Page:A History of the University of Chicago by Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed.djvu/360

 316 A HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO not provided, either by Mr. Rockefeller or by others, in advance. It was at the time a grievous disappointment to lay aside great plans for further enlargement, and the change of policy did, indeed, arrest for several years any further important steps of progress, except as made by the Founder himself in greatly enlarging the site. The University meantime came to stand on a sound financial basis. It established correct precedents for the guidance of future administrations and, with the new policy recognized and established, Mr. Rockefeller renewed his gifts on a far greater scale than before. As has been told in an earlier chapter, eight great steps in enlargement had been taken before the University opened its doors to students. The first of these was the giving by the Founder in September, 1890, of his first million-dollar subscription, designed to transform the College into the University with its Graduate School. The second was the agreement with the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, consummated in April, 1891, by which that institution became the Divinity School of the University, pro- fessional being thus added to graduate instruction. The third was the Plan of Organization, President Harper's educational plan, which looked to the development of the University into a most comprehensive system of Divisions, Colleges, and Schools. The fourth was the enlargement of the site in June, 1891, from three to four blocks, or from seventeen to twenty-four acres. The fifth was the organization in 1892 of the Ogden Graduate School of Science, consequent on the assured receipt in the future of the William B. Ogden bequest. The sixth was the provision made by Mr. Rockefeller's second million-dollar contribution in February, 1892, for an increase in the teaching force and a more liberal salary basis for professors, particularly heads of departments. The seventh was the raising of the million dollars in ninety days providing for eight great buildings. The eighth step was the appointment of a much larger teaching staff and the organization of the work generally on a much larger scale than had been at first contemplated. In the present chapter nine further steps in advance will be recorded.