THE APPOINTMENT OF COLLEGE OFFICERS. 177 



and incompetency ; in short, all the worst features of personality may 

 be introduced into a contest which above all others ought to be unaf- 

 fected by personal considerations. Many a college war has sprung 

 from conflicts over appointments ; and only an exceptionally strong 

 president can long hold out against the difficulties which such contests 

 are apt to raise against him. With but few men is the method of per- 

 sonal appointments successful ; with many it leads to inharmony and 



overthrow. 



The third method of appointment, namely, upon recommendation 

 from the faculty, seems to be the most satisfactory of all. Of course, 

 it is not absolutely perfect, for it may give rise to dissensions ; but, on 

 the whole, it leads to better results than any other. The unsuccessful 

 aspirants for position can not blame and harass one individual, as when 

 the power of appointment is practically vested in the president alone, 

 for the annoying responsibility is divided among several persons ; nei- 

 ther can favoritism be urged as the reason for any particular choice. 

 Furthermore, since any good faculty consists of a number of men 

 actively engaged in scholarly work, its judgment as a body concerning 

 the fitness of candidates is more likely to be accurate than the opinion 

 either of a president or of a board of trustees who can not be expected 

 to give more than superficial attention to the matter. The members 

 of a faculty know of their own knowledge what standing a candidate 

 -has as an educator, what work he has done, and what he is probably 

 capable of doing ; and this knowledge, which frequently involves long 

 personal acquaintance with the aspirant, is worth much more than any 

 information derived from mere formal letters of recommendation or 

 from hearsay. Whoever is recommended by them will be a safe per- 

 son to appoint, and will be likely to work in harmony with his col- 

 leagues. They, on the one hand, calling a man to a vacant chair, will 

 be gratified by his acceptance ; while he, on the other side, will feel 

 grateful to them for their consideration. It is well known that this 

 method of appointment is in vogue at the Sheffield Scientific School ; 

 and it is said that no professor has been called to that institution ex- 

 cept upon the unanimous recommendation of the faculty. The natu- 

 ral result is a harmonious and efficient body of teachers, and an excep- 

 tionally strong school. 



Inasmuch as this third method of appointment presupposes a faculty 

 already in existence, it can not of course apply to those schools which 

 are in process of organization. In such cases it is best for the trustees 

 to select a strong and competent man for president in whom they can 

 have fulL confidence, and give him almost autocratic powers. Let him 

 choose the first faculty, drawing about him such teachers as will work 

 in unison with him and with each other ; and then refer all subsequent 

 appointments to that body. Of course, in no case should a board of 

 trustees surrender its own authority, but the recommendations of a 

 faculty should be ignored only for the most substantial of reasons. Be- 

 vol. xxi. 12 * 



