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The Presidents
by Mark Plummer, Emeritus Professor of History, Illinois State University,
with contributions by Bruce Stoffel, Milner Library, Illinois State University
Images courtesy of and copyright by University Archives, Illinois State University
| 1857-1862 |  | Charles E. Hovey, the first principal or president, opened classes to 43 students at Major’s Hall in Bloomington. Hovey, with an assistant, taught all the classes and oversaw the financing and construction of the campus near the railroad junction in an area north of Bloomington, which would soon be called Normal. Commencement exercises were held in the new “Main” building in 1860 and the Fall term opened there. When the Civil War intervened, Hovey organized the “Schoolmasters” regiment on the campus. He agreed to be the boys’ Colonel in the Thirty-Third Illinois Infantry Regiment. Perkins Bass became acting Principal. | | | | | 1862-1876 |  | Richard Edwards succeeded Hovey and the school struggled through the War. During the post-war era, Illinois State Normal University grew rapidly and was soon reputed to be the largest normal school in the United States. In 1867 it had an enrollment of 327 for which the state appropriated $12,445.99 per annum. | | | | | | 1876-1890 |  | Edwin C. Hewett had been a faculty member and a disciple of Edwards before assuming the presidency. Both were influenced by the ideas of Nicholas Tillinghast of the Bridgewater, Massachusetts Normal School. At ISNU, however, the model, or training school, was more important. Hewett wrote A Treatise on Pedagogy for Young Teachers (1884). By 1889 the school boasted 18 faculty and 677 students plus 503 students in the Model School. | | | | Top | | 1890-1899 |  | John W. Cook had been a student of Edwards and Hewett, and he followed in the same mode, the Herbartian education philosophy, as transmitted by Professor Charles DeGarmo after his extended visit to Germany. Cook greatly influenced the faculty. In 1898-99, more than 800 college students were enrolled. In 1899, Cook, who had long advocated an expansion of the normal schools, became the first president of the newly established Northern Illinois State Normal School in DeKalb. | | | | | | 1899-1900 |  | Arnold Tompkins was faced with a reduced enrollment (490 in 1899 compared to 609 in 1898) because of the competition offered by the new Northern, Western, and Eastern Illinois State Normal Schools and poor prospects for future funding. After only one year as president of ISNU, Tompkins chose to accept a position as head of the Chicago Normal School, where the prospects appeared to be better. | | | | | | 1900-1930 |  | David Felmley rejected an opportunity to accompany Tompkins to Chicago and committed himself to the ISNU presidency. Competition from the newly established Normal schools, plus the University of Illinois’ decision to establish education courses, created considerable uncertainty. ISNU successfully fought for the right to offer bachelor degrees; the first was conferred in 1908. In the Fall of 1918, the demands of World War I reduced the enrollment to 362, including only 12 men. Felmley, who was an advocate of simplified spelling, wherein the unpronounced final e and the double letter were deleted, wrote from his “ofic” in 1918, “We shal not hav students enuf.” They did have more than “student enuf,” however, after the war -- especially in summer school as teachers rushed to meet new state certification requirements. In 1924, summer enrollments neared 4,000 students while the regular fall enrollment increased to 1,300. Homecoming, sports, and club activities were encouraged, although fraternities continued to be banned. | | | | | | 1930-1933 |  | Harry A. Brown came from an apparently successful tenure at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He was distrusted as a result of his effort to replace some of the faculty during the depression. Cooperating with faculty members from Oshkosh, several younger faculty members took the lead in confronting the governing board with evidence that Brown had falsified the transcript of a friend. He was forced to resign. Dean Herman Schroeder served as acting president both before and after Brown’s brief tenure. | | | | | | 1933-1955 |  | Raymond W. Fairchild managed to keep the university afloat through depression and war, thanks in some measure to the U.S. Navy, which used the ISNU faculty and facilities for its educational programs during World War II. President Fairchild improved the university by hiring more qualified women and by pressing for more degrees and resources. Graduate work began in 1944 and the first masters degree was granted the next year. The 1955 enrollment was 3,059 compared with 1,820 in 1940. Arthur Larsen served as acting president during Fairchild’s illness. | | | | | 1956-1967 |  | Robert G. Bone inspired the “open hand of friendship” monument, located on the Quad in front of Hovey Hall, by his congenial style. In 1956, there were 3,211 students and 286 faculty. President Bone soon knew all the faculty and most of the seniors by their first names. Although he stressed quality and initiated selective admissions, the school grew to 11,072 students by the end of his term. High-rise residence halls, together with classroom buildings financed as part of a successful $195,000,000 universities building bond referendum, contributed to the new skyline of the campus. Shared governance was enhanced and faculty salaries were doubled in less than a decade. Doctoral programs were introduced in 1963 and liberal arts degrees were authorized in 1964. The university quickly evolved into a multipurpose institution. “Normal” was deleted in 1964 from the university name, and Illinois State University emerged without the necessity of having been called, successively, Normal School, Teachers College, and State College, as was the general pattern in similar institutions. | | | | | | 1967-1970 |  | Samuel J. Braden’s three years as president were “vital and tumultuous.” Braden faced the challenges of the student power, civil rights, and anti-war movements with reason, fairness, and open-mindedness -- attributes not highly valued during the "days of rage,” which culminated in some violence and arson. Braden’s courageous persuasion helped keep the disruption to a level well below that experienced in other universities. But his role in defending the flag, which he had agreed to place at half-staff in remembrance of those killed at Kent State and those considered Black martyrs, made him a scapegoat for public objection to student unrest, and he resigned. During Braden’s administration, dramatic growth in the number of students continued, reaching 14,678 in the fall of 1969. Francis Geigle served as acting president for the following academic year. | | | | | | 1971-1973 |  | David K. Berlo, head of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University, was chosen to serve as president at a time when resources to operate a university with 18,000 students were particularly scarce, and governing boards were demanding cutbacks and greater accountability. President Berlo sought to communicate that scarcity could be made into a weapon for reform. He soon found himself in an adversarial relationship with an Academic Senate that was uneasy with his demand for cost-cutting through a designation of “negative priorities,” as well as with the dramatic way in which the administration was being centralized, extending to the destruction of the colleges. A 1973 North Central Association evaluation team noted the problem and the Academic Senate moved toward a no-confidence vote. Berlo’s resignation, after only 20 months as president, was precipitated by investigations, which alleged that he had spent unauthorized funds to complete the new presidential house. | | | | | | 1973-1977 |  | Gene A. Budig served as acting president for a few months before being appointed president in 1973. He quickly restored the collegiate system and gained the confidence of the faculty and the board. The University grew from 17,790 students in 1973 to 19,049 in 1976, although some other universities were finding it difficult to maintain their enrollments. Budig persuaded the governing boards to approve twenty-one new programs including five doctoral degrees. In 1977, Budig resigned to head West Virginia University. | | | | | | 1977-1988 |  | Lloyd Watkins presided over the university during its thirteenth decade. Enrollment grew from 19,039 in 1977 to 22,041 in 1987, in the face of serious under-funding, demographic projections of decline, and higher academic standards. Spasmodic funding of tax monies, which caused the notorious “Jaws I” mid-year 1982 rescission, and several deferred salary increases were accompanied by dramatic increases in tuition and fees. Classrooms were overcrowded. New buildings, with the exception of those such as the Redbird Arena, which could be built with non-appropriated funds, were seldom authorized, and rehabilitation and maintenance projects were often deferred. In spite of fiscal difficulties, Illinois State University continued as an “institution of choice” and enhanced its salient programs. Higher admission standards increased general education requirements, and a university-wide writing examination strengthened its quality. | | | | | | 1988-1995 |  | Thomas Wallace came to Illinois State University from the chancellorship at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. At Illinois State he was confronted with the problem of underfunding. He proposed to take the initiative in securing tax monies by becoming more involved in the economic and cultural development of the state including the major urban areas. President Wallace launched strategic planning, reduced enrollment to the level of funding, compensated faculty for “dry” (unfunded) promotions, and pressed for a new science building. He adopted innovative practices for using non-appropriated money to fund parking ramps, a student services building, and a computing and telecommunications system. | | | | | | 1995-1999 |  | David A. Strand began his career at Illinois State University in 1978, serving as Vice President for Business and Finance as well as Vice President and Provost and Executive Officer prior to becoming university president in 1995. Prior to coming to Illinois State he held several administrative positions at Southeast Missouri State University. He received his master's and doctoral degrees from Indiana University. | | | | | 1999-
2003 |  | Victor John Boschini, Jr. became the sixteenth president of Illinois State University on July 1, 1999. President Boschini also served as an associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations. Prior to his inauguration he served the university as vice president and dean of student affairs. President Boschini came to Illinois State from Butler University, where he served as associate provost for seven years. Prior to that he served in various administrative posts at Indiana University, where he also earned his doctorate in higher education administration. The Boschini presidency was characterized by an emphasis on strategic planning, fundraising, and improving campus morale. Key initiatives included Educating Illinois, an academic plan focussing on undergraduate academic excellence and supportive learning communities; Redefining Normal, the first comprehensive fund-raising campaign at Illinois State; and a comprehensive facility development plan. | | | | | 2004-
|  | C. Alvin Bowman became the seventeenth president of Illinois State University on March 1, 2004, after serving as interim president since the departure of Vic Boschini for Texas Christian University in June 2003. Bowman joined the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology faculty in 1978. He was named department chairperson in 1994 and served as director of the Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic. Bowman served as interim provost in 2002-2003. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, his master's degree from Eastern Illinois University, and his bachelor's degree from Augustana College. | | | | |
| "Biography of the President." Welcome to Illinois State University from Al Bowman, President. 2004. Illinois State University. 17 March 2004 . Champagne, Roger J. A Place of Education: Illinois State University, 1967-1977. Normal: Illinois State University, 1978. Champagne, Roger J. The Thirteenth Decade: Illinois State University, 1977-1987. Normal: Illinois State University, 1989. Fact Book, Illinois State University, 1997-98. Normal: Illinois State University, 1997. Groves, Jay. "Illinois State University Board Names Bowman President," Media Relations (February 23, 2004). 17 March 2004 . Harper, Charles A. Development of the Teachers College in the United States with Special Reference to the Illinois State Normal University. Bloomington, IL: McKnight & McKnight Publishers, 1935. Illinois State University Celebrates the Inauguration of Victor John Boschini Jr. as Sixteenth President, October 23, 1999. [Program] Normal: Illinois State University, 1999. Josephsen, Kelly. "Bittersweet Goodbye; ISU President Heads to Texas," The Pantagraph (May 25, 2003). 17 March 2004 . Marshall, Helen E. Grandest of Enterprises, Illinois State University, 1857-1957. Normal: Illinois State Normal University, 1956. Marshall, Helen E. The Eleventh Decade, Illinois State University. Normal: Illinois State University, 1967. “Illinois Normal University Centennial Issue,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, vol. 50 (Summer 1957). NAMED Illinois State University FACILITIES, 1991, Illinois State University Archives. | |
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