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Title
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018
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Transcription
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THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY
The University of Nebraska was chartered by act of the Nebraska legislature in 1869. The bill providing for its charter, known as S. F. No. 86, "an act to establish the University of Nebraska," was introduced into the senate on February 11, by E. E. Cunningham of Richardson County. It was referred back, on the day of its introduction, to the committee on education, the chairman of which was Charles H. Gere, to be for many years the editor of the Nebraska State Journal, and a future regent of the University. The bill was returned to the senate on February 12 with amendments and on the next day it was passed and sent to the house. It was read in the house a first and second time under suspension of rules, and referred to the committee on schools. The bill was read for the third time two days later February 15, passed, end signed by Governor David Butler. On the last day of the legislative session of 1869, two years and six days from the date of the admission of Nebraska to statehood, the bill chartering the University became a law.
As recorded in The Statutes of Nebraska for 1869, the law enacted That there shall be established in this state an institution under the name and style of "The University of Nebraska." The object of such institution shall be to afford to the inhabitants of the state the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science, and the arts. The charter of 1868 provided for six departments or colleges: A college of ancient and modern literature, mathematics, and the natural science, i.e., a college of literature, the sciences, the arts; of agriculture; of law; of medicine; of the practical sciences, surveying and mechanics; and of the fine arts. The college of fine arts was to be established when the annual income of the University reached $100,000. Six years later, by an amendment passed in 1875, the college of agriculture was united with the practical sciences, reducing the six colleges to five.
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Rights
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