104 EXPERIMENT STATION KEt'ORD. 



(U'lil of authority and j)ow('r in caryin^i; out the licncial j)olicy of the 

 institution, and to place him in an undi^nihcd position before his 

 facuhy and the people of his State. Such practice is the end of 

 or<!:anization and esprit de corps, for it leads every man to work for 

 himself with his particular committee, and leaves no airency to i)re- 

 serve the symmetry and integrity of the institution. Good adminis- 

 tration is impossible, for responsibility is divided and a common 

 purpose in working out a general plan is lacking. 



One college president has recently resigned because of the presistent 

 attempts of the board to manage the college by committees which 

 took upon themselves administrative duties, and because of the in- 

 sistence of members in placing their friends and relatives on the 

 faculty of the institution. In this college there w^ere ten such people 

 out of a total of about forty. Aside from being an improper infringe- 

 ment on the president's functions, such practice is manifestly unfair 

 to him, for in the end he is held for results and is looked upon to se- 

 cure efficiency, maintain academic standards and spirit in the institu- 

 tion, and promote a feeling of loyalty and of security among the 

 members of his faculty. His reputation as a college executive is at 

 stake, and the reasons for his lack of success can not be generally 

 explained. 



An instance in which personal strife within the boartl has been 

 allowed to go so far as to seriously interfere with the work of an 

 institution may also be cited. A board election for treasurership 

 was contested by one of the members, carried to the courts, where 

 the records of the board were reversed, and the case appealed to the 

 highest state tribunal, where it at present awaits action. Meanwhile 

 the college and station are deprived of the use of their funds, resulting 

 in serious embarrassment in the conduct of the institutions, which 

 increases as the delay is prolonged. Here the welfare of the insti- 

 tution which the board was appointed to protect and to j)romote is 

 sacrificed in the contest for a small personal advantage, in which the 

 institution has no interest and apparently nothing to gain. 



The same distinctions between the functions of the governing board 

 and the executive apply wdth equal or perhaps greater force in the 

 management of the experiment station. The station usually bears 

 a much more direct relation to the board than other departments of 

 the college do. While it is a department of the institution, it usually 

 has a quite distinct autonomy, and is presided over by a special 

 administrative officer. His duties and responsibilities in relation to 

 the station work are analogous to those of the president to the insti- 

 tution as a whole. 



Because of this separateness of the station and the special char- 

 acter of its work, it has been customary to assign it to a committee 



