An elaborate inauguration ceremony of Gallaudet as president was held in June with Laurent Clerc in attendance. 14 acres (5.7 ha) of land was purchased with money supplied by the government. He continued to push for funds for expansion and new buildings.
The enrollment numbers increased rapidly during the 1864–1865 academic year. That same year, in early 1865, the 38th Congress removed the provision that the institution was to educate the blind, and renamed it the "Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb". (This would be the corporate name for the entire institution, including the collegiate division, until 1911, when the legal name was changed to the "Columbia Institution for the Deaf".) Gallaudet asked the government for money to accomplish several projects, including the construction of an ice house and a gas house, sewer lines, and more. Major construction from earlier projects continued on campus. Following Gallaudet's proposal a year earlier to discontinue services for the small number …
