Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Oak Yearbook / INSTANO Yearbook (Indiana, PA)

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HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL In 1834 in the Dutch colonies of eastern Pennsylvania there was a great prejudice against the idea of education. About this time George Wolf, the Governer, Thaddeus Stephens and Thomas H. Burroughs, Su- perintendent of Schools, set out to establish the Pennsylvania school system. The principal professions at that period were Law, Physics and Dixinity. In 1857 a system for the education of teachers was established. Normal schools in twelve different districts in the State were to be set up as [irivate corporations. The State legislature passed an act providing for the erection, at private expense, of the twelve buildings, each to be situated on at least ten acres, and to contain a lecture room with a seating ca])acity of not less than six hundred. The first normal school in Pennsylvania was Alillersville, from which the first ]irece]itress of Indiana is a gradu- ate. We owe thanks to General Harry ' hite, now deceased, for ]ireparing the bill for the founding of Indiana Normal. The bill which passed in 1871 under the name of Indiana Pennsylvania Normal School Sup- plement, gave $20,000 to aid in the construc- tion. General White headed the list of local subscriptions with $5,000. His con- tribution was followed with others from Wm. Ranks and John Sutton. There were nine original stockholders who met in May, 1872, to discuss ])Ians for this school. The Indiana State Normal met for the first time forty-six years ago last May. There were 225 students in the chapel that day. Mr. Wickersham, who was the Super- intendent of Public .Instruction declared it to be the finest normal school in the State and perhaps in the United States. h ' rom the beginning Indiana has been quite fortunate in having as her puides great and able men. The splendid, progressive character of her leaders may be seen in our material equipment and in our standard of scholarship and conduct. It is difficult today to jiicture the Indiana of the early days. At one time all the students, boys and girls, made their homes in the same building, John Sutton Hall, in which the classes were held. As the number of students increased each year it was necessary to build the dormitory for the boys known as Silas Clark Hall, to add to the original building three annexes to ac- commodate the girls, and to construct Jane Leonard Hall for the class work. After the introduction of the course for the train- ing of teachers the Model School was added. The Conservatory and Dining Room were added in 1903. .Several changes have been made within John Sutton Hall. How many of us know that Recreation Hall was once the dining room for the normal school students — and that the Blue Room adjoining Recrea- tion Hall was the students ' kitchen ? At

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kA 1 f i nrTrifin ir ' il i 2L 3)u iRrmurtam J. THEODORE ARNJ Z, JR. J ' rojcssor of Forcii ii Luni tiuiics — at— Indisna State Normal School, 1916-1921 DIED MARCH 21. IQ l

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iiiur i ' wmikKt wlu ' ic iIk- jjirls (laiu°L ' l. Well, llic I ' .Ki 1 tli.il mir sisters did nut dance e i ept wlicii ilic sli|p|ied niV td ilic rlia|iel ]ilall ' iinn In tri|i llic lif, ' lil faiitasli.- idc. I lial was ai, ' ain--t rei;iilalinns and ), ' iiai ' ds wcie st.iiioiied at tlie door to ) i e warniiii; il ' a|i|iiiiacliinf; faculty iiieinher . Ill dance with a lioy would have been crim- inal. Iliii lliai was years a), ' ). l ' ()r siinic years the library was situated where the bookrooni is today. There was a small readinj room adjoininj;. Once in a while when the librarian was busy in the reading; room cases mij;ht be discovered between the cases in the library. We arc tolil that the C ' onunittee Room, where sonv. of lis meet disaster at times, is now located where the bookrooni formerly was. There w.is a l.ni, ' e. jjloomy room opposite the ( ireen Kmini known ,is the faculty parlor, lust how many of the faculty sjient their leisure niouicnis in this | arlor is not deli- nitely known, thouj;h we surmise very few. In these pioneer days there was one oth. r interestinij feature. Many of us will re- member how beautiful our campus is with shade trees, flower beds and hedgerow. .At one lime this beautiful space was en- closed b a board fence. riieso few cha|)lers in the history of Imlian.i m.ike us appreci.ite more fullv just wh.it we li.avc lo be thanklul for anci what we owe the le.iders of this Institution. . s the years have passed t?ic course of- fered at Indiana lias licconie hijjhly nr)- fessional in character. Heretofore the w(fk w;is largely academic. Indiana l ccanic a two year teachers ' course in iw ' .S. entrance re |uirements being graduation from a firsl- class high school. This year Indiana of- fered to her applicants a choice of frmr jirofessional cf)urscs, thus takitig her j»lace . ' iniong the best teachers ' training schools of the Inited . tates. 0)urses in I ' rimary and Intermediate work are now held in the Model school building and the Junior Higii School Department has found rooms in Leonard Hall. So far no one has asked for the Rural School Course. Miss Jennie M. . ckeniian, Principal of the Teachers ' Training School, is no longer special critic for ninth grade work but de- tes her full time to the work oi Su[)ervis- iiig rrincijial. Miss Jane V.. Leonard, the first precep- tress of Indiana, resigned her office last year, but still honors us by retaining her residence in Sutton Hall. Miss Hope . Stewart succeeds her. Or. John A. H. Keith, Principal of the Normal School, has done much toward ad- vancing Indiana. He is a highly progres- sive and u]i-to-date leader.