The 1930s: The Depression
1930: Construction Of Present-Day Structure
By 1924, University High School was constructed as a model school and practice site for student teaching, and in 1930, University Elementary School was added to the existing building. This structure houses the School of Education today.
Here is the University Elementary School under construction in 1930. It was funded by a state appropriation of $800,000.
University High School opened in 1924 and cost $475,000.
1929-1930: Enrollment Reaches 1,000
Students walking across campus c. 1929.
The new School of Education offered instruction in teacher education, guidance and personnel, adult education, history and principles of education, educational psychology, mental measurements and statistics, educational administration and supervision, teaching of special subjects, vocational education and vocational guidance, and physical education.
In 1921-22, 298 undergraduate students were taking classes in the school; by 1929-30, enrollment had grown to 926 undergraduates and 681 graduate students.
James B. Edmonson
Dean 1929-52
James B. Edmonson became Dean of the School of Education in 1929 and served in that post for the next 23 years.
The business of public education continued throughout the Great Depression, and the School's enrollment grew. The number of graduate students increased from 813 in 1930-31 to 2,272 in 1939-40, and the number of undergraduate students increased more modestly from 841 to 1,137 during the same period. This decade saw the School become known chiefly as a graduate school.
The biggest change in instruction during the '30s was the addition of the elementary school, with its teaching, experimentation, and research.
Crowds at the stadium in 1937
Students entertained themselves in the usual ways—but at a somewhat slower pace than in the 20s: attending athletic events and dances and visiting local watering places.
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