Charles L. Ingersoll 1882 - 1891 |
University Presidents |
|
Born in upstate New York, Ingersoll served through the Civil War and then enrolled at the State Agricultural College of Michigan where he later taught and managed the experimental farm. He was recognized as a distinguished professor of agriculture and horticulture while teaching at Purdue. Considered an agricultural expert, Ingersoll, in defining the overall purpose of land-grant higher education, unequivocally espoused the "broad gauge" view, blending agriculture, the mechanic arts, and liberal education. During his first term at Fort Collins, 24 of the 67 students enrolled were women, but no effort had been made to provide special programs for them. He addressed this need by establishing a liberal arts "Ladies' Course." Throughout Ingersoll's tenure, academic options expanded and underwent modifications making it possible for students to obtain a B.S. degree in agriculture, irrigation engineering, and mechanical engineering. He also instituted military science training, a requirement for all land-grant schools. Just two years after he assumed office, the College celebrated its first commencement with three students on June 5, 1884. Ingersoll championed a broadly conceived institutional destiny, one that would bring together proven maxims of the past and new scientific methods of the present. He sought an academic program that was liberal and far-ranging, as well as practical and immediate. His tenure also featured practical research beneficial to Colorado when the Hatch Act of 1887 provided federal funding to support experiment stations at Morrill-Act colleges. Unfortunately, board members found his goals too ambitious and sought to prevent their implementation. Even though he had won the respect of students, alumni, members of the faculty, and townspeople during his nine-year association with the College, Ingersoll decided to resign. |
