Freed from financial worries, the university went on to acquire up a 125-acre campus in south Chicago with a host of elegant Gothic-style buildings; and more importantly, it picked the right first president, who laid a firm foundation for the lofty academic position the university was soon to achieve.
財力的不虞匱乏，使得芝大擁有位於芝加哥市南區內的一百廿五英畝校地、及多棟哥德式典雅建築；選對了第一位校長，更為芝大日後崇高的學術地位奠定基礎。