Most colleges and universities come from humble origins. Some, however, leave an immediate impact on the people they serve.
Wednesday, Oct. 5 marks the 165th anniversary of the first classes at Illinois State University, the first public institution of higher learning in the state. The influence of the university was felt across Illinois almost from the outset.
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Before then, higher learning in Illinois was dominated by religious denominations, which founded colleges as preparatory schools for the ministry, priesthood, and other Christian vocations. At least sixteen of these schools dotted the landscape of Illinois in 1857, the year that Illinois State was founded.
Illinois was actually behind many neighboring states in creating public universities, as Michigan (1817), Indiana (1820), Iowa (1847), and Wisconsin (1848) already boasted impressive state institutions of higher learning.
However, Illinois State quickly made up for lost time. The institution was a “normal school,” or a center for the training of teachers.
When classes began at ISU, the school was housed in temporary quarters in Bloomington. The cornerstone had been laid on the first permanent campus building, “Old Main,” just seven days before. A total of nineteen students – thirteen women and six men - showed up on that first day of class.
By the end of the century, Illinois State’s national leadership in the preparation of teachers was unquestioned. At the time of the university’s fiftieth anniversary in 1907, ninety-one Illinois State graduates were either presidents or professors in other normal universities.
That same year, Normal graduates had written or published 112 volumes, mainly textbooks, some of which had become standards in the field.
The second public school in the state, the University of Illinois, was founded in 1867 to emphasize agricultural, mechanical, and industrial learning.
The success of Illinois State gave rise to four other normal schools in Illinois, which today are Southern Illinois (1869), Northern Illinois (1895), Eastern Illinois (1895), and Western Illinois (1899) universities. Other normal schools around the nation also have their roots in Illinois State graduates and philosophies.
Illinois State continued as an institution solely for teacher training until 1966. Though the university offers a full curriculum, Illinois State still maintains a high standard in teacher preparation, a throwback to its original mission.
Eighty-seven percent of Illinois public school districts feature at least one ISU alum, while one in four new teachers statewide is an ISU graduate.
Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
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