Early in 1874 a reorganization of the board of trustees was effected, under which the following named gentlemen were appointed by Governor William Allen and confirmed by the Senate: Ralph Leete Alexander Waddle Warren P. Noble.......... William Larwill Joseph Sullivant.. Lawrence county. Seneca county. .Crawford county. .Franklin county. In June, 1876, Assistant Professor John H. Wright, for the purpose of pursuing his studies in Europe, resigned the place which for three years he had satisfactorily filled. To the position thus vacated Josiah R. Smith, A.B., a graduate of Amherst College, and at this time an assistant teacher in the Columbus High School, was appointed. In the same year First Lieutenant Luigi Lomia, of the Fifth United States Artillery, was, pursuant to the request of the Board, detailed by the Secretary of War to take charge of the military instruction which the institution is required to give. These gentlemen entered upon the discharge of their duties at the opening of the fall term in the above-named year. The board of trustees made military drill obligatory on the part of all the young men of the college except those who should be excused on account of religious scruples or physical disability, and the War Department of the United States furnished arms, ammunition, and accoutrements to supply all demands. A second reorganization of the board of trustees was effected in April, 1877, by which the board of trustees was increased from five to twenty, so as to include one member from each congressional district of the State. The following members were appointed by Governor Thomas L. Young: The new Board met at the College on June 19, 1877, and effected a permanent organization, by the election of the following officers and committees: President-Warren P. Noble. Treasurer-Henry S. Babbitt. Executive Committee-T. C. Jones, A. C. Denel, Herman Hoover, W. S. Streator, J. Sullivant. Committee on Farm Management-E. F. Ensign, C. Kinsinger, J. C. Jamison. At the same session of the Legislature there was passed an act to establish a department of Mining Engineering in the College. An appropriation of $4,500 was made for the equipment of this department, but, at the same time, an amount of analytical work was required. to be done by it without charge, that, if paid for at ordinary rates, would amount to much more than the interest on this sum: in other words, the State made its charity pay. At a meeting of the Trustees, held on June 20, 1877, the following action was had: Resolved, That the curriculum be changed, by striking therefrom the Department of Political Economy and Civil Polity, and substituting therefor the Department of Mines, Mine Engineering, and Metallurgy. Resolved, That Henry Newton, A.M., M.E., be appointed Professor of Mines, Mine Engineering, and Metallurgy, in the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, at the same salary as the other Professors. Mr. Newton, having visited the College, accepted the position, expecting to commence his labors at the opening session in September, 1877.⚫ In the meanwhile, under an appointment of the United States Government, he visited the Black Hills, to complete some geological investigations upon which he had been employed; but, unfortunately, he was almost immediately prostrated by mountain fever, and died after a brief illness. The professorship was now offered to Wm. E. Guy, E.M., of St. Louis, a graduate of the Mining School of Freiburg, Saxony. He also visited the College, and left with the expectation of accepting the place, but on his return to St. Louis found it impracticable on account of business connections, which could not be at once dissolved. The position was then tendered to and accepted by John A. Church, E.M., an experienced Metallurgist and Mining Engineer, who immediately proceeded to equip and put in order the department, and entered on his work of instruction in January, 1878. Repeated efforts have been made by the College Faculty to bring the advantages of the institution to the farmers of Ohio. A special course of instruction was offered to young farmers on topics connected with their several interests during the first winter in which the College was opened. Renewed offers of the same kind have since been made with but little response from those to whom they were addressed, until in January of 1879 a class of nearly one hundred members was organized for a four weeks' course of lectures on the applications of science to agriculture. This course was attended with marked success. All members of the class expressed their interest in the scheme, and their approval of the manner in which it was carried out. This late attained success is believed to be largely due to the interest that the State Grange took in bringing its members to an understanding and appreciation of the opportunity. It seems to those who were concerned in this class, both in and out of the College, that its success makes a happy omen for the institution. The course is to be repeated and extended during the coming winter. It makes in reality a Farmers' Institute, offering all the advantages which such an organization can bring. The matter of examination for entrance to the College is one that has been largely discussed and criticised. The standard that was fixed at the opening of the institution is still maintained. A temporary change was effected by the Board of Trustees of 1877, in opposition to the judgment of the Faculty; but the experience of one term was sufficient to show the disadvantages of the change, and, at the earnest request of the Faculty, the standard was restored. All that was ever asked was a good common school education, viz., a fair knowledge of English grammar, arithmetic, and the elements of geography, with the single addition of algebra through simple equations. This last element has been the subject of much complaint, which has been made, as is claimed, in the interest of the farmers of the State. It is freely conceded that a thorough knowledge of the first three branches would make a good foundation for the work which is here to be done; but, practically, it is the rarest thing to find a student well qualified in these branches who has not studied other subjects as well, and among these subjects the first to be taken up is algebra. By requiring this subject, we discourage the application for admission of a large number of untrained youths who require common school training, and only that-who are entirely unqualified for college work of any proper grade. The question at issue is simply this, shall the College be turned into a great common school, or shall it begin its work where the common schools leave off? If, in many districts of the State, the work of the common schools is not well enough done to qualify pupils for entrance to the College, the field for labor would seem to be in these backward schools. That no hardship is imposed by requiring the elements of algebra is seen from the statement, which can not be challenged, that there is not a township in Ohio in the common schools of which some teacher each year can not give instruction in algebra. The statement might be much stronger than this, for there is not a township in some counties, and scarcely a district in many townships, in which algebra is not actually taught at some time during the year. The term college, has a very indefinite meaning in Ohio, as most of the institutions of this name open their doors in preparatory departments to students of the lowest grade of acquirements, but the results obtained are not assuring. There is a difference between school and college. More liberty is granted to students in the latter than can be wisely used by pupils in the former. Let the farmers of the State make their neighborhood schools good, so that their children can be properly trained in the rudiments while still living under their own roofs. From such no complaints will come of the requirements for entrance here. The College has, in good faith, fixed its standard of admission so as to meet the good common schools of the State. It can not be fairly asked to take the pupils from every common school, unless it is proposed to do away with examinations altogether. It is to be remembered, also, that its standard is assailed on another side. The high schools find fault with the low terms of admission adopted here, and urge that the College should begin its work nearer to the point where they themselves leave off. If this were practicable, there would certainly be some manifest advantages in it, for the presence of a comparatively well-trained body of students would be assured; but such a standard would be unjust to the agricultural communities, and can never be adopted here without breaking faith with the great interest to which the institution is, by its organic act, primarily devoted. In May, 1878, a third organization of the Board of Trustees was effected by the legislation that follows. The name of the institution was also changed by this act: AN ACT To reorganize and change the name of the Ohio Agicultural and Mechanical College, and to repeal certain acts therein named. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the educational institution heretofore designated as the Ohio agricultural and mechanical college shall be known and designated hereafter as "The Ohio State University." SEC. 2. The government of said university shall be vested in a board of seven trustees, who shall be appointed by the governor of the state, with the advice and consent of the senate; but no trustee, or his relation by blood or marriage, shall be eligible to any professorship or position in the university, the compensation for which is payable out of the state treasury, or said college fund. SEC. 3. The members of said board of trustees, and their successors, shall hold their offices for the term of seven years each: provided, that the trustees first appointed under the provisions of this act shall hold their terms for one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven years, respectively, to be fixed by the governor in their commissions. In case a vacancy shall occur from death or other cause, the appointment shall be for the unexpired term. The trustees shall not receive any compensation for their services, but they shall be paid their reasonable and necessary expenses while engaged in the discharge of their official duties. SEC. 4. The board of trustees shall have power, and it is made their duty, to collect, or cause to be collected, specimens of the various cereals, fruits, and other vegetable products, and to have experiments made in their reproduction upon the lands of the university, and to make report of the same, from year to year, together with such other facts as may tend to advance the interests of agriculture. SEC. 5. The board of trustees shall have power, and it is hereby made their duty, to secure and keep in the said university a collection of specimens in mineralogy, geology, zoology, botany, and other specimens pertaining to natural history and the sciences; and it shall be the duty of the president of the university to collect and deposit in the said university, in such manner as shall be directed by the trustees, a full and complete set of specimens as collected by him and his assistants, together with a brief description of the character of the same, and where obtained; and the said specimens shall be properly classified and kept for the benefit of said university. SEC. 6. The first meeting of the members of the board shall be called by the governor, as soon after the appointment of said board as convenient, to be held at said university, in Columbus, Ohio. All succeeding meetings shall be called in such a manner and at such times as the board may prescribe. The said board shall meet at least three times annually, and at such other times as they may think necessary for the best interest of the said university. A majority of the board of trustees present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum to do business; provided, a majority of all the board shall be required to elect or remove a president or professor. SEC. 7. The board of trustees shall cause to be made, on or before the first day of January of each year a report to the governor of the condition of said university; the amount of receipts and disbursements, and for what the disbursements were made; the number of professors, officers, teachers, and other employés, and the position and compensation of each; the number of students in the several departments and classes, and the course of instruction pursued in each; also, an estimate of the expenses for the ensuing year; a statement showing the progress of said university, recording any improvements and experiments made, with their costs, and the results, and such other matters as may be supposed useful. There shall be printed, under the provisions of section seven (7), of the act passed March 30, 1875, (O. L., volume 72, page 179), in pamphlet form, one thousand copies of said report for the general assembly, one thousand for the president and faculty of said college, and three thousand copies for distribution by the trustees in their several districts, in such manner as they shall deem best for the interests of said university. The president of said university shall transmit by mail one copy to the secretary of the interior, and one copy to each of the colleges |