Indiana State University - Sycamore Yearbook (Terre Haute, IN)

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President jones was a pious persong consequently a religious atmosphere permeated in the early days. Morning chapel exercises were compulsory before 8:50 am classes and each student attended with his Bible. Several determining changes were made in the following years. In 1876, William Wood Parsons be- came a member of the faculty as a teacher in grammar and composition. In 1879. president jones retired and was succeeded by George P. Brown. Student expenses in the early seventies were so high that attendance was seriously affected. However, from 1873-1879 enrollments increased steadily and attendance during President Browns term rose and remained high. New faculty members were hired and in 1881 the first college graduate courses were offered. While a drop in prices following the panic of 1875 played havoc with businesses, students were more fortunate. Sheer necessity and low cost of living en- abled Normal School authorities and students in lessen- ing the cost of housing. The trend to lower living costs focused on boarding clubs. These enabled most stu- dents to obtain twenty-one meals per week at a mini- mum cost of 351.75 and a maximum of 552.25 per week. Boarding at a club and sharing the room with another student made a student's expenses as low as 3550 per quarter. The second president of Indiana Stare, George P, Brown. was in office from 1879 until 1885. f! fl ifigl- , 7751: -.4,4.. A Q 11? ' 'gli-1.-f-!L.E4 , mm ... ll fl l Y- ,. -. -- -sie' T iiuif . ' ' ' at ,+.-...L ---,, sflff- -- I -Lx. I ,fir--L xlib! E V P ,Ii S35-fs-: 5 . A ' E. . -i g I 15 1 E am,v5 H -N, ' -cu W-'- -v-. TM- -, . . :,t . 1, he ' , , ---- - .. .. V -Ms, 'E The Normal building was situated on the old County Seminary Site. Conditions and methods varied. but, a young man managing a boarding club, who was called a pur- veyor , usually found a housewife who would furnish the home, the services, and do the cooking for an es- tablished cost per student. The purveyor set up boarders, accommodations, bought the supplies, col- lected for the meals, and settled all bills once a week. Qne such student. if at all successful, would have enough left to pay for his own meals and room, and possibly his books and an occasional suit of clothes. During his presidency, Brown experienced several clashes with the faculty. As a result of these disagree- ments, five instructors voiced strong protest against Brown at a Board of Trustees meeting. After an in- vestigation. the Board resolved that whenever a mem- ber of the faculty was unable to work with his col- leagues and, or, the school president, his resignation was expected. Therefore, following this announcement, the five faculty members resigned from their positions. Each department head was given the authority to de- termine the grade of scholarship expected of each stu- dent in his department and the board would graduate only those students receiving a unanimous vote of the faculty. ln the case of a negative vote by one faculty member, the dissenter submitted a written report con- cerning his objection to the trustees, who would then investigate and make the final decision. At a Board meeting held on March 5, 188-4, Prexident Brown was authorized to have a telephone placed in the Normal building-on trial for three months. When the new instrument was installed the job was en- tirely unsatisfactory. In the records of the next Board meeting. it was stated that the trustees voted that the telephone company should be asked to immediately de- tach the telephone wire from the elm tree in the yard. Later during his term, friction again arose and in order to maintain harmony, President Brown re- signed from his position in 1885. Seven

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INUXANA STATE NORMAL SCIIOUL AND YAFVCLTY. ISM --v 'gg -. INDIANA STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. J! W lata- y .1 x ' -U l 1 S Xe I , , T xl mer CATALOGUE - -w - A OFFlCERb AND STUDENTS, ' Q Q , if A 3 Q X ' ,3 .t. f ' - ,.., K : . Q X- ii p , U. X ,,, K' 5 U , -,mug'm.f3g 1, 'li Pnocmmia , V i- ,Sari gg - 4 'A f - hail-.ief3', ' it f r ui! COURSES OF INSTRUCTION 225355-.gan lSTO-71 ' Y 'A ixoiamvorisi i. i 1-i im :im wiismi i ii-171. ly .:f41-.-.-. -- l .. V .- -n -tp X .-gi . at , Yi ' ' - ', b 3, '. ' fi' 1 ,'f'a .s uh If . YS,-L i K ' 25 A i r ' EMF!! i- i A I Nlr S. M. Kellner, Anderson. ind. judge Baskin E Rhoacls was an avid supporter of the Normal School in the Indiana Legislature fi rip, 5? l, V6 fl' 5 '-Y it I A Vigo County Common School typifies the Indiana schools in which Normal graduates were required to teach. Six Four of the earliest members of the faculty in- cluded President William A. jones, Amanda P. Fun- nelle, Mary A. Bruce, Lewis l-l. jones. During the time the other instructors were teach- ing history, English grammar, and mathematics, Miss Funnelle was teaching classes on the subject of morals. A student in one of her classes testified that she had never been able to decipher what the teacher was trying to communicate to the group. She stated that at the end ofthe term Miss Funnelle asked on the final examina- tion- What have you learned from the study of morals? One young man in the class simply answered Nothing and! proceeded to compose a three page essay concerning why he had not done better in the class. The clever essay fell into the hands of another professor who entertained himself and a group of his colleagues by reading the essay examination. Despite this, the student managed to pass the course. - During the first Normal years the students were of a rather uncultivated type. Nine-tenths of the Normal School students were the offspring of farmers and mechanics, and it was obvious that the institution was a part of the common school system and not a university maintained bythe taxpayers for the educa- tion of the wealthy and professional classes. More- over, in view of the tendency of the students to become rural teachers it was declared that the school is making its influence felt where that influence is most needed-in the ungraded country schools.

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Parsons and Sandison at the helm gf f-fE:??lien the Board of Trustees met on june ll. 1885. three petitions asking for the election of Wfilliam P XY'ood Parsons to the presidency were readg one from the faculty. another from the alumni association, and the third from the student body. The Board proceeded to appoint Parsons to the office. Prior to his appointment. Parsons fwho was affec- tionately called Uncle Billy' by the Normal studentsl became a member of the faculty in 1870. As a mark of respect and appreciation to Dr. Par- sons. alumni of the school and noted educators from throughout the country gathered during commencement week. -lune, 1910. to elaborately celebrate the anniver- sary of Parsons' twenty-fifth year of service as presi- dent of the Normal School. fThe total period of his ser- vice was thirty-six years. three months, and eighteen daysi Four years after his retirement. President emeri- tus XY'illiam XX'ood Parsons died at his home in Terre Haute. Educators and close friends of Dr. Parsons from throughout the nation paid tribute to him at funeral ser- vices on September 20. 1925. Howard Sandison. also a member of the first class of Indiana State Normal School, was vice-president to XY ilIiam Parsons. In IUO-I. he gave up the work that had previously taken up so much of his timeAthe supervision of obser- ration. methods and practice teachingg but he continued to teach psychology for thirteen more years. In his later The desk used by Parsons is now on display in the ISU library. Wfilliam NX'ood Parsons was president from 1885 to 1921. H 'Sirk-Za: t z years. Professor Sandison was a member of the Indiana l'niversity Board of Trustees In IUI7. Howard Sandison retired as vice-president -F - I Q t -:sv-w .a sa- and was succeeded by Dr. Rudolph Archer .- Eight