 | Board of Visitors minutes June 29, 1885 |  |
At the annual meeting of the Rector
and Visitors, Monday, June 29, 1885.
Present: Colo Wm Roane Ruffin, Rector; and Messrs Bell,
Blair, Barbee, Taylor, and Colo William Byrd,
who takes the place of Genl Ruggles, by Commission
of the Governor.
The minutes of the last meeting of the Board, as well
as the minutes of the Executive Committee, were read and
approved.
Following is the list of the Standing Committees:
Executive Committee; Ruffin, Bell, Barbee
Finance Committee: Ruffin, Barbee, Burks
Grounds and Buildings: Barbee, Bell, Blair
Health, Sewerage and Drainage: Groner, Taylor,
HansbroughBoarding-Houses: Bell, Taylor and Byrd
Miller Fund: Byrd, Bell, Groner
Library: Bell, Taylor, Byrd
Apparatus: Groner, Byrd, Hansbrough
Conduct of Schools: Hansbrough, Burks, Taylor
Examination of Students: Burks, Taylor, Blair
The Chairman's Report was received, and is as follows:
"University of Va, June 29", 1885. To the Rector and Board
of Visitors, University of Va, Gentlemen: I transmit herewith
the reports, as follows, viz:
1. Faculty Reports, with
2. Schedule of Repairs
3. Report of Committee on Repairs, etc.
4. Report of the Proctor
5. Report of Prof Page, with Inventory of Property
of the Experimental Farm and
School of Agriculture6. Report of the Librarian
7. Report of Prof Stone
8. Report of Prof Smith
9. Report of Prof Thornton
10. Report of Prof Dunnington
11. Application of Prof Gilmore
12. Two letters of Prof Garnett
13. Notes of Work by Students
14. Resolutions of the Faculty respecting the
B.A. degree15. Resolutions of the Faculty respecting Blacksmith's
shop; and in relation to signing
Degree diplomas.16. Drawings of Students in the School of Applied
Mathematics
I have great pleasure in stating that the health of the
students has been good during the session, there having been
three or four cases of severe sickness, all of which recovered:
that good order and hard studying have characterized the
session; and that discipline, under the laws, has been
applied in a comparatively small number of instances, and
with good effect generally -
I am, with great respect,
James F. Harrison, M.D.
Chairman of the Faculty."
On motion of Colo G. T. Barbee, the following resolution
was unannmously adopted:
Resolved that, whereas it has been communicated to
this Board that Dr John Staige Davis, who, for nearly
forty years, has been so pleasantly and efficiently associated
with the labors of the Faculty of the University of Virginia,
is now confined to his room and bed by serious and painful
bodily afflication, Attorney-General, Francis S. Blair,
a gifted and honored member of this Board, be requested to
draft Resolution, expressive of the profound sorrow of
this Board at the sad visitation which has befallen Dr Davis
and his stricken household; and that a copy of said resolutions
shall be spread upon the minutes of this Board; and that
our Secretary be requested to furnish a Copy of the same
to the sorrowing family of our esteemed Professor.
Whereupon, the Hon Francis S. Blair submitted the
following preamble and resolution, which were unanimously
adopted:
"The Board of Visitors, having this day received through
Dr James L. Cabell, his medical attendant, written information
of the severe illness of Dr John Staige Davis, Professor of
Anatomy, and requesting for him a leave of absence for the
ensuing session, 1885-6, for the purpose of a recuperation of
his health, with the proposition that Dr David provide a
suitable and competent substitute, during the specified
time: And the Board having considered the said application,
and the present condition of Dr Davis, deem it but due to
him to say that, inasmuch as during a period of nearly forty
ability, and by his discipline and learning has thus, not
only given a most valuable contribution to its success,
fame and efficiency, but has adorned with splendid genius
the Chair he has so honorably filled, they take pleasure
in acceding to the request for said leave of absence; and,
in doing so, they beg leave to express their earnest wish
that rest and medical treatment may restore him to his
usual physical and mental strength, and that he may be
thus returned to his former sphere of usefulness for the
accomplishment of further educational good.
Without intended obtrusion on the sacred grief of the
household of DrDavis, we deem it not unfit, hereby, to
express our sincere sorrow at his present sad affliction,
and to testify our profound sympathy for them in this, their
hour of domestic suffering
To estimate the benefactions bestowed on mankind by
Dr Davis, during his long and professional services, it is
only necessary to consider the multitude of young men who
have gone forth from his lecture room into the field of the
world to sow those choice seeds of learning that under the
inspiration of his wise instructions have ripened into a
full fruition of most valuable citizenship and deserving
manhood; and whether it shall please Almighty God, in his
infinite mercy, to restore him to health, or in his providence
to terminate his career on earth, it will be to his
family and friends a source of affectionate satisfaction
that his career has been rounded off by the virtues of a well
men.
Therefore be it resolved that Dr John Staige Davis,
Professor of Anatomy in the University of Virginia, be
granted a leave of absence during the ensuing session,
1885-86, with the proviso, as proposed by himself, that he
procure Dr William B. Towles, or some other suitable and
competent substitute substitute during his said absence.
The Faculty and other Reports, named in the Chairman's
Report, were referred to the appropriate Committees for report
on the same.
Adjourned till tomorrow morning.
W. Roane Ruffin
Tuesday, June 30, 1885.
Resolved that, any existing order to the contrary of the
Visitors being rescinded, the diploma of Bachelor of Arts be
signed only by the Professors concerned in conferring the
degree. The diploma of Master of Arts to be signed, as
heretofore, by all the Professors of the University.
Resolved that the Chair of Analytical and Agricultural
Chemistry be separated from that of General and Industrial
Chemistry and Pharmacy
James W. Kern having been nominated by the Professors
of Greek and Latin respectively, he is hereby appointed Intructor
in those two schools at a Salary of $800.
Resolved that William L. Maupin ceased to be Bursar on
the 1st of July, 1884, as appears by the record: that his
salary ceased to run from that day; and that his application
Resolved that the Proctor pay Jefferson R. Taylor
$80, the amount of his bill against the University for investigating
the accounts of the former proctor, Majr Green
Peyton.
Resolved that the Professor of Mathematics applied to
Engineering shall receive the same salary with the other
professors, to wit: the sum of $3000.
Resolved that the request of Prof Gilmore to be allowed
to argue causes in the Supreme Court of Appeals during the
vacation of the University be granted.
T. W. Elsom is elected boarding-house keeper of House
A. on giving bond with security in the penalty of $3000.
The resignation of Jefferson R. Taylor, as commissioner
of accounts, is hereby accepted; and his petition for additional
compensation refused.
Francis P. Dunnington, B.S., having been nominated by
the Miller Board of Trustees, is declared by this Board
to be professor of Analytical and Agricultural Chemistry.
Adjourned till tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, July 1, 1885
Resolved that, hereafter, every student lodging elsewhere,
without regard to the place of his residence, shall
deposit in advance $15 as an indemnity for rent; and at the
close of the session the amount due for unoccupied dormitories
shall be estimated and divided equally among the
students lodging elsewhere as a charge to each - the remainder,
if any, being credited in the final settlement;
provided, said charge for indemnity shall in no case exceed
of 1884-85, just ended.
Resolved that the eleven University Scholarships now
granted on competitive examinations to students matriculating
in the University for the first time, be redistributed
among the departments as follows, viz: in the Academic
department five, and in the Engineering department two;
omitting altogether the four embraced in the Medical and
Law departments.
Resolved that the matter of renting hotel B., now
rented to Mrs Treiber be referred to the Executive Committee,
which committee is endowed with the power to rent the said
hotel to Mrs. Treiber, or some one else, as soon as they
think expedient
Adjourned till tomorrow morning.
W. Roane Ruffin
Thursday, July 2, 1885
Resolved that hereafter it shall be lawful to receive
as candidates for the degrees of Doctor of Letters, Doctor
of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy, students from other
Colleges who have attained the preliminary degrees now
required, or other degrees which the Faculty may deem
equivalent as well at other chartered Institutions of Learning
as at this University: Provided, however, that graduation
here shall be required in all cases in the Schools in which
it is proposed to pursue graduate courses.
Resolved that the Faculty be empowered to modify, in
its discretion, all fines and charges for not returning
said fines and charges for failure to return any book, shall
in no case be less than one and a half times the sum required
to replace the said book or books, in respect to which the
default may occur. But this resolution shall not be so
construed as to alter or affect the obligation to replace
works that have been damaged or lost, or which are not returned.
Resolved that the Library be kept open, during the
session, six hours a day, every day, except Sundays and
holidays. The time to be fixed by the Faculty.
Resolved that the sons of professors at the University
stand on the same footing with all other Virginia students;
that is to say they are entitled to free tuition in the
Academic Schools only.
Resolved that a course of lectures and field-work in
Engineering Geodesy by Prof Thornton be opened to all students
of the University who may choose to pay a fee of $15 therefor.
Resolved that a Decennial Catalogue of the University
may be prepared by a committee of the Faculty, and published
out of any funds in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
But the cost of the same as well as for additional copies
of "The Sketch of the University" and all attendant charges
shall not exceed $500.
Resolved that no expenditure of money relating to the
Observatory shall be chargeable to the general funds of the
University, save and except in making improvements upon the
road leading to the said Observatory, whereby the same may
with a view to making such improvements upon the said road
a sum of money not exceeding $100 is hereby appropriated
for that purpose: Provided, however, that the same is to
be paid out of any surplus in the treasury, next session,
not otherwise appropriated.
On motion of Colo Barbee, Resolved that, in order to
meet the contingencies contemplated by the authority given
to the Faculty by this Board on the 16th of January, 1885,
in relation to the ceremonies attending the formal opening of
the McCormick Observatory, the sum of $39.40 is nereby
appropriated to pay the expenses of said ceremonies: Provided
that the same be paid only out of any surplus in the
treasury, next session, not otherwise appropriated.
1. Resolved that the four existing scholarships,
known as the Miller Scholarships, be and the same are hereby
abolished.
2. Resolved that, tin honor of the late Samuel Miller,
the founder of our Agricultural Department, there be established
in this University four Agricultural Scholarships to
be called, "The Miller Agricultural Scholarships".
3. Resolved that the Scholarships, hereby created,
shall be bestowed upon a competitive examination ofthe same
character as those heretofore held for the scholarships
hereby abolished.
4. Resolved that $500 of the money turned over to
this University by the trustees of the Miller Fund shall be
held by the Proctor to be disbursed equally between the
two students standing highest in the said competitive examination
the said $500 shall be expended exclusively by the beneficaries
thereof, respectively, in pursuing studies at this University
in the Agricultural Department, embracing the following
schools, to wit: Junior Physics, General Chemistry, Zoology,
Agricultural Botany and Agriculture, and Mineralogy and
Geology: Scientific and Practical Agriculture, Agricultural
and Industrial Chemistry, First Class of Analytical
Chemistry, and Agricultural Engineering, But the Proctor
shall only disburse the said funds to the beneficiaries
thereof, respectively, upon their written order, from time
to time, in such sums as shall meet their proper Collegiate
expenses as the same shall accrue; paying, however, to them
at the end of the year the balance of their shares, respectively,
of the said $500 then due. The said beneficiaries
of the $500 shall not be admitted to any other Schools in
the University than the Schools in the Agricultural Department.
5. Resolved that the two remaining scholarships
created by these resolutions shall carry free matriculation
and free tuition in the said Agricultural Department embracing
the schools above enumerated.
Resolved that one of the Miller Agricultural Scholarships
for the session, 1885-86, shall be bestowed on a student
from the Miller Manual School, provided he shall pass a
satisfactory examination therefor without regard to the
principle of competition; and so much of the resolutions,
heretofore passed, reestablishing said Scholarships, as
conflicts with this resolution, is hereby repealed.
Chemistry may select, subject to the approval of the Library
Committee, shall be transferred from the Library to the
Laboratory upon giving their receipt to the Librarian for the
same.
Adjourned till tomorrow morning.
W. Roane Ruffin
Friday, July 3, 1885
Resolved that the Proctor be directed to expend the
$6000, derived from the Miller Fund, in the Agricultural
Department, as follows:
| Farm including Superintendents' salary | $1000 |
| Professor of Agriculture, Zoology and Botany |
3000 |
| Professor of Agriculture, Chemistry etc. | 1300 |
| Signal Service Instruments | 100 |
| Fan $45, Printing $55 | 100 |
| Two Scholarships $250, each | 500 |
| $6000 |
Resolved that, hereafter, the Faculty of the University,
its Teachers and Instructors, shall attend in a Body the
Ceremonies and proceedings of the usual annual Celebration
at the University of Virginia; and that the Board of Visitors
will attend said Celebration with the Faculty under the
management and control of the Chairman of the Faculty.
Resolved that a Club, styled "The Gymnastic Club of
the University of Virginia", to consist of such students of
the University as may pay the inititation fee be and is hereby
established.
Resolved that said Club shall be subject to such constitution
and bye-laws as may be adopted.
Resolved that the initiation fee be fixed by the Faculty at
not more than $5 to be paid to the Proctor, and by him
disbursed in such manner as the Faculty may direct.
Resolved that the building, now known as the Gymnasium,
standing at the Southern end of the Eastern range, be set
apart for the use of said Club.
Resolved that the Faculty be empowered to set apart
two days during the month of November in each year for public
and Competitive exercises of said Club, during which days
all scholastic labors of the University may be suspended.
Resolved that a Committee of two be appointed to unite
with a Committee of the Faculty in a memorial to the Legislature
praying for a law which shall prohibit Bar Rooms and
Billiard Rooms within ...... distance of the incorporated
Institutions of Learning in this state, which are outside
of any corporate town or city.
Committee: Judge Bell and Dr Taylor.
Resolved that the repairs of the buildings and the improve-
of the grounds shall be done and carried on by the
Proctor, subject to the Control and direction of the Executive
Committee, in accordance, as far as practicable, with the
recommendations of the report by the Faculty's Committee
on Repairs and Improvements.
The Proctor's annual Report is received and filed;
and, also, the annual Report of the Commissioner of Accounts.
A special report of the actings and doings of the
former proctor, Maj: Green Peyton, by commissioner
Samuel B. Woods is elected Commissioner of Accounts
at a yearly salary of $150.
The Proctor will have a new floor put in dormitory,
54, now in Prof Dunnington's occupancy.
Dr Mallet may have the use of the Laboratory during
vacation.
Prof John R. Page is hereby required to render annually
an itemized account of the receipts and disbursements of
the Experimental Farm.
Resolved that the Faculty shall have authority- after
the first of March in any year - to anticipate the next
annual appropriation for newspaper advertising to and extent
not exceeding $400, stipulating that the bills for the same
shall not be presented till after the first of July in the
same year.
A Statement of Appropriations made to cover the expenditures
of the University for the current fiscal year.
| Salaries of 19 professors at $3000 each | $57,000 |
| Salary of one assistant in Latin and Greek | ,800 |
| Salary of one assistant in Math and Nat Phil | ,800 |
| Salary of one assistant in Modern Languages | ,600 |
| Carried forward | $59,200 |
| Brot foward | $59,200 |
| Salary of an assistant in Applied Mathematics, in case there be 25 students, or more |
300 |
| Salary of the Demonstrator of Anatomy | 800 |
| Salaries of Officers. Chairman of the Faculty | 500 |
| Proctor and Superintendent | 1600 |
| Librarian and Secretary | 1000 |
| Commissioner of Accounts | 150 |
| Janitor | 600 |
| Observatory ( current expenses) | 1780 |
| Infirmary (current expenses) | 2100 |
| Commutation of rent to 5 professors | 1500 |
| Repairs and Improvements | 4500 |
| Agricultural Department, Signal Service Instruments | 100 |
| Expenses of farm, including the managers salary |
1000 |
| Additional expenses, not to exceed sales, say | 130 |
| Fan $45 - Printing $55 | 100 |
| Two scholarships, $250, each | 500 |
| Apparatus for Natural Philosophy | 200 |
| Chemical Department | 200 |
| Natural History etc | 100 |
| Applied Mathematics | 50 |
| Library - Madison bequest, interest | 78 |
| Douglas Gordon bequest, interest | 300 |
| Advertising | 550 |
| Printing | 150 |
| Catalogues | 300 |
| Diplomas | 400 |
| Carried forward | $78,188 |
| Brot forward | $78,188 |
| Messenger to the Chairman | 180 |
| Janitor to the Museum | 180 |
| Labor | 1,500 |
| Fuel and Gas | 946 |
| Insurance | 554 |
| Interest on debt | 6,050 |
| Sinking fund | 1,000 |
| Contingent Expenses | 1,200 |
| $89,798 |
| State Annuity | 40,000 |
| Matriculation and Library fees of 300 students | 6,000 |
| Infirmary fees | 2,100 |
| Tuition fees | 17,500 |
| Diploma fees | 1,400 |
| Rent of 2 hotels | 500 |
| Rent of dormitories | 4,590 |
| Interest on $102,600 of State bonds at 6 p.ct. | 6,156 |
| Interest on Observatory bonds | 4,780 |
| Interest on Douglas Gordon fund | 300 |
| Interest on Deposits | 1,400 |
| Miller Fund | 6,000 |
| Profits on Coal | 500 |
| Sales of produce from Miller farm | 130 |
| Total | $90,506 |
| Expenditures | 89,798 |
| Balance | $ 808 |
| For Committee on the external interests of the University |
$500 |
| Road to Observatory Mountain | 100 |
| Apparatus in School of Chemistry | 100 |
| Apparatus in School of Natural Philosophy | 100 |
| Library | 500 |
| $1300 |
Adjourned.
W. Roane Ruffin
| Board of Visitors minutes June 29, 1885 | |