the people of the vicinity underwrote the budget for two years. The new faculty with John Finley Crowe by appointment of the Board acting as "chairman," was of the opinion that they were quite competent of themselves to manage the College without other leadership. This opinion was reflected in a resolution adopted by the Trustees at their meeting, held March 26, 1845:
"Whereas, many inquiries have been made by its friends about the election of a President of this College, in order to satisfy so far as practicable such inquiries;
Resolved that this Board do not see at present necessity for the election of a President. . . . And should it be found expedient hereafter to make such an appointment, the state of finances allowing, and the business of the institution requiring 'it, yet the appointment should not be made without the maturest consideration, as the present corps of instructors is deemed amply sufficient for the purpose of instruction and government."
Remembering that Dr. Crowe was both "chairman of the Faculty" and President of the Board of Trustees; and that Professor Hynes of the Faculty was also a member of the Board and its secretary, the reader can more fully appreciate the suggestion that the above resolution covers the fear that a new president [Page 63] might attempt to repeat Dr. McMaster's program. However we read in the record that on February 24, 1846, the following communication was presented to a special meeting of the Board:
"At a meeting of the Faculty held this day, all the members being present, Resolved that we recommend in accordance with a by-law, to the Board of Trustees of this College, the appointment of Rev. John McArthur A. M., Professor of the Greek Language and Literature in Miami University, Ohio, as president of this institution.''
After reading "a correspondence between Dr. Crowe and Professor McArthur" the Board adopted the recommendation unanimously. For some reason Mr. McArthur declined the call. By August the financial condition of the College had become serious. The resources pledged two years before had been exhausted and a scheme of Dr. Crowe's for a partnership with the Associated Reformed Synod of the West which promised to relieve the treasury of a considerable burden had failed. Let Dr. Crowe speak again: "Under these circumstances their attention was very naturally turned to Dr. Scovel. He had been for several years Agent of the Presbyterian Board for Domestic Missions in the West, and had established a reputation of the highest order, both as a successful agent and an able financier. His education, though not of the highest order, was respectable and his praise was in all of the churches as a Christian gentleman of indomitable energy. His name in connection with the presidency was mentioned in a Faculty meeting," and resulting from the discussion which followed we have another communication to the Board on August 29, 1846:
"In accordance with the By-law respecting the filling of vacancies in the Faculty, the Faculty hereby [Page 64] nominates unanimously to the Board, the Rev. Sylvester Scovel, D. D., of New Albany, Indiana, for President of this College and Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, and of the Evidences of Christianity. The Board immediately, and with unanimous vote, elected Dr. Scovel president at the princely salary of $8OO per year, and also treasurer without remuneration. During the first year of his administration the attendance increased fifty per cent, and he closed the fiscal year without a deficit, although in order to do so he persuaded the professors to receive negotiable scholarships as cash, and Dr. Crowe to join him in remitting their salaries in full. whereupon, it is recorded, "the friends of the College took courage." The second and third years showed equal progress, and in 1848 Dr. Scovel succeeded in inducing the Presbyterian Board of Education to supplement the income of the College with the gif t of $400. He also procured some fifteen hundred volumes for the library of which the College was in dire need, the collection of Dr. Blythe having been lost in the 1843-44 affair. The stabilizing of the College budget, the collection of $25,000 for endowments, the increasing attendance from 87 to 183, the awakening of the church at large to a sense of responsibility, the improvement of working facilities, the restoration of public confidence without and enthusiasm within the College, are evidence of leadership of the highest ability. The administration so brilliantly begun was suddenly ended by the death of Dr. Scovel after an illness of less than twenty-four hours, July 4, 1849, a victim of the cholera epidemic of that year, the readier victim, no doubt, for having spent himself to the limit of his physical strength for the College.
At the annual meeting of the Trustees in August, 1849 the Faculty presented two nominations, Rev. Nathan Rice of Cincinnati, and Rev. Thomas E. [Page 65] Thomas of Rossville, Ohio, with the provision that the Board should be prepared to act now on the nomination of Dr. Thomas to be president in case of Dr. Rice's declining." Both nominees were elected, but Dr. Rice removed the difficulty by declining. Dr. Thomas entered upon his duties in September, l849, giving the College an able administration of five years. Substantial progress was made in the maintenance of the institution, the attendance was sustained, the spiritual life of the students was raised to a high degree of fervor and the scholarly spirit greatly, intensified. Two accomplishments of the Thomas administration stand out. One was the purchase of the "Campbell Farm" for the "New College Site," the land upon which the present College plant stands, and the institution of measures for the erection of Classic Hall. This story will be told later. The other was the revision of the curriculum. Dr. Thomas was the first president of the College to consider the educational problem of the College from the standpoint of a definite educational philosophy, and to make the effort to construct, or reconstruct, its curriculum on an independent basis. The revisions which be secured were of no great importance, but heretofore the College had imitated other institutions. Dr. Thomas was an enthusiast for languages, and secured the introduction of Hebrew as a required subject, a source of tribulation from which the students did not escape for several years. But he was also convinced of the educational function of systematic Bible study in the Christian College and very largely increased the attention given to instruction in the Scriptures in their original languages as well as in English, which he considered a poor substitute.
One amusing, and, for a time, stormy incident, occurred during the administration which will be of interest to the professional reader. A difference of [Page 66] opinion arose between the President and some members of the Faculty with reference to the selection of textbooks in the preparatory department, which led the President to violate a by-law of the College in his effort to have his own way. The Trustees were called into the matter and decided in favor of the President whereupon the Professors refused to obey the Board, in which attitude they were sustained by the entire Faculty except the President. The Board then demanded and received the resignations of the entire Faculty, reelecting Dr. Thomas at once, and the others in order as they exhibited a proper spirit of subordination. In 1854, Dr. Thomas resigned to accept a chair in the Theological Seminary at New Albany, which offered him the opportunity to specialize further in his favorite field of scholarship. Something of the regard in which he was held is manifest in the memorial signed unanimously by the senior class of that year, in which they were joined by the Board, praying that he withdraw his resignation.
After an interval of one year Dr. Thomas was succeeded by Rev. Jonathan Edwards of the class of 1835, and at that time the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was born in Cincinnati thirty-eight years prior to his elevation to the presidency. He hesitated to heed the call of his Alma Mater lest the salary of $1,200 should not be paid promptly, and as a matter of fact he received but half the amount due the first year. The professors shared this perplexity with him, receiving but $335 of their $800 salary. The quality of scholarship secured during the former administration evidently was maintained during the two years of Dr. Edwards' incumbency. He resigned at the end of the second year to accept the call and more certain remuneration offered by the Philadelphia Arch Street Presbyterian Church. Two events of his administration deserve special [Page 67] notice. During the administration the College was moved into Classic Hall although construction was not completed. The race question was settled. We let Dr. Garrett tell the latter story:
"While obtaining scholarships for the Permanent Fund the Agent of the College received one called the Sloan Scholarship, which was subscribed and paid on condition that it should be available for a colored student. The owner now claimed the right to send such a student. In January, 1857, Moses Broiles, a colored man, applied to the Faculty for regular admission to the College upon this scholarship. After full discussion the Faculty passed a resolution that considering the present circumstances of the institution, and its situation (locality) it is deemed inadvisable to receive Mr. Broiles into college, and the matter was referred to the Board. The Board, after due consideration at their April meeting, approved the action of the Faculty, and directed that as the Sloan Scholarship was founded with the express condition that the avails of it should be applied to the education of a colored student that the principal of this scholarship with the interest if required, be refunded to Mr. Sloan. This was done."
Dr. James Wood, called to Hanover from a secretaryship in the Presbyterian Board of Education, occupied the presidential chair during the troublous times of the Civil War, 1859-1866, during which many institutions, even in the North, were compelled to close their doors. There were at the time some controversies within the College and in Synod as to the strength of his administration, but a fair consideration of all the facts in the case, will, we believe, warrant the conclusion that Dr. Wood was not only a successful college executive, a strong teacher and a leader of men, but that he saved Hanover College from temporary if [Page 68] not permanent closure. The student material of that period naturally was absorbed into the armies, North and South. The mind of the country was oil the struggle which threatened the very existence of the nation and the honor of the people. The wealth of the nation, meager under peace conditions, was poured into the greedy maw of war. The close of the struggle left both sides exhausted, and the student patronage of the South permanently alienated. This alone would explain the loss of much of the former attendance, especially from Kentucky and Tennessee. The critical attitude of Synod was due, if we are frank, more to Dr. Wood's persistent effort to collect the overdue subscriptions of churches and church members than to zeal for instruction and discipline. With war conditions, a faculty of three professors, a large accumulated debt for current expense, the impossibility of collecting subscriptions to funds with any fair success, one can readily imagine the discouragement which prevailed. Yet in spite of these adverse conditions the College carried on. Dr. Wood as treasurer kept the finances in hand, and through the cultivation of some well-to-do individuals secured commitments which subsequently bore fruit in a number of designated endowments for which his successors received the credit. And if a college is measured ultimately by the character of its graduates, Dr. Wood's administration was conspicuously successful. No period in the history of the College has produced an equal proportion of high grade men. Other evidence of his leadership is observed in the unusually self-sacrificing loyalty of the Faculty, whose members carried double teaching loads without complaint, and on one occasion resigned in a body in order to share the odium of criticism of their president. The same feeling was reflected in the student attitude. In the autumn of 1866 Dr. Wood [Page 69] resigned to accept the presidency of the Courtland Van Rensselaer Institute of New Jersey. The senior class, with Harvey W. Wiley as their spokesman, waited upon their departing leader and unanimously asked him to return at the next commencement, with the permission of the Board, that they might receive their diplomas from his hand. Dr. Wiley's statement on that occasion was as follows: "Honored and Respected Teacher: As your relation to us is now soon to be dissolved, and as we have so nearly completed our college course under your supervision and control as President of this Institution, where we have so long enjoyed the benefit of your able instructions and wise counsels under these circumstances, we represent that it will be highly gratifying to us to have our diplomas honored by your personal signature and personal presentation. We therefore, members of the Senior Class of 1867, do hereby respectfully yet earnestly request that our diploma may be, at the coming Commencement, signed and delivered by your hand." The Board cordially agreed to this request, but the death of Dr. Wood shortly after taking up his new office defeated their purpose.
Dr. Wood, in his inaugural address, announced three principles to govern his management of the College: (1) The Course of Study should be adequate to meet the demands of any vocation: (2) Accurate and thorough scholarship and unquestioned moral character should be pre-requisites to the degrees granted by the institution: (3) Religious instruction should have a large place in the regular course of, study. Dr. Wood has the distinction of leaving to the College a very important part of its property. He purchased and gave the grounds now belonging to the College and occupied by the residences and fraternity houses west of the Point House by the Y. M. C. A. [Page 70] Chapel, the observatory, the tennis courts, the gymnasium , and the "Wood Athletic Field."
An interregnum of two years passed when, upon the nomination by a joint committee of Trustees and Faculty, the Rev. George D. Archibald, D. D., of New York City, formerly pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Madison Indiana, and a member of the Board of Trustees, was elected to the presidency. After two years of hectic experience with the budget, spending much of the time in the field soliciting funds to supplement the meager income of the treasury and cover the modest salaries of himself, and four teachers, President Archibald resigned to accept a place in the Theological Seminary at Danville, Kentucky. Possibly the one incident of his administration which has made the largest contribution to the College and society was the calling of Professor Edward I. Nelson, fresh from graduate study at Yale, to the chair of Natural Science. Following upon the splendid work of Dr. Scott, Mr. Nelson infused a conception and spirit of scientific study into the College which not only stimulated a number of men to achieve prominence in the scientific world, men like the Coulters, Barnes, Butlers and Youngs, but also profoundly modified the content and method of instruction since that time. For many years a so-called "Scientific Course" had been provided in the curriculum, which was in fact merely the group of studies left by excusing students from Greek, Hebrew and Latin. During this administration the curriculum was revised, the Scientific Course reorganized and somewhat expanded and dignified by publication for the first time in the catalogue. Thus the degree of Bachelor of Science which had been conferred since 1856 was elevated toward but not reaching the value of the A. B. degree. In June, 1869, the Board took the step referred to earlier of abandoning the [Page 71] "scholarship system" by adoption of the policy of granting "free tuition" but charging a "contingent fee " equal in amount to the former charge for tuition. At the same meeting, June, l869, the Faculty presented a petition asking the Board to authorize the admission of young women of the village of Hanover to such classes in the College "as were not suitably provided for in the village school." The Board took the request under advisement for a year, received a favorable report from the special committee to which the question had been referred, and disposed of the matter finally by ruling the question "out of order." The Faculty quite characteristically, Professor Garrett tells us, "deeming that as they were not forbidden, their request could be taken as granted, admitted them, (the girls), though the names of the young ladies who attended do not appear in the College catalogue till 1881, when they were fully admitted." The first woman admitted to graduation was Calla James Harrison in 18S3. Coeducation thus began in Hanover College in the same lawless manner as a certain woman's fraternity which was reported by a later president as not in existence here because it was not officially recognized.
In September l870, Dr. George C. Heckman began his administration of nine years, coming from the pastorate of a church in Albany, New York, to which he had gone from Indianapolis. He came well informed as to the problems of the College and during his incumbency further laid the foundations for the future growth and stability of the institution. By many his administration was thought to be distinguished chiefly by his erection of the President's House and his dream of the day when the isolation of Hanover would be overcome. The presidential his been the source of great satisfaction to his successors in office [Page 72] and indirectly the means of bettering housing conditions for the Faculty. His "dream" has been more than realized since the advent of the automobile and the present system of state highways.
The fresh enthusiasm which the new president brought to the College was attended by an increase in the number of students, but toward the end of the period the attendance again dropped back somewhat. The scientific department was again strengthened, and the financial condition improved sufficiently, in promise at least, to induce the Board to increase the salaries of the teachers to $1,2OO per year, and to increase the numbers of teachers, with the result that the expenses of the institution soon exceeded the income. The money crisis which became acute toward the end of Dr. Heckman's administration, combined with the freezing up of a considerable part of the endowment through bad management of the funds by the Treasurer, finally brought the College to the only point in its history when it was unable to negotiate a loan in the local banks. The condition became so serious that the Board ordered a reduction of the number of teachers, a horizontal reduction of twenty-five per cent. of all salaries and by one vote refused to pass the motion of Mr. John H. Holliday to close the College until the accumulated interest should clear off the indebtedness and restore the credit of the institution. Fortunately litigation prosecuted prior to this action resulted in the ultimate collection of principal and interest in full on all the frozen investments, although settlement was not completed until after Dr. Heckman went out of office. The president resigned because he could not support his family on the reduced salary, and at the same session of the Board Dr. Daniel Webster Fisher was nominated in open meeting and unanimously elected the tenth president of Hanover College.
[Page 73] On the occasion of his inauguration as president in June, 1908, the writer said, referring to his predecessor "It is my judgment that Daniel W. Fisher contributed more to the making of Hanover College than any other man." Nineteen years of close acquaintance with the history and problems of the College have strengthened this impression. One marvels at the multitude of things he did, each of which was done with distinction. The story of his long years of service, in the number of which he has been exceeded by but four college presidents-King of Cornell College, Iowa, Angell of Michigan, Patterson of Kentucky, and Elliott of Harvard - is so strikingly told in his autobiography, (A Human Life, 1909) as to impoverish a sketch possible within the scope of the present volume. The accomplishments of his administration are well stated in a communication prepared at the direction of the Board of Trustees in 1907 by Dr. Joseph H. Barnard with whom he was intimately associated in the Board and in church courts for many years. A portion of Dr. Barnard's statement is reprinted:
"He accepted the presidency and entered on the duties of the office at a time when conditions were most adverse and unpromising, and without any solicitation on his part; when, in fact, the policy of closing the institution was discussed at the meeting at which he was chosen and in a test vote was lost by only one voice. The salaries of the professors were in arrears, and the finances generally were in a very unsatisfactory condition. The president, three, professors, and two or three student tutors constituted the Faculty. The buildings consisted of the old 'Main Building' a small frame house, the janitor's house, and the president's home. Omitting the number of minor matters, during the administration of Dr. Fisher, running through a period of twenty-eight years, the following [Page 74] is a list of the additions and improvements made and that deserve notice:
"Donnell Chapel, Y. M. C. A. Hall, College Point House, the Observatory, the Gymnasium, Music Hall, Science Hall, Classic Hall remodeled and refurnished at a cost of $10,000; the Moffett Portico, the Thomas A. Hendricks Library, the Baldridge Gate, cement walks.
"In the matter of endowment are the Clarke chair, the McKee chair, the Cogley chair, the Hamilton chair, additions to the Holliday and the McKee chairs, the Marquand gift of $5,000; other miscellaneous gifts aggregating $5,000; four scholarships, averaging $1,000 each; the A. Y. Moore estate.
"Some $18,000 that had been invested in Arkansas bonds and had been regarded as probably lost, were recovered, with accrued interest.
"In addition, mention should be made of the various prizes that have been established, the Voris prizes, with the equivalent of an income from $2,000 per year; the Gilpin prize, with the income from $500 per year; the Potter medal; and the Shelby medal, and others.
"During the long incumbency of Dr. Fisher, a total of $500 will cover the losses of all invested funds. Important and valuable changes have been made in the College curriculum; the teaching force has been increased; and from year to year, the College has sent forth its graduates, not in large, but in goodly numbers, to occupy places of trust and responsibility in all the various professions of life.
"Dr. Fisher brought to the discharge of his duties as president of the College executive and administrative ability of a very high order, looking after investments, and maintaining the funds of the institution intact, keeping expenses rigidly within the yearly income, managing efficiently all the varied interests intrusted to him, thus holding the College on a high ground as respects both the financial interests and [Page 75] literary standing. During all these years he has left the stamp of his influence for good, in wide and manifold ways, on the College and oil those who have gone out from its halls. Of profound, scholarly attainments, broad-minded and abreast with all the latest and most advanced thought of his age, we record with special pleasure his loyalty to the great truths of the gospel, and his constant effort to maintain a distinctly religious atmosphere in the College. His baccalaureate sermons are splendid specimens of the great themes of Christianity."
It is too early to write the history of the present administration. President Millis is a native of Indiana, his mother a teacher in her young womanhood, his father a farmer and, later, merchant and banker. All of the children of the family became educators. President Millis received his A. B. degree from Indiana University, major in philosophy, 1889, and the degree of Master of Arts, major in Logic the following year. He was a protιgι of David Starr Jordan, and prepared for college teaching. The necessity of immediate employment diverted him from his purpose into public school education in which he was engaged nineteen years. During the last two years of this time, however, he divided time with Wabash College in which he was Professor of Education. His coming to Hanover in 1908 was in fact a return, so far as the grade of work is concerned, to his original purpose.
It may be said fairly that the nineteen years of the present administration constitute a period of substantial progress in college standards, equipment, endowment, scope and quality of instruction and attendance. In part this progress is a development of lines of effort projected in the preceding administration; in part an adjustment to the new conditions brought about by the revolution of educational practice, what- [Page 76] ever one may think of its merit, which has occurred during the past two decades, and which no institution could avoid and live. The traditional objectives have been kept in mind throughout these readjustments. The period has been particularly difficult because of the disturbance of values by the World War and the emergence of a species of unbridled democracy which breaks the restraints of older standards and ideals. It has been a period of standardization in educational organization and practice as well as in other things - frequently artificial in character - requiring larger working capital, new equipment and larger income. The accomplishment may be represented in tabular form:
I. Total enrollment exclusive of preparatory students: (1907-08) / (1925-26)
Resident
. 68 / 503
Extension
.. / 215
II. Average attendance, excluding preparatory students, computed on a
nine months' basis: (1890 to 1908) / (1908 to 1926)
87 / 295
III. Assets: (1907) / (1926)
Live
.. $181,233.50 / $658,973.71
Plant
.. 131,157.62 / 235,979.55
Total
.. 312,391.12 / 894,718.26
IV. Faculty: (1907-05) / (1925-26)
Full time teachers
.. 9 / 16
Part time teachers
.. 2 / 7
In 1908 salaries ranged from $900 to $1,200 for the "regular year." The present salary schedule [Page 77] ranges from $1,300 to $2,000 for three quarters, and as high as $3,200 for the four quarters, including extension teaching. Four new chairs have been created and endowed: Biology, Education, English Bible, aid Training for Religious Work. Steam Heat has been installed in all the buildings except the Library, which was already steam heated; electric lighting and water service in all buildings; the new Science Hall and Gymnasium constructed; the Point House enlarged, refitted and refurnished; two new professor's residences acquired, and two other houses reconstructed to provide three residences. Street lighting and paving of the village were secured through College effort. Half of the class room furniture, and all the laboratory furniture, apparatus and supplies, dormitory furniture, furnishings and equipment, now owned by the College, have been acquired during the present period.
The entrance credits, evaluated by the Carnegie Foundation in 1907 at nine units, have been raised to sixteen, conforming in content and distribution to the North Central and American Association standards. By raising entrance requirements, adopting the present type of curriculum, enlarging the scope of instruction, and increasing the fixed income, the College which in 1907 was declared below standard by the standardizing agencies, is officially rated as a standard institution by the State of Indiana and other commonwealths, the North Central and American Association of Colleges, and by the American Council of Education. The increase in the scope of instruction during the present administration is shown in the table below. This enlargement of offerings has been accomplished, not by increasing the load of the teacher, but in part by relieving the teachers of high school teaching through abolishing the Preparatory Department, and in part by additions to the Faculty. All new de- [Page 78] partments except Music have been specifically endowed.
Scope of Instruction given in: 1907-08 / 1925-26
Mathematics
1 2/3 years / 4 years
Latin
0 1/3 / 3
Greek
.
.3 2/3 / 3
German
...2 / 3
French
1 / 3
Spanish
...0 / 9
English
.. 3 / 5
History
1 2/3 / 4
Social Science
1 1/3 / 3
Physical Science
.3 2/3 / 7 1/2
Biological Science
..1 l/3 / 4 1/3
Philosophy
..1 1/3 / 3
Bible
1 / 4
Education
1 /3 / 4
Music
...None for credit / 4
Religious Leadership .. 0 / 2
Total 24 1/3 / 58 5/6