OCR Text |
Show quad represents the "old" and the "new" at Ricks cs modern buildings blend in with The early-da- y structures r By JOSEPH LUNDSTROM letter from the First THEJune 8, 1888, addressed toPresidency President Thomas Edwin Ricks, leader of Bannock Stake, instructed him to; 1 Organize a stake board of education. 2 Establish an academy in the stake as soon as possible. 3 To teach religion as well as academic subjects in the new school, and to use the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants as texts. Pics. Ricks followed the instructions of the First Presidency to the letter, and by November had a school functioning with students coming from throughout the upper Snake River area. The first classes were held in the Rexburg First Ward Chapel built of logs with as many as 60 students in the two rooms. The first term lasted 10 weeks. Karl G. Maeser, commissioner of education for the Church, traveled to Rexburg for the opening, and appointed Jacob Siori as principal. Such was the humble beginning of this now bustling and booming college campus. Ricks today with an enrollment expected to pass 1,000 in the fall, is as modern, and progressive as any two-yecollege in the Western United States. But the road over the past 80 years has been a rooky one for the little college. Originally it was known as Bannock Stake Academy, and then, in 1898, for five years, as the Fremont Stake Academy. In 1903 it was renamed Ricks Academy; in 1917, Ricks Normal College, and in 1923, Ricks College. Today Ricks College has a campus with a cosmopolitan look, 27 permanent buildings, and more under The physical education building, largest structure in Snake River Valley, Ricks is unusual in several ways. It is r the only college in the Church's Unified School System. Year after year it has reachtd out to bring into its fold students from communities throughout the Upper Snake River Valley, and also students from throughout the United States and foreign nations. Last year there were 325 students from seven foreign countries. As does its sister school, the Brigham Young University at Provo, Ricks has organized on its campus the full Church program. Ricks College Stake has 14 wards, each staffed by a bishopric composed of Ricks faculty members. Residents of Rexburg also hold positions of leadership and responsibility, along with students. The full programs of the Church two-yea- ar 250-acr- e WEEK ' ENDING JULY 20, 1963 ( i t i i y 4 are carried out at the school. Of the 3,300 students on campus this past year, more than 500 of them are returned missionaries. Th same standards of deportment, dress, and performance as required at BYU are a'so required at the Idaho college, according to Dr. John L. Clarke who has been president since 1944. Church standards and ideals prevail. New buildings added to the campus since the end of World War II include a library, science building, and several new halls, a student center, and most recently, a new physical education plant to be the largest building in the area and a new technical-agriculturbuilding are under construction. A new auditorium-socia- l hall e is now under construction. has also been constructed. r junior Fully accredited as a college, Ricks for a short period after World War II was a four-yea- r college. rich in Ricks is a friendly school tradition and achievement, progressive in its aim to offer freshmen and sophomores a full curriculum of the basic and essential courses needed in today's complex two-yea- world. Among the different features of its curriculum is a fully accredited aviation depurpose: to partment which has a five-fol- d train students as pilots for their personal use; to train flight students for employment by commercial airlines; to prepare flight students for positions in general Continued on Page 14 |