20 Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 



that the same lectures are repeated from year to year and finally become 

 a matter of routine. 



The lecturer who concentrates on one subject at a time, and changes 

 that subject from year to year or at longer intervals, covers a much 

 larger territory in the end than the man who drives the same half dozen 

 subjects abreast year after year. Besides this he has a much better 

 command over his material. The conditions best adapted to the needs 

 of a scientist, the conditions under which he will attain his maximum 

 as a research worker and prove himself most efhcient as a teacher, are 

 not always clearly apprehended by American university administra- 

 tions. 



The American university is administered by a Board of Regents 

 composed wholly or almost wholly of business men. There is a President 

 appointed by the Board and appointments to the teaching staff are made 

 by the Board on the recommendation of the President. In general the 

 Faculty has no representation on the Board and its sole connection with 

 the Board is through the President. There is a good deal of dissatis- 

 faction with this arrangement, I was told while on a visit to the United 

 States last summer. A prominent member of the academic staff of one 

 of the principal American universities gave expression to this feeling by 

 stating that the teaching staff was slave to the administration. There 

 have been some experiments in the way of modifying the organization. 

 Representation of the Faculty on the Board of Regents has been tried. 

 There have also been committees of the Faculty having access to the 

 Board and committees composed of members of the Board and members 

 of the Faculty. With what success these tentatives have met I do not 

 know. There does not seem to be complete unanimity with regard to 

 the remedy which is needed for the existing state of affairs. I may say 

 that in European universities there is no administrative body of the 

 nature of the Board of Regents of an American university and there is 

 no office which corresponds to that of the American university Presi- 

 dent. The Principal of a British college or university has nothing like 

 the powers of the university President. The Faculty has far more in- 

 fluence in the conduct of affairs than is the case in America. This is in 

 evidence in the making of appointments. For example, where the system 

 of electors is in operation the Faculty has a voice in choosing the electors. 

 It also has its say in the case of universities where the system of electors 

 has not been adopted. 



In our Canadian universities we have the American form of admin- 

 istration. Our curriculum and academic standard, however, have been 

 imported from Great Britain. We have adopted the idea of the honours 

 courses, and these courses at the University of Toronto are probably 



