Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - Illini Years [PAGE 12]

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omposcd of several schools and departments unac u , .. • 11 ;•,-,,(!.».• . m d S« M n< e. I »"' g r o u n d ! • Rnirinccring, Natural Science, and Literatim , . , r r ' ,, , « s n< i l ' l l l i i ! SUM 1. J 11 in extX r pied In the University covered about 623 acres n j -r, .... ,,.,.(!<• grounds, l mvr*r»it) huil.h, mental farm, orchards, and military paraa g / , i .,! ,. n, n lv I.I .i million dollars. Ovei numbered fifteen. The assets wen- valued at ncari) ^ wci , , • t i l( . lihrarv and it subscribed to nearh l-Kj 12.000 volumes were cataloged in tli< library periodicals in many languages. The Art Gallery, a hall 60 by 80 feet, was considered one ol thefin,, ;, t h e c o u n t r y . [ t w a s the gift of citizens of Urbana and Champaign R n t G r c g o r v C0 nected S2.000 and then w.nt to Europe for reproductions of famous Greek and Roman statues. When the statuary arrived, almost all of it » f o u n d t o be broken. Young Lorado Taft, '79. - n of a geology professor, postponed entering the University to take charge of the repairs and deftly put the pieees back together again. Many of the original forty statues are m exister* today, including the Laocoon and the Venus of Milo. One of the first machine shops and foundries for student laboratory work in any school in the country opened at the University in 1869. In a decade it had become both laboratory and manufacturing shop and. like the forge and the wood and carpentry shops which followed, was largely self-supporting. The compulsory manual labor hours had become a thing of the past. Students interested in physical exercise went in for baseball and track. For man years, however, athletic events were sideline attractions compared to the speaking contests held by the Illinois Intercollegiate Oratorical Association. Compulsory military drill continued and was one of the causes of the firs student rebellion. Nothing much came of the 1880 revolt, but another one eleven years later did result in some change of the rules. Early educators had said that women at the University should be taught "churning, vegetable gardening, and poultry raising." Music and elocution were also considered ideal courses for women. In 1874 one of the first women, Miss Louise C. Allen, joined the faculty. She became a "professor and preceptress." Under her leadership the most complete domestic science course of its kind in the country was begun. When she resigned i.» 1880 to become the wife of Regent Gregory, a School of Domestic Science had been established. On Commencement Day, June 6. 1877. the first degret s were ••ranted. The « W t Oneo^ b hao ' ' , ' , T

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