PROCEEDINGS

OF

THE TRUSTEES OF THE PEABODY

EDUCATION FUND.

TWENTY-SEVENTH MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES.

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 1888.

THE Trustees met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in New York, on October 3, at 12 o'clock, noon.

There were present: Mr. WINTHROP, the Chairman, and Messrs. EVARTS, WHIPPLE, HAYES, DREXEL, GREEN, PORTER, MORGAN, and COURTENAY.

The records of the last meeting were read and accepted, when a prayer was offered by Bishop WHIPPLE; after which Mr. WINTHROP addressed the Board as follows:

Gentlemen of the Peabody Board of Trustees,

It is a matter of special satisfaction and gratification to me this morning that I am privileged to welcome the reappearance among us of our friend, Dr. Curry, and to announce to you that after three years of valuable service as the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of Madrid, he has resigned that office, and has returned home to resume his labors in the great cause of education, as the General Agent of the Peabody Trust.

The business of our Board, as you know, since Dr. Curry withdrew from our service in October, 1885, has

been conducted by our faithful and untiring Secretary, Dr. Green, as General Agent pro tempore; and to him our most grateful acknowledgments are due for his devoted and efficient labors, voluntarily assumed and performed as labors of love, and thus saving no inconsiderable amount of our restricted income for appropriation to the Southern Schools. Dr. Green has, however, come to the conclusion with me that for the entire success of our work there is now a positive need of committing our General Agency anew to an accomplished Southern man of large personal experience in educational matters in the Southern. States, and of special gifts for communicating the results of that experience to his fellow-workers in the same field, - such a man as Dr. Curry abundantly proved himself to be during the four years of his previous service. With the full understanding, therefore, of what was hoped and expected, authority was given to me at our last meeting to appoint a General Agent, under the advice of the Executive Committee, whenever I should think it best to do so. Under that authority Dr. Curry has been appointed, and has accepted the appointment. With him once more at the helm, I feel assured that we shall hold on our track successfully to the end.

Another source of the highest satisfaction and gratification may be found by us all this morning in the signal success which has attended the steps taken by your Chairman in regard to our great Normal College at Nashville, which formed the subject of detailed explanation in my introductory remarks at our last Annual Meeting. The appointment of Prof. William H. Payne as the successor of the lamented Dr. Stearns has more than fulfilled our best hopes; and I may not forget that we owe his selection to Dr. Curry, who devoted not a little of his vacation last summer to securing him. On the very day of our last meeting, the College at Nashville- now distinctively

known as the Peabody Normal College - opened its Annual Session with the inauguration of Professor Payne, and he was formally recognized and elected by the appropriate Boards both as President of the College and as Chancellor of the University of Nashville. The interesting Addresses and Exercises at that inauguration are included in the Appendix to the third volume of the Proceedings of this Board, which, agreeably to your order, has been prepared and published by our Secretary, and of which copies have been sent to you all. We may rejoice that the new President has rendered himself so acceptable to the authorities and people of Nashville, as well as to all with whom he is associated in the work of education; and we may look confidently to the institution over which he presides for largely increased usefulness and influence in the preparation of teachers for all the Southern States.

I have received the following letter from him, which is full of encouragement:

HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP,

President of the Trustees of the Peabody Education Fund.

I take pleasure in submitting a brief statement of the condition and prospects of the Peabody Normal College, to the presidency of which I was called Oct. 5, 1887.

My release from my professorship in the University of Michigan was conditioned on my remaining in that institution till the completion of my courses for the first semester. Accordingly, after my inauguration and the organization of the school in October, I returned to Ann Arbor and organized my courses of instruction. Then I returned to Nashville and spent two weeks in adjusting the work of the College. Finally, in February, having completed my duties in the University of Michigan, I assumed active control of the College and carried forward my courses of professional instruction.

Early in the year the State Board of Education, on motion of Governor Taylor, appointed a committee to consider the propriety of changing the name of the Institution from "State

Normal College" to "Peabody Normal College;" and at a subsequent meeting, on the recommendation of the Committee, this change in title was unanimously adopted. In this proceeding the intent of the Board was to relieve the College from the local character implied by the term "State," and still more to do honor to the name of its Founder and to perpetuate his memory.

It gives me great pleasure to record the fact that only one spirit animates the State Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of the University of Nashville, - that of devotion to the prosperity of the Normal College. Both these Boards have not only seconded all my efforts for perfecting the organization and equipment of the College, but so far as possible have anticipated my wishes and plans, and have granted me all the material aid within their power.

So far as I have been able to interpret the sentiment of publicspirited citizens in Tennessee and in the South in general, it is that of cordial sympathy with the purposes and plans of the Normal College. The State Superintendents, particularly of the States having Peabody scholarships, are all active friends of the College, and have most cheerfully and efficiently co-operated with me in making its advantages known to the educational public of their respective States, and in conducting the examinations for scholarships according to the plans which I have proposed.

The growth of public interest in the Normal College is attested by what I think to be a typical fact reported from Virginia; namely, last year there were twenty-three competitors for nine vacant scholarships, whereas this year there were fifty-four competitors for five scholarships.

One of the most hopeful indications of the approaching collegiate year is the formation of a Baccalaureate class of considerable size. Most of the students who will compose this class are graduates of collegiate institutions of the South, who take this opportunity to extend their professional education. The preparation of teachers for the higher positions in the publicschool service of the South I take to be the characteristic aim of the Peabody Normal College; and my purpose is to raise the grade of instruction as rapidly as prudence permits. The Pea

body Education Fund is most wisely expended in educating teachers who will occupy commanding positions where they themselves shall become the educators of teachers.

The enrolment for the last College year was one hundred and seventy-nine, distributed as follows: Juniors, 36; Middle Class, 94; Seniors, 48; unclassified, 1. There were graduated in May, 1888, twenty-four young men and twenty-three young women, with the degree of Licentiate of Instruction. As the College offers unequalled advantages for professional instruction at a merely nominal cost ($6 a year), I hope the attendance of nonscholarship students may be gradually extended from year to year.

Recollecting that this College is a professional school, and not an institution for mere academic instruction, I have organized courses of study in the theory, history, and art of education, which are more comprehensive than those given in any other institution in the country.

The most pressing need of the College at this point in its history is a library. A part of the necessary equipment of a high school is a library of good books, but this College is virtually without a library of modern books. The University and Society libraries contain about ten thousand volumes; but these collections were made, in the main, fifty years ago, and need to be supplemented by several thousand volumes of modern books. I purpose to catalogue the existing libraries, and I shall feel greatly helped if your Board will set apart a generous sum for the purchase of books. It is only with the strictest economy that the ordinary current expenses of the College can be paid from the sums at the disposal of the State and University Boards.

As you know with what reluctance I severed my connection with the University of Michigan in order to accept your call to the presidency of this College, I feel it my grateful duty to assure you that I am much more than pleased with the change I have made; and wishing to carry out the plans and purposes of your Board to the extent of my ability, I subscribe myself very respectfully,

NASHVILLE, Tenn.,

Sept. 19, 1888.

Your President,

W. H. PAYNE.