Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/411

 POPULISM IN A STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION 397

stimulate a healthy inquiry among the people into the causes that depress industry and paralyze agriculture. With this pur- pose in view, the board of regents has instituted the general course of lectures on political economy, already referred to, and has ranked the study of political economy in the postgraduate course, commensurate with its importance."

No further steps were taken during the winter, except to secure the confirmation of regents by a populist senate before the inauguration of a republican governor; but in April 1895, the faculty was directed by resolution of the same regents to submit a plan for so changing the course of study as to "give not less than six terms " study of economic sciences, including one term of history, one term of erne's, and one term of psy- chology." The faculty made a full and clear statement of the difficulties, claiming that the course was already full ; that to crowd so short a course with additional terms in these studies by excluding others or by electives would reduce the effective- ness of the course for its prime purposes ; and therefore urged a compromise by offering a course of five years with electives in the last two. This plan, after some hesitation, was accepted by the board ; but the movers of the resolution and Professor Will, were much disappointed and held the older members of the faculty responsible for their failure.

April 1896, brought a republican majority on the board of regents, but no change was made in the course in political economy, except to restore the chapel lectures by members of the faculty in rotation, which had been displaced for the lectures in economics. The committee on employes, of which Mr. Hoffman was still a member, recommended and the board agreed, that no change be made in the list of employes for the college year ending September i, 1897.

In all the three years of control by a board of populists, very little criticism of teachers or of methods had come from the regents. Satisfaction with both the nun and the work was publicly sed by various members. A few charges

from outside had been considered, and most of them judged