had increased to 465. Finances had improved to the extent that, with significant volunteer help, the university was able to erect 12 new buildings by the end of the decade. New dormitories, classrooms, a library, a gymnasium, and Memorial Chapel were built. A school of education was added. A developing alumni base also started to support the university. By 1928, the university's endowment was $2.592 million, the fourth largest in the state and among the top ten percent of American universities.
=== Great Depression ===
By the beginning of 1932, the effects of the Great Depression started to be felt at the university. Enrollment soared, as there was no work to be found, but student indebtedness also increased exponentially, as well as the amount the university owed banks. Salaries were cut, and employees were laid-off. On March 3, 1933, President Duke died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
The administration of the university's third president, Clarence Howe Thurber, soon ran afoul of ultra-conservative churches. Student …
