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

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(y i i yuri (7cry A call to the Chicago N.iinial SlIhio! t-iKled the one-year tenure ot President Arnold Tomp- kins. The idealistic philosopher ' s chief legacy was the reorganization of the ont-nioded cur- riculum. StiKlent self-acti it - and practice teaching were incUided in the re amping. Arnold Tompkins — Tlie Reorganization of tlie curriculum best identifies the service of Normal Universit ' s fifth president, Arnold Tompkins. Born in the rural area of Edgar County, Illinois, in 1849, the tall, Lincoln-like character graduated from the Terre Haute Normal School. Prior to his selection as Normal University ' s chief pilot in 1899, President Tomp- kins served as Professor of Pedagogy at the State Uni- versity of Illinois, Champaign, and as superintendent of the Franklin, Indiana, common school system. Hailed as a philosopher and idealist of education. President Tompkins embarked on a campaign to revamp the school ' s out-moded course of study. Foremost among his revolutionary ideas were greater emphasis on prac- tice teaching, more e.xtensive secondary teacher prep- aration, and flexibility of the curriculum. His philosophy centered around student self-activit ' and practical application of knowledge. This thinking prompted such writings as The Science of Discourse and The Philosophy of Teaching. Because President Tompkins ' brief career at Normal University was inter- rupted by a call to the Chicago school system in 1900, his visions were never fully realized; however, his in- fluence lingered on to effect more radical changes in the organization, administration and the spirit of ISNU than tliat of anv other administrator since 1870. Debate Send-off Debate tournaments, as the paramount extra-curricular function, aroused a degree of partisan spirit comparable to that of a modern football game. Throngs of students, assembled at the Normal railroad depot, ga e their representati es a rousing send-off to the annual Inter-Collegiate Forensic Contest. 24

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Queen of Fame Barred from the men ' s Ciceronian Societ -, a groui of women formed the Sapplionian organization in the fall of 1887. One of the Societ ' ' s productions, Queen of Fame, featured the crowning of Julia Foster as Sappho. The cultured arts group functioned until the early 1900s ' . Social Hall Architects ' plans for a Social Hall in 1893 favored a Swiss chalet t -pe of structure. Build- ing costs were estimated at $15,000. Because of tlie depression of 189.5, the building was not completed. The Student Union became a reality in September, 1956. 23

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living embodiment of his philosophy of life. Campus— 1900 Unusual tree symmetry is illustrated in tliis perspective view from atop Old Main, facmg south to the Bloomington moraine. William Saunders and Jesse Fell plotted the arrangement. The pond at the right is now the site of Fell Hall Bloomer Girls Bloomer gvmsuits and long stockings offered little freedom during wonien s ph -sical educa- tion classes. Intramurals were ushered in with a twentj ' -team basketball tournament at Uie turn of tiie centurs ' , under the auspices of the Women ' s Athletic Association.