DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 141 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ELECTRICAL 



ENGINEERING. 



President F. S. Kedzie: 



Dear Sir — About two years ago considerable pressnre was brought to 

 bear upon the Physics department to provide some means by ^which a 

 student could enter the College without Preparatory Physics. This re- 

 quest came because many colleges and universities are offering courses 

 in which Preparatory Physics is not required, although such courses are 

 not equivalent to any we give here. 



This last year I ottered to admit candidates for the Home Economics 



t-' 



Course without Preparatory Physics, because the amount of time as- 

 signed to Physics had been increased, and the faculty included the agri- 

 cultural and veterinary candidates in tliis provision. In June this year 

 (IDIG) this matter was referred to the Committee of Deans with power 

 for further action, which adopted the following resolution: 



''The action of the faculty permitting other entrance credits to be 

 substituted for physics by classes in the Divisions of Agriculture and 

 Home Economics entering in the fall of 1910 or thereafter shall be made 

 retro-active to include all students at present conditioned in entrance 

 physics who carry ten credits of pJiijsics during their college course. 



At the discretion of the head of the Department of Physics, additional 

 work mag be required of those who do not offer physics for entrance and 

 whose work indicates that extra time is needed." 



This must be considered in the nature of an experiment, and it is to 

 be hoped that it will at least be followed by more time being given to 

 physics in the Agricultural Course, for the principles of physics are be- 

 coming increasingly important in each of these courses above mentioned. 



I have always considered that we give a pretty complete course in 

 physics to the engineering students ; three terms Avith lecture and labor- 

 atory work throughout the year. This spring I received a communica- 

 tion from Columbia University to the effect, that some of our engineer- 

 ing graduates were applying for graduate work there, and they wished 

 to find out how much work in physics our graduates had had. On com- 

 paring their course Avith ours, I find they give fifty per cent more time 

 to physics than we do. 



On March 5th, this year, the Physics department was burned out of 

 its quarters in the Engineering Building, and since that time has been 

 occupying rooms in the Forestry Building. This fire made a consider- 

 able interruption affecting not only those departments whose quarters 

 were destroyed, but all of the departments of the College, more or less, 

 because of the ''doubling up" which was necessary. 



It perhaps would be proper to put on record here the fact that classes 

 were resumed the next morning (Monday) without any loss of class 

 work. This made necessary strenuous exertions for many others than 

 the members of the departments* directly affected. During the spring 

 term we have also met all of our usual classes, and have covered the 

 ground usually covered in that term. 



