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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 887 



Spokane on December 16 the members voted 

 unanimously to pro-rate their timber holding 

 in the state of Idaho to the extent of $58,000 

 for the purpose of erecting a forestry building 

 at the University of Idaho. 



At its meeting on December 15 the board 

 of regents of the University of Michigan took 

 an important step with reference to graduate 

 studies. Hitherto this work has been in 

 charge of a subcommittee of the literary fac- 

 ulty. The recent action (1) founds a uni- 

 versity graduate department; (2) provides for 

 the appointment of a dean as chief executive; 

 (3) places the direction of aU matters affect- 

 ing graduate studies in the hands of an ex- 

 ecutive board of seven, together with the 

 president and dean ex officiis. A mixed com- 

 mittee, drawn partly from the administration 

 and partly from the senate, submitted the plan 

 as adopted, after prolonged consideration. 

 This committee was as follows : the President ; 

 Eegents Sawyer, Beal and Hubbard; Dean V. 

 C. Vaughan, of the medical faculty; Dean 

 John 0. Reed, of the literary faculty; Pro- 

 fessor E. M. Wenley, of the department of 

 philosophy; Professor F. N. Scott, chairman 

 of the present graduate council, and Professor 

 Alexander Ziwet, of the engineering faculty. 

 Buildings costing nearly $1,000,000 are 

 either being constructed or will be started at 

 the University of Wisconsin before the next 

 academic year opens. Nine new structures 

 will be completed within the next twelve 

 months on various parts of the university 

 grounds. The new buildings and their cost 

 will be as follows : 



Biology hall $200,000 



Wing to library 165,000 



Home economics building 115,000 



Model high school 150,000 



Women 's dormitory 150,000 



Agricultural chemistry 90,000 



Chemistry building wing 76,000 



Horticultural building 57,000 



Gymnasium annex 15,000 



Total $998;000 



The horticultural building is now almost 

 completed and will be ready for classes at the 



opening of the second semester in February. 

 The annex to the gymnasium will be com- 

 pleted about February 1. The big new biol- 

 ogy hall, which will give the department of 

 biology one of the finest homes at any Amer- 

 ican university, will not be completed before 

 the end of the present school year. Last week 

 ground was broken for three of the new 

 buildings — the women's dormitory, the agri- 

 cultural chemistry building and the new home 

 economics building, and work will be rushed 

 on all three of these buildings so that they may 

 be ready for occupancy at the opening of the 

 academic year next fall. The basements of 

 both the wing to the chemistry building and 

 that to the library are completed, but further 

 work will not be resumed on them until spring. 

 It is also understood that work on the new 

 model high school, to be built for the use of 

 the students at the university preparing to be 

 teachers, will not be started until spring. 

 This building is to be constructed on Univer- 

 sity Avenue, nearly opposite the United States 

 Forest Products Laboratory. 



The Journal of the American Medical As- 

 sociation states that a decree has been pro- 

 mulgated for the improvement of the scientific 

 and clinical education in the French medical 

 schools. Its main features are as follows : 

 (1) the duration of the medical course is in- 

 creased from four to five years; (2) practical 

 work in physiology and medical physics and 

 chemistry and bacteriology is to be compul- 

 sory ; (3) the hospital stage will be coextensive 

 with the medical course and will include the 

 various services ; (4) to decrease the effect of 

 chance in examination, each student will have 

 a record book in which will be noted the cred- 

 its he has obtained in laboratory and chemical 

 work and previous examinations. 



Edward D. Sisson, recently head of the 

 department of education at the University of 

 Washington, has been appointed professor of 

 education in the newly established Eeed Col- 

 lege, at Portland, Ore. 



Me. Fletcher McFaeland has been ap- 

 pointed instructor in physiology at the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota. 



