Illinois State University

ISU was founded in 1857, the same year Illinois' first Board of Education was convened and two years after the Free School Act was passed by the state legislature. Among its supporters were judge and future Supreme Court Justice, David Davis and local businessman and land holder Jesse W. Fell whose friend, Abraham Lincoln , was the attorney hired by the board of education to draw up legal documents to secure the school's funding. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] Founded as Illinois State Normal University , it was the first state university in Illinois. Its classes were initially held in downtown Bloomington , occupying space in Major's Hall . With the completion of Old Main in 1860, the school moved to its current campus in what was then the village of North Bloomington, which was chartered as the town of "Normal" in 1865. The new town had named itself after the university. The editor of the Bloomington Pantagraph wrote in 1882: "The intention was to gather around the institution the different colleges, - classical, agricultural, industrial, law medical, and the other departments of a university, - until, in the end, the State should have here a grand university, equal to any." [ 13 ] Thus the school was originally designed as a wide-ranging university with one department of teacher training. That left only a teacher-training school—indeed what was then called a " normal college ". It later added many other roles and became a wide-ranging university in the 20th century. [ 14 ] On January 1, 1964, the institution's name was changed to Illinois State University at Normal , and then again in 1967 to the current Illinois State University. [ 12 ] The school's motto was originally "and gladly wold he lerne and gladly teche", in the Middle English spelling of Geoffrey Chaucer . It has since been updated to modern English in the gender-neutral form "Gladly We Learn and Teach".

The Illinois Board of Higher Education in 2022 approved plans for a new College of Engineering, with the university seeking to add three programs: general engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. [ 15 ] In January 2023, the university announced that Thomas Keyser would be the first dean of the College of Engineering, which was set to welcome its first students in 2025. [ 16 ]

Illinois State University main quad John W. Cook Hall Initially designed by William Saunders , [ 17 ] the Illinois State University campus quadrangle (commonly known as The Quad), is a popular outdoor venue for students and the local community. Lined with benches and shady trees, the site is a popular spot for students to relax, study, and play informal games of sports. Outdoor events such as the annual RSO showcase, Festival ISU [ 18 ] and Concerts on the Quad [ 19 ] are popular in the campus community. John W. Cook Hall , or Cook Hall, is a building built in 1898 that resembles a castle on the Quad of Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois . Cook Hall, named for the university's fourth president , has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the winter of 1986. The ISU Quad is also host to the Fell Arboretum , which is part of a 490-acre site that represents over 154 species of trees from the state of Illinois. Trees on the north side of the quad are from Northern Illinois, and those on the south side of the quad from southern parts of the state. The Fell Arboretum is part of the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus Higher Education Institution. [ 20 ] Illinois State University has six residence halls, one apartment complex, and dedicated apartments for upper class and graduate students. Facilities are administered by the ISU's University Housing Services. [ 21 ]

Felmley Hall of Science Fell Hall Founded as a teachers' college, the university now offers a range of programs at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. Illinois State is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). In addition, 22 programs hold discipline-based accreditation. [ 22 ] The university comprises seven colleges: [ 23 ] College of Applied Science and Technology College of Arts and Sciences College of Business College of Education College of Engineering [ 24 ] Mennonite College of Nursing Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts Laboratory schools The university has two laboratory schools: University High School and Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School. Bloomington/Normal Japanese Saturday School (ブルーミントン・ノーマル補習授業校 Burūminton Nōmaru Hoshū Jugyō Kō ), a Japanese weekend school , was established in 1986 and held at the Thomas Metcalf School. [ 25 ] It has a separate office in Normal [ 26 ]