Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1916 [PAGE 111]

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1914]

PROCEEDINGS OP THE BOARD OP TRUSTEES.

Ill

Lots 3, 4, parts of lot 2, and part of lot 1 in William M. Goodwin's Addition to the city of Urbana; Lots 4, 5, and part of lot 6 in block 6 and parts of lots 1 and 2 in block 4 in the Urbana Railroad Company's Addition to Urbana ; Part of lot 2 in block 2 in Burpee, Curtis and Somer's Addition of out lots in Urbana; Lots 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in block 55 in the Seminary Addition to the city of Urbana; Block 6 of J.. S. "Wright's Addition to the city of Champaign; The south 52 rods of the east %, southeast %, southeast }4 of section 18, township 19 north, range 9 east of the Third Principal Meridian; The northwest %, northwest % of the southwest %, south %, of the southwest %, and the northeast % of the southwest %, of section 20, township 19 north, range 9 east of the Third Principal Meridian; and Lot 2 of the south % of section 13, township 19 north, range 8 east of the Third Principal Meridian. I have lodged the list of pieces of real estate furnished me by the Comptroller with the certificate of the board of review in the business office. Sincerely yours, O. A. HARKER, Legal Counsel.

A U T H O R I T Y TO T E L E G R A P H M O N E Y TO F A C U L T Y M E M B E R S IN EUROPE.

(9) A request for authority to telegraph funds to the State department, to be telegraphed to members of the faculty who are detained in Europe by war conditions, to enable them to secure passage home.

On motion of Mrs. Henrotin, this request was approved, the vote being as follows: Ayes, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Henrotin, Mr. Hoit, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Moore, Mr. Trevett, Miss Watson; noes, none; absent, Mr. Abbott, Mrs. Busey, Mr. Dunne, Mr. Meeker.

N E W S I T E D E S I R E D FOR T H E OBSERVATORY.

(10) A summary of a communication from Dr. Joel Stebbins, Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory, in regard to the necessity of a new site for the Observatory. Prof. Stebbins states that when the site set apart by the Board of Trustees for the new building for the Department of Music is occupied by a building, the possibility of carrying on scientific work on the site of the present Observatory will be very greatly impaired. He urges, therefore, that the Trustees make provision at the present time for a site to which the present Observatory can be removed or on which a new Observatory may be erected. He has looked carefully over the available sites and states that the tract of thirteen acres known as the Augustus tract, recently purchased by the University, is the most desirable site now owned by the University. This tract is located west of Lincoln Avenue and directly east of the property owned by the Mount Hope Cemetery, south -of the Forestry and north of the road running along the south side of the Cemetery. Prof. Stebbins is of the opinion that a very moderate provision for the needs of the Department of Astronomy will require at least as much ground as is contained in this tract. It is necessary to get the main Observatory away from other buildings as far as possible and yet keep the whole plant as near the center of the University complex as possible. He requests that this assignment be made a t the present time, and that he be given authority to prepare and present general plans for an astronomical plant for the consideration of the Trustees.

No action was taken with reference to this matter.

LAND A T SPRING VALLEY FOR A G R I C U L T U R A L EXPERIMENTATION.

(11) A letter from Dr. Eugene Davenport, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, concerning the donation from certain citizens in Spring Valley of a field of seventeen acres of land to be used for experimental purposes. August Uj 191%. President Edmund J. James, University of Illinois. a certain body of citizens in Spring Valley to donate to the University under deed a tract of land, approximately 17 acres in extent, in close proximity to a local high school, to be used for experimental purposes, under the condition that when its use for this purpose is abandoned by the University for a period longer than two years it shall revert as provided in the deed. I recommend that the proposition submitted by the Spring Valley people be accepted. This recommendation is based upon the fact that the field meets the conditions needed by the University in the carrying on of its soil .investigations in the State. By this I mean that we need further representative fields on this particular type of soil and in that qlimatic region. I may say, in general, that it early became evident that in order to secure reliable information about the various types of Illinois soils it would be necessary to conduct actual field experiments upon all the distinct types, and in the separate climatic regions of the State. Accordingly, by rental and otherwise, such experimental fields have been conducted from the beginning, growing steadily in number, until it now reaches thirty-eight fields, which are operated a t an approximate total annual cost of one thousand dollars each, from which should be deducted the receipts which in some instances will cover the entire expense, in others not.

MY DEAR PRESIDENT JAMES : There is before the University a proposition from