Illinois State Normal University - Index Yearbook (Normal, IL)

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This scene depicts duwiitown Bloiimiiigtoii ii the horse and buggy conveyance. the ISNU group in 1871. Not to be outdone, the campus women founded the first college Young Women ' s Christian Association one year later, with headquarters in the basement White Room. Journalism made its official debut on the campus with the February, 1888, issue of the Vidette. Four years later the first Index was published, featuring humorous anecdotes, photographs and essays. One occasion of joy, another of sorrow, occurred during the course of the Hewett administration. On August 24, 1882, a two-day state-wide celebration honoring the quarter-centennial anniversary was launched. Charles E. Hovey, addressing the gathered throngs, fondh ' reminisced about the school ' s found- ing and its advancements. The death of Jesse Fell on February 25, 1887, cast a shadow of sorrow through- out the Bloomington-Normal area. Years later. Fell Gate, Fell Avenue, and Fell Hall were dedicated to the memor ' of the fine gentleman-farmer. At the conclusion of President Hewett ' s fourteen- year term, Illinois State Normal Universib. progressed to a total of eighteen faculty members, 677 students, and a model School with 503 pupils. President Hewett tendered his resignation at the June, 1890. Board Meeting. He retired to manage a publishing firm and died in 1905. 19

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Strict adherence to tlie principles of accuracy and thoroughness dom- inated Dr. Hewett ' s thinking. He maintained that preciseness is the mark of a scholar and that ability in all common school branches is tile prime requisite for successful teaching. Unlike presidents past and those yet to come, Dr. Hewett made no attempt to change the e.xisting cur- riculum. Instead, he concentrated on faculty improvement, setting as his prime goal the keeping of ISNU in the public interest. Concern over the disputed ques- tion of purposeful teacher colleges arose in 1884. The stand that a normal school is one that has a sole purpose of teacher preparation rather than of emphasis on a set cour upheld. .Although a three-year teaching certificate was avail- able, most students found it necessarv to extend their preparation to four ears in order to accommodate language and science requirements. Students desir- ing to teach secondary courses were required to study Latin, Greek, German, French, and mathematics. Only a small percentage of the entering ISNU stu- dents were high school graduates, but the - did possess Saint Thoma.s Metcalf, principal cit the Training School, devoted thiit - two vears of his life to the service of ISNU. of stud - was teaching experience and the al ility to pass rigid entrance examinations. Unix ' ersity officials disregarded the students ' preparation for college study. No credits from other insti- tutions were transferable, on the assumption that ISNU coidd not recommend graduates on the basis of other schools ' standards. Requirements for education courses were increased from that of a single 15-week metaphysics course to five semesters of work including observations, a lecture series in theory and practice, psy- chology, and histor ' and philos- oph - of education. In 1884, the first advanced course in pedagogy was inaugurated for graduate stu- dents and select undergraduates, with certificates awarded as evidence of work com- pleted. Extra-ciuricvdar acti ' it ' centered around literary and debate societies, with the Philadelphians and Wrightonians dominating the orbit of interest. Ex- clusion of women members from the men only Ci- ceronian Oratory Society residted in the formation of the Lad) Sapphonians. Recognition for establishing the first student Young Men ' s Christian Association in Illinois was afforded Ange Vernon Milner, head librarian at ISNU for thirty-se en years, hegan her work in 1890. Old Main ' s first- floor reception room was converted into ISNU ' s original lihrar ' ; it was later relocated in North Hall before the erection of the Milner building in 1940. ib

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§c AjLCOr€tKr The nine-year president, John W. Cook, cham- pioned the cause to estabhsh Normals at Charleston and DeKalb. That the Cook ad- ministration favored extra-curricular activities was evident in the increased number of athletic contests, dramatic protluctions, and oratorical tournaments. John W. Cook — A wise man The Herbartian theory of education dominated modern thinking during John Williston Cooks nine-year admin- istration. Rising to the university ' s highest office in 1890, Presi- dent Cook had been affiliated with the State Normal since 1862. As an outstanding orator and organizer, the mustached humorist was widely recognized in education circles. With a definite look towaril tlie future. President Cook championed the cause to establish three new build- ings on the campus. His interest in additional state- supported normal schools resulted in the creation of the Charleston and DeKalb colleges. Illinois ' backward attitude toward the normal school situation in the ' 90 ' s was evident in the fact that New York State had tsvelve teacher preparatory institutions as compared with Illi- nois ' one. Improvement in the university ' s physical plant was manifested b ' tiie addition of a training school, gym- nasiiun, and heating plant. Old Castle, as the gymnas- ium was affectionately nicknamed, owed its unusual Tudor-Gothic style to the influence of German construc- tions. The turreted, gray stone structure was completed in the final years of the 19th century. Because President Cook advocated furtlier training for in-service teachers, a three-week summer institute was North Hall was erected as the uni ' ersity ' s second classroom building in 1892. The transfer of the training school and the library to new buildings in later years transformed the rooms into headquarters for the geography and English depart- ments. .-Vn inside view of first-floor library accommodations in North Hall catches the catalog system set up I y Ange Milner. Early libraries were sponsored liy the Philadelpliian and Wrightonian literary societies. 20