As the university celebrates its 125th year, reflections on the past illustrate times of expansion and growth in the 1920s, followed by financial struggles in the 1930s that forced the termination of several degree programs and a major decrease in enrollment.

In sync with the United States' growth during the 1920s, the university saw increased enrollment and calls to establish a new Dental School building, Law School building, science building, gymnasium and football stadium.

Although the university's expansion plan denoted the new Dental School building as the first to be constructed, construction of the university's new sports gymnasium began before the Dental School in 1921, according to "The Story of Marquette University" by Raphael N. Hamilton.

According to Hamilton, by May 1923, the Dental School was the second-largest in the world and had the world's largest dental clinic under one roof.

Shortly after the Dental School's completion, construction began on a new Law School on 11th Street and Wisconsin Avenue and a new science building, according to Hamilton.

The new science building, completed in 1924, alleviated a space crunch in Johnston Hall, which held much of the science equipment as well as students majoring in the arts, journalism and business administration, according to Hamilton.

Matt Blessing, head of special collections and university archives, said the additional construction of Marquette Hall and a gymnasium in the early 1920s set the standard for future buildings.

"Those two buildings were made to provide the expansion of the university for decades to come," Blessing said.

According to Blessing, a new stadium was also built in the 1920s around West Michigan and North 38th streets.

"This was the first major project done by the MU Alumni Association," Blessing said.

The stadium was built during the pinnacle of football as a national pastime, he said.

According to Blessing, the campus was divided into an upper and lower campus during the 1920s.

"The lower campus was centered around Johnston Hall and today's Law School," he said. "The library was basically private property that Marquette didn't own, and (what is today's) Schroeder Hall and the College of Engineering were upper campus."

Despite the rapid growth the university experienced in the 1920s, the Great Depression sparked drastic financial cuts in programs and declines in enrollment, forcing the closure of the College of Music and the university's radio station.

A severe decrease in enrollment during the 1930s can be attributed mainly to the Great Depression. During this time, the university was entirely dependent upon tuition to remain open, according to Hamilton. However, many students and their families struggled to pay tuition due to the lack of jobs.

In September 1932, around 500 students had withdrawn from the university due to financial issues. According to Hamilton, before the term ended in January, 60 more students also withdrew for financial reasons. The loss of these students decreased the university's revenue by more than $112,000.

According to Thomas Jablonsky, director of the Institute for Urban Life and associate professor of history, the College of Music closed for financial reasons. The vast majority of the students in the music program were not Marquette students, but rather private citizens and younger children.

The College of Music had the highest enrollment of any unit at the university during the 1920s, but it was losing money and therefore needed to be cut, Jablonsky said.

The radio station was also closed as a result of reduced funds and regulations imposed by the government. Due to government restrictions on radio, the university's radio station could only broadcast educational information, Jablonsky said. The university was forbidden to carry national football games and music.

"The government didn't want universities to be competitors with the market," he said. "So when the government started regulating in the late '20s, it put a crunch in the program."