In 1937, the University acquired the house at 613-615 Taylor Street. This "double cement block house" was one of the four properties formerly owned by Professor Owens. In 1940, it was "…. a Co-operative house to aid needy girls." Also known as Healy (also spelled Healey) Co-Operative House, the Co-Operative House provided dormitory accommodations and board for ten women needing financial aid. It was run on a co-operative basis with the assistance of a resident hostess. From 1945 to 1947, the house was used as a faculty residence.

Financial Aid from 1927 to 1945

The provision of financial help for students began to attract more attention as the cost of tuition began to rise. In 1927, during the “Roaring 20's”, when they approved a $50.00 increase in tuition, which raised tuition to $500.00, the Trustees authorized “...the President and Dean to give such relief to worthy and needy students by scholarship or otherwise as they may deem advisable.” Six years later in the midst of the depression, “...a number of students [were] having difficulty in meeting their college bills, a condition which [had] become intensified because of the bank holiday...” In response, the Trustees “...directed the President and the Treasurer to use their discretion in granting extension of credit to students and to accept, when necessary, notes with proper endorsements, withholding diplomas when advisable.”

In 1936, E.M. Green, Chairman of the Endowment and Scholarship Committee, reported that in 1935

...Bucknell [was] giving scholarship aid to 453 members of the student body, which total[ed] a sum of $48,670.00, and of these 154 [were] bona fide Scholarships provided by endowed Scholarship funds or other specially designated sources, the amount of which [was] 15,720.00. And that scholarships granted to the other 229 students for a total of $22,950, [were] not truly scholarships but [were] rebates out of general income to poor students who need this help.

At that same meeting, Dr. Harley F. Smith, Chairman of the Committee on Athletics and Physical Education, gave a report that

“…showed that the total athletic scholarships for 1935, which included 14 full scholarships and 19 part scholarships, amounted to $15,000.00, which was only about one-half the amount spent by the University for that purpose when subsidizing was at its peak, and that the amount was regarded by Athletic Council as the minimum amount necessary to maintain the football standard of the last three years.

By 1936, “over 500 of the 1200 students [were] receiving some form of scholarship and or work aid.” Of the $50,000.00 in scholarship aid granted, only $5,000.00 was endowed while $44,000.00 came from the operating budget. In the following year, scholarship aid had risen to $52,000.00, of which less than $8,000.00 was endowed with the remainder came “out of the current operating budget.” In 1938, President Marts told the trustees that “...this [using money from the current operating budget] could be cured either by increasing the amount of memorial endowed scholarships or by exercising extreme care in extending scholarship aid.”

In 1937, tuition was $10.00 per semester hour, so if a student took fifteen hours for each semester of the academic year, tuition would be $300.00. At this time the following regulations controlled the granting of scholarships:

A. Applications for a scholarship of any college year should be made to the Registrar
before the first of June preceding entrance to college.

B. Scholarships are held subject to semi-annual renewal, the renewal being conditioned upon the maintenance of an average grade of at least 80, the continuance of good behavior, and assurance of continued financial need.

C. A scholarship yields $50, or $100, or $150 a year; credit for half the amount of the
scholarship is given at the beginning of each semester.

The scholarships were awarded by a “…permanent committee on scholarships, consisting of the President, the Dean of the College, and the Registrar…”

By the 1940-1941 Academic Year,”[a]bout 92 per cent of the budget [was] operated on student payments”, and in December, 1940, the Trustees voted “an increase of tuition of 10 percent.” However, with an increase in tuition that became effective in September, 1942, “…there was a surprising reduction in the number of requests for student aid.” Speaking to the Trustees at the end of 1943, President Marts “...outlined what he thought might happen to Bucknell during the coming year.”

He felt that the college [would] probably find itself in a position where it will be necessary to insist that the students who do come to college pay more and more of the cost of their education but that the poor boy and girl desirous of an education and worthy of help will always find financial assistance available.

In 1945, tuition was $400.00 per year for approximately 30 semester hours a year in all degree programs except those in engineering. Scholarships yielded $50.00 or $100.00 per year, so the amount of aid given to students had decreased.

"double cement block house" BT '20-'50, 7/6/1936, p. 3

"...a Co-operative house..." ib., 12/21/1940, p. 1

"...the President and Dean..." ib., 12/17/1927, p. 2

"...a number of students..." ib., 5/22/1933, p. 1

"...directed the President..." ib.

"...Bucknell [was] giving..." ib., 2/7/1936, p. 2

"...showed that the total..." ib.

"over 500 of the..." ib., 6/5/1937, p. 2

"out of the current..." ib., 6.11.1938, p. 3

"...this [using money..." ib., 7/11/1938, p. 3

"A. Applications for a..." and following, CAT '37-'38, pp. 156-157

"...permanent committee on sholarships..." ib., p. 157

"[a]bout 92 per cent..." and "and increase of ..." BT '20-'50, 6/7/1941, p. 2

"...there was a suprising reduction..." ib., 12/19/1942, p. 2

"...outlined what he thought..." ib., 12/18/1943, p. 3

"He felt that the college..." ib., pp. 3-4

The major source for the information on this page is the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1920-1950 (BT '20-'50). Additional sources are the Catalogue of Bucknell University, Ninety-First Year, 1936-1935 (CAT ''36-'37); the Catalogue of Bucknell University, Ninety-Second Year, 1937-1938 (CAT '37-'38); the Bucknell University Bulletin, Catalogue Issue, Ninety-Ninth Year, 1944-1945 (CAT '44-'45); and the Bucknell University Bulletin, Catalogue Issue, One Hundredth Year, January, 1946 (CAT '45-'46).