In 1873, Boston University opened a School of Oratory headed by Lewis Baxter Monroe as dean.
In its second year, Robert R. Raymond joined the faculty as Delineator of Shakespearian Character.
By its last year, it had over 100 students, and its graduates included Georgia Cayvan and Leland T. Powers.
[2] In 1884, Raymond relinquished leadership of the BSO due to failing health and turned it over to Moses True Brown, who had held the chair of oratory at Tufts College.
By the mid 1890s, the school had grown to around 70 students pursuing studies that lasted between one and three years.