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June, 1937 The Notre Dame Alumnus 243
President of University Reports on 1936-37
At the Commencement exercises
three years ago, our hearts were saddened
by the fatal ilhiess of our
President, Father O'Donnell. At the
close of the exercises, just three
years ago today, this beloved priest
passed to his great reward.
This year, by a singular coincidence,
another great figure in the
literary tradition of Notre Dame has
cast a shadow on our joy by his passing.
The association of Professor
Fred Myers with our University was
relatively brief, if compared \vith the
55 years of Father Hudson, but the
impression made this modest man on
the students who came under his influence
during that time was of the
everlasting kind. Let my first word
tonight be a pledge of prayers for
the repose of his beautiful and courageous
soul. -Ajid let me be your
spokesman in a similar pledge for
two other noble souls who were mth
us a year ago but have since been
called to God — the great Father
Nieuwland and the lovable Johnnie
O'Brien. May their souls, and the
souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in
peace.
Cites Father Sorin's Exairple
These crosses come, and we accept
them with resignation to the Divine
Will. Again we commend ourselves to
Divine Providence, which has guided
Notre Dame through seemingly insurmountable
trials; again we thank
God for a good year. Looking over
some old letters of Father Sorin recently,
I was struck by the frequency
with which he put off his creditors
admitting honestly that the treasury
was empty, but that his faith in God
had not abated. In one letter, written
in 1859, he wrote that he expected
Notre Dame to be sold that day for
debt. In another letter, dated in that
same year, he reported that the religious
had gathered about his bed in
tears that morning, lamenting the
end of Notre Dame, and that he upbraided
them for their lack of confidence
in the Divine Providence which
had protected them in seemingly impossible
situations. Often he stated
that though the till was empty, the
flour bin was not, and that God had
blessed them with good crops; that
neither students nor community was
in danger of starvation.
Summarizes Progress of Vear in Annua!
Message to Alumni; Emphasizes Unprecedented
Record in Student Religious Life.
By Rev. John F. O'Hara. C.S.C. "I I
(An Address at the Alumni Banquet)
It is on prayer that Notre Dame
was built, and on prayer it must continue
if it is to do the work for which
it was founded. I am pleased to report
that the spirit of prayer has not
departed. Father Cavanaugh tells me
' that the number of Holy Communions
received by the students this year
was 361,215, a daily average of 1,570,
or 40 a day more than was ever
recorded before. The best previous
average was 1,530, which was registered
in the scholastic year, 1931-32,
when the student registration was
200 higher than it is now. In addition
to daily Communion, there were
evidences of new peaks in devotion to
the Blessed Sacrament, to daily adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament, and
to Our Lady at the Grotto. Notre
Dame is following in the way of her
founders when these things are true,
and I know that you want to hear
that the truly important things have
not been forgotten.
It has been, I say, a good year. For
the first time since the depression
affected student attendance on the
campus, we found it necessary to
close registration of students a month
in advance of the opening of classes.
.A.ttendance was limited this year,
practically, to those who could be accommodated
on the campus, 2,937.
Present reports from the registrar
FATHER O'HARA
indicate that probably before the end
of this month, the books for next
year will be closed. I should say in
this connection that it is not our intention
to provide new housing facilities
for undergraduates, except in the
way of replacements of halls that are
not fireproof. Increase in graduate
enrollment indicates the need of a
graduate hall, and there will be no
limitation placed for the present on
students in the graduate division;
but the council has decided against
allowing any further growth in the
undergraduate department.
Progress in Science
Last year you heard at length of
studies and research in science. It
will not be amiss to report briefly at
this time on the development of projects
then outlined. Two important
symposia were held during the year.
In January, a memorial service for
Father Nieuwland brought together
some 300 scientists from all parts of
the country; the papers read on scientific
subjects at this meeting have
received world - wide attention. In
April, a symposium on the Calculus
of Variations was attended by some
70 mathematicians of first rank in
the United States. The two days'
sessions were addressed by the 12
men in this country who are held to
be most proficient in this particular
branch of mathematics. Professor •
Menger, who came to us this year
from the faculty of the University
of Vienna, was the moving spirit of
the Symposium. Another Notre Dame
speaker was professor Arthur Haas,
who is also a former member of the
Vienna faculty.
A year ago, the cornerstone of the
Biology building was blessed during
Commencement exercises. This new
building is now completed, and will
be in use during the coming summer
session. It has been praised as a
model for work in the field of
Biology.
The new Cavanaugh Hall, a Freshman
dormitory, was opened in September.
Zahm Hall, another Freshman
dormitory, is promised for the
opening of school this fall. The renovation
of Corby Hall was completed
in December, and this traditional student
dormitory is now a beautiful
faculty houS2.