OF THE

BOARD OF REGENTS

OF THE

State College of Washington

(The Agricultural Experiment Station and
School of Science.)

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON

For the Biennium Ending June 30, 1906

OLYMPIA, WASH.:

C. W. GORHAM, PUBLIC PRINTER.

To His Excellency, Albert E. Mead, Governor of the State of Washington:

DEAR SIR-I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the Board of Regents of the State College of Washington, (the Agricultural College and Experiment Station and School of Science.)

Very truly yours,

PULLMAN, WASH., Nov. 1, 1906.

E. A. BRYAN, Secretary Board of Regents.

BIENNIAL REPORT.

To His Excellency, Governor Albert E. Mead:

The board of Regents of the State College of Washington (the Agricultural College, Experiment Station and School of Science) respectfully submits its report for the biennium ending Oct. 31, 1906, covering the fiscal period ending June 30, 1906. Accompanying this report and made a part of it are the annual catalogues for the years 1905 and 1906.

The Purposes of the College.

Quoting from our special report to you, made last summer, we desire to repeat what was then said. "Your attention is called to the fact that this institution represents the combination of two, or rather three, institutions, whose functions blend into one great purpose. It is (a) the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, (b) the Scientific School contemplated in the Enabling Act, and, (c) the State Agricultural Experiment Station, all alike resting on the foundation of state and national legislation, and combined into a unity under the title "The State College of Washington."

The State Constitution foreshadowed the establishment of a school for technical instruction, and in Section 2 of Article. IX., made such schools to be established by law a part of the "public school" system of the state. The Legislature almost immediately after the organization of the state, combined the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the Scientific School into a single institution, added the Agricultural Experiment Station, as the United States law required, and provided for a governing board, to be known as "The Commission of Technical Instruction," afterwards as "The Board of Regents," and by unusually detailed legislative enactment defined the functions of the institution thus formed. It is clear that the purpose of the state was to concentrate the work of the higher technical and industrial education, and to

establish an institution which should fulfill this function in the education of the commonwealth. The institution was made the beneficiary of national grants made and to be made for this purpose, and was endowed with the land grant of the 90,000 acres for the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and the 100,000 acres for a scientific school, given by the United States to the institution or institutions which the state should establish for the purposes indicated.

It will thus be seen that a broad foundation was laid by state and national governments upon which there should be reared a great and useful institution standing for instruction in agriculture and the mechanic arts and the various branches of a liberal and practical education, and standing also for the economic and educational development of the state, thus representing the marriage of science and industry in this commonwealth.

Our ideal is to fulfill this function. It is to contribute the highest results of scientific knowledge and skill to the development of the economic resources of the state, to promote such technical knowledge and technical skill as may serve the same purpose, and to educate in the most thorough and liberal way the children of the great industrial classes of this commonwealth. It is not to create an institution of great size, or great name and fame, but primarily to create one thoroughly sound which shall meet the needs of the people of the state along these most important educational lines, that we are devoting our best thought and effort. All that we ask from yourself and the Legislature is that there may be provided the necessary means to meet the needs and demands. of the state as demonstrated by the people of the state themselves in their use of the facilities offered. The people, after all, are the best judges of what will best meet their needs in this respect, and if this institution fails of its purpose, it will languish and die for lack of support.'

Enrollment.

The total enrollment for the year ending June 30, 1906, is 1079. This includes the Winter School for Farmers. Without that body, 942. The enrollment for the present year will likely reach 1200, exclusive of the Winter School for Farmers.