DEPARTME]SrT REPORTS. 



REPORT OF PRESIDENT WILLITS. 



To the Honorable State Board of Agriculture : 



I liave the honor to submit my third report. My first was from July I,. 

 1885, the date of my assumption of duties at this college, to September 30, 

 the end of that fiscal year. My second was for the full fiscal year 1885-6 ; 

 and this, in consequence of a change by law of the fiscal year, will cover the 

 time from September 30, 1886, to June 30, 1887. 



Since my last report there has been but little change to chronicle. The 

 work on the farm and garden and in the class-rooms and laboratories has been 

 eminently successful. The total attendance for the year numbered 323. The 

 dormitories were crowded, with three in a room in all cases where personal 

 affiliations and the size of the room would permit, and some new rooms were 

 extemporized in the other buildings on the grounds. The students have 

 been patient, hoping for better accommodations as soon as the new dormitory 

 shall be completed. 



The buildings are all in good repair, the dormitories in a decidedly improved 

 condition. A new hard wood floor has been laid in the two upper stories of 

 Williams Hall, and the corridors of both halls have been calcimined and the 

 wood work painted, so that the general appearance of the halls is brighter 

 and neater. I wish to note the fact that the students have so far appreciated 

 the improvement of their quarters as to take much better care of them. 

 During the year there has been no reckless damage done, and the ordinary 

 wear and tear has been reduced to a minimum. In my weekly inspection of 

 the buildings I have found but two pencil marks on the walls. When it is 

 considered that at no time has there been less than 120 students in one, or 

 130 in the other, dormitory, the foregoing record is sufficient testimony of the 

 good order of the students. What is true in the dormitories is true on the- 

 grounds and in the other buildings. Not a single case of injury to property 

 has occurred, nor a single " mad prank " to annoy the executive. The vol- 

 untary attendance at the daily chapel exercises has so far increased as to some- 

 times test the capacity of the chapel, and the attendance on the Sunday 

 Bible classes and the meetings of the Young Men's Christian Association has 

 been satisfactory. The going to the city has become less frequent, being on 

 the average considerably less than once a week, and the relations of the 

 students with the police officers have so far improved that there is no con- 

 flict or trouble of any kind. In other words, the general demeanor of the- 

 students has been that of gentlemen. 



