ILLINOIS, THE UNIVERSITY OF, an institution of higher learning situated in Urbana, Ill. It arose out of the passage of the Morrill Land Grant Act in 1862, whereby the National Government gave each State in the Union scrip for 50,00o ac. of public land for each senator and representative in Congress "for the endowment, support and maintenance of at least one college whose leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts ... in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." The State of Illinois accepted this gift and in Feb. 1867 granted a charter to the Illinois Industrial university. The institution was put under the control of a board of trustees appointed by the governor, excepting two members ex-officio, the governor and the State superintendent of public instruction. In 1887 the board was made elective except for the two ex-officio members. The uni versity was situated in Urbana-Champaign county, but has ex tended across the city line into Champaign city, the two cities being adjacent. In 1885 the name of the institution was changed to The University of Illinois.
The administrative head of the university was known at first as regent. In 1894 the title was changed to president. The uni versity includes at Urbana-Champaign: colleges of liberal arts and sciences, fine and applied arts, agriculture, engineering, com merce, education, law; schools of library science and journalism, and the graduate school. The colleges of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are in Chicago. A summer session is held at Urbana Champaign each year. Other great departments are military, physical welfare and health service.
The university has 81 principal buildings in Urbana and Chi cago, besides numerous smaller service buildings and 2,225ac. of land, of which 1, 7 32ac. are devoted to agriculture. The li braries of the university aggregate over 1,000,000 volumes. The teaching and administrative staff numbered in in 1936. The student enrolment for the year 1935-36 was 14,036. Of these, the largest group, about 3,802, was in the college of liberal arts and sciences.
In addition to the instructional work of the university, much research is carried on. The agricultural and engineering experi ment stations are devoted to research in their respective fields. In all other departments of the university research is carried on either individually or co-operatively. Notable discoveries have been made in various departments, the most noted, perhaps, be ing the discovery of the element, illinium, in the chemical labora tory of the university in 1925, this being the only chemical ele ment discovered in the Western Hemisphere. The work of the experiment stations is far-flung. The engineering station assisted in experiments for the ventilation of the New York and New Jersey vehicular tunnel under the Hudson river, as well as in other projects of a similar character.
The main financial support of the university is from State ap propriations. In addition, the university receives certain Federal appropriations and has an income from student fees and from various other sources. For the biennial period 1935-37 the budget income for all purposes aggregated $13,829,000. Of this amount $8,895,8o2 were State appropriations. (D. K.)