Named places: Buck Memorial Library

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Meg Miner

Buck Memorial Library is named for Rev. Dr. Hiram and Martha A. Buck. The Bucks became benefactors of the University starting in the 1890s with a donation of farmland. Hiram served as a trustee and Martha became IWU’s first female trustee on his death. On Mrs. Buck’s death a gift to the University included a request that funds be designated for a library and World Culture Center

Rev. Dr. Hiram Buck

Martha Buck

Buck was IWU’s first free-standing library and served our community in that capacity from 1923-1968. It continues to fill Martha Buck’s wishes as home to IWU’s World Languages, Literatures and Culture department.

More information on the Bucks is available in IWU’s Historical Sketch and Alumni Record (1895) pp. 50-53 available online at https://bit.ly/2QX8865

IWU Firsts

Link

This timeline of IWU Firsts brings together research compiled for a variety of purposes into one interactive place. Contact the archivist (archives@iwu.edu) for further details on these people and events.

IWU Firsts timeline title card — Launch the timeline linked above or at https://tinyurl.com/y3v7bgwd

Research files: IWU Baseball & segregation

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Meg Miner

IWU Athletics made history with a 1930 spring Baseball training trip to the South (See the 1932 Wesleyana p. 133). A brief mention in the 1950 Wesleyana says IWU was the first school to take a team on this kind of trip annually. The trips spread IWU’s reputation and so were a good recruiting tool for out-of-state students. The Argus often attributes the success of our baseball teams to these non-Conference games and from the first mention on April 16, 1930 (p.6) it was clear that extra practice time was the primary goal.

A recent research request raised the question of our involvement with segregated schools during these trips. I have yet to find mention in the earliest articles on the subject, but in 1955 the Board of Trustees issued a statement that included a point about discrimination based on religion and race with regard to education. Our records are not clear about why such a policy was implemented but this was the year of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, so it is not difficult to imagine how topics in the larger world could influence decisions inside the Wesleyan Bubble.

Statement of Policy excerpt — Excerpt from a three page May 1955 IWU Bulletin insert titled “A Public Statement of Policy.”

More to the point of this post, on December 3, 1956 the Faculty Meeting Minutes show a question raised about policies regarding “colored players on our baseball trips and on other sports teams.” The Athletics Committee of the Board of Trustees took up the question.

IWU Board of Trustees' Committee on Athletic Relations with the stated purpose of reviewing athletics' policies and schedules. — 1956 committee details are unavailable. The 1958 Board of Trustees committee name and purpose is pictured here.

The committee brought a policy back to the faculty on January 7, 1957 which was debated and approved. The policy below was written by the Committee on Improvement of Athletics Relations on December 13, 1956.

A 1958 restatement of the 1956 policy that IWU would not schedule games with athletic teams that discriminated against members of IWU teams. — 1956 policy on athletics (Click to enlarge.)

A revision reported to the faculty on October 6, 1958 is pictured below and is attributed to the Committee on Athletic Policy. No separate records of these groups exist in the University’s archives and this statement was actually found in the March 1965 Faculty Meeting Minutes. It does not explicitly mention race and instead defines two criteria IWU uses, and expects its opponents to use, in determining eligibility of players.

Of course, agreed upon policies don’t always translate into actions. By early 1965 the faculty raised the question again. A February 5 (p. 3) Argus article implies that the Southern trips to segregated schools continue “because we at present have no Negro on the baseball team….” That statement is affirmed in a quote attributed to Jack Horenberger in the February 12, 1965 Argus (p. 1). Horenberger “agreed ‘in principle to the recommendation'” and added “that the present policy has never been fully invoked due to the fact that ‘he (sic) has never had a Negro come out for baseball.'” The same article mentions a new proposal that would prohibit IWU scheduling games with segregated schools regardless of the presence of an IWU athlete who is black.

A motion from the Human Relations Committee, which the February 5, 1965 Argus reports was recently formed, is raised at the March 1965 Faculty Meeting and is more explicit than previous statements regarding integrating athletic teams. It appears to receive approval and yet the record pictured below concludes that it is the 1958 policy that is ultimately affirmed.

This document shows the faculty affirming an explicit statement about playing only racially-integrated teams but the less explicit 1958 policy is affirmed. — March 1965 Faculty Meeting (click to enlarge)

At least one alumnus, the person who most recently prompted this inquiry, feels the policy was enforced. A further search of the student newspaper only reveals a later interview with a faculty member reminiscing on the controversy in the 1960s (February 22, 1985 Argus p. 6). She thought the lack of black athletes on IWU’s teams wasn’t a coincidence considering the poor climate of social justice on campus in the 1960s. Alumnus Luther Bedford (’59; track and 3x football letterman) shared his experiences, including examples of discrimination in this era, in a 1999 interview for the Minority Alumni Network.

Call for participation from Meg (your archivist):
A review of the sources for this post reveals several mentions of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) policies regarding scheduling competitions. It would be an interesting exercise to compile a list of the IWU Spring schedules in this era in order to identify segregation policies of the schools we played and to look at the development of specific rules for CCIW schools. I would also be interested in hearing stories from IWU athletes during this time period and from any others who were impacted by these decisions. You, too, can contribute to our knowledge of IWU’s history! Any takers? Contact archives {at} iwu.edu

Named places: Stevenson Hall

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Meg Miner

Dr. Edgar M. Stevenson

Stevenson is the home of the School of Nursing and is currently IWU’s oldest building; when it was built in 1910 it received partial funding by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. It was originally called the Science Building and was renamed for local doctor Edgar M. Stevenson after being renovated in 1965.

Dr. Carolyn Jarvis

The Jarvis Center for Nursing Excellence was completed, along with several other updates to the building, in 2016. It was named in honor of “Professor of Nursing Carolyn Jarvis, whose lead gift provided substantial funding for these renovations.”

Departmental History: Classical Languages

Posted on February 18, 2018 by Meg Miner

From 1851-the early 1910s IWU offered diplomas in two liberal arts tracks resulting in degrees in of BA and BS. In the earliest years the essential differences were whether or not Classical languages were required. The first catalog (pictured below) shows students in the Scientific track did not have to take “Ancient Languages” and would receive a “Bachelor of Science and English Literature.” The Collegiate track resulted in a Bachelor of Arts.

There is a bit of variation as time goes on but for our first 75 years, the Courses of Study fall into these tracks: Classical (meaning Greek), Latin Scientific (Latin) and English (with Modern languages being required). In about the 1920s there is a transition to referring to language offerings by courses rather than courses of study but overall, between 1851-1954, there are
29 catalogs that contain the phrase Ancient Languages (sometimes describes courses, sometimes departments)
21 catalogs that contain the phrase Department of Latin
19 catalogs that contain the phrase Department of Greek

Page 17 of IWU's first Catalogue of Courses, 1851-52 — Degrees available in 1852 (click to enlarge)

Research Files: Gwendolyn Brooks @IWU

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Meg Miner

In honor of this year being the centennial of Gwendolyn Brooks’s birth, Ross Hettinger from the English Honors Society Sigma Tau Delta contacted the archives about putting together an exhibit based on her connection with our campus. As a result of that request, archives’ staff found news articles and photographs that document her five visits to campus between 1972-1999. Ross created an exhibit that will remain in the library’s entry level rotunda until November 30th. This post provides links to news stories and a selection of photos found in response to this query. All black and white photos were scanned from University’s collection of negatives and the color photos were scanned from slides.

Brooks and unnamed individuals heading towards her reading during the 1972 Fine Arts Festival

A March 3, 1972 front page Argus story details the plans for the March 9-21, 1972 Fine Arts Festival. The story states that Miss Brooks “will head a list of dignitaries” who would be visiting campus.

Brooks and unnamed individuals during the 1972 Fine Arts Festival

The Argus published on the 24th provides a detailed recap of her reading.

The 1972 Wesleyana also contains photos of Brooks and others who shared their talents during the Festival.

Brooks with President Eckley prior to Commencement 1973. Former president Bertholf is on the left.

The following May The Argus announced that Brooks would be the Commencement speaker for 1973. Only a small photo made it into the IWU Bulletin that summer and fall but details on her remarks are lacking, except for a brief mention in the 1973 Wesleyana.

Brooks being vested with an honorary doctorate during Commencement 1973

Brooks giving a reading in March 21, 1979

There was speculation that Brooks would return for her third visit during the Black Fine Arts Festival according to the March 2, 1979 Argus at the invitation of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The March 23, 1979 Argus carried a photo and caption on p. 1 showing that she did.

Brooks signing an autograph for an unidentified attendee during a reading in March 21, 1979

Brooks speaks with students at Evelyn Chapel, February 1988

In 1988 the February 12 Argus stated that the English Department and the Student Senate were sponsoring Brooks’s visit on February 18 at an event to be held at Evelyn Chapel. A follow up article on the 26th described her visit in detail. She titled her presentation “Life, Love, Laughter, Liberty and Laceration.”

Brooks speaks with students at Evelyn Chapel, February 1988

Brooks speaking at the Shirk Center for the Soul Food Dinner, February 7, 1999

Her final visit to campus was as the speaker at IWU’s annual Soul Food Dinner. Her appearance was announced in The Argus on February 2, 1999. A follow up article notes that IWU student Teri Lahmon, Class of 2000, introduced Brooks and read one of her own poems at Brooks’s request.

Brooks at the Shirk Center for the Soul Food Dinner, February 7, 1999

The Argus also ran an obituary for Brooks on December 8, 2000 which briefly recounts her 1999 visit and mentions that IWU awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 1973.

Research files: First Black faculty member

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Meg Miner

John W. Martin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology, first African American faculty member.

During a recent visit by some wonderfully curious Gateway students, someone asked about the first African-American professor. Our first Black professor arrived in 1961 when John W. Martin joined the Sociology faculty. This is documented on p. 176 of the Myers and Teichman book Illinois Wesleyan University: Continuity and Change, 1850-2000. Sadly, we don’t know much else about his life. Anyone who has records about him to donate is welcome to contact the archives (archives {@} iwu.edu).

In future posts I will share more of the questions posed by these students.

Frank Starkey, Ph.D., Professor

The next African-American faculty member (as researched by the archivist) was Frank Starkey, Professor of Chemistry, who taught from 1971-1980 and received the 1978 IWU Century Club Teacher of the Year Award. In comments he shared during the Black Fine Arts Festival, reported on in The Argus (p. 1) March 22, 1977, Starkey remarks on the need for the Black Student Union to improve on their efforts (re BFAF’s purpose) and also includes a critique of IWU’s poor recruiting efforts of Black students, faculty and administrators.

Named places: McPherson Hall

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Meg Miner

President Harry McPherson

McPherson Hall opened as IWU’s first modern production and instructional facility for Theatre on April 17, 1963. Prior to the Hall, a carriage house adjacent to Kemp Hall had been in use since 1949. This building is named for Harry W. McPherson, IWU President (1933-37), long-time Trustee and member of the Class of 1907. More information about him is available in his presidential blog post.

The Melba Johnson Kirkpatrick Laboratory Theatre and Jerome Mirza Theatre are part of the McPherson Theatre Arts department.

Ken Albers (standing) is pictured with Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick was a 1932 IWU graduate and headed the University’s Drama Department from 1938 to 1943. A champion of the arts in Bloomington for several decades, she received both the McLean County Women of Distinction Award and Illinois Wesleyan’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Jerome Mirza

The theatre in Illinois Wesleyan’s McPherson Hall was named the Jerome Mirza Theatre in recognition of a $2.5 million gift to the School of Theatre Arts (SoTA) from the Jerome Mirza Foundation in October 2015.

A 1960 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, Mirza (1937-2007) was a well-known Bloomington and Chicago trial attorney, who often credited his courtroom success to the theatre training he received at Illinois Wesleyan. See the press release for more information.

Research Files: Sociology Department history

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Meg Miner

This post summarizes changes noted in the Sociology Department by examining the Catalogue of Courses. Course catalogs from 1851-1954 are available online; the rest are available in print in the University Archives.

The 1898-99 Course Catalog contains the name of the first faculty member affiliated with the discipline: “Sain Welty, M.A., LL.B., Political Science and Sociology.” (See his photo at https://bit.ly/2ZAbG13) A Non-resident M.A. in Sociology was awarded to Joseph Cookman Nate the same year.

The first course in sociology found in the 1899-1900 catalog is offered under Political Science. The same catalog provides a description of the course and its proposed frequency (pp. 54-55):
“A course in Sociology will be offered in the spring of 1900, and thereafter on alternate years with Economics (1). The course will necessarily be brief, Gidding’s text being used as a basis.”

Sociology continues with the same listing/requirements (“to be taken Senior year and then alternating years with economics”) in the following:
– 1900-1901 Under the direction of Oliver Lincoln Lyon, PhD, Instructor in Sociology and Economics and with a fuller description:
“The purpose in sociology is to trace the evolution of society from its primitive forms to its present state of complexity, to note the reciprocal adjustment of life and environment, to see how forces both subjective and objective have operated to bring about a normal state of society and to examine the forces which are now tending to change its structure.”
The catalog lists three courses: An Elementary Study of Social Principles and
Phenomena, The Principles of Sociology, and Seminary. The latter carries this description: “A study of such sociological problems as Organized Charity, Socialism, Communism, Crime, Urban Life and Social Selection, Negro, Immigrant, Sociological Study of the Family, Social Teaching and the Influence of Christianity.”

– 1905-06 Julius Christian Zeller, B.., A.M., B.D. is Professor of Philosophy and Sociology in the 1905-1909 catalogs.

In June 1906 James Robert Lincoln Diggs became the first African-American in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology. He graduated from IWU’s Non-Resident degree program. [More information about him is available in this post.]

– 1910-11 Course offered under Social Sciences and led by Ross Lee Finney, Ph.B., A.M., S.T.B., who also teaches in Education, Psychology and Religion.
– 1912-13 First time there is a Department of Social Sciences listed. There are courses as diverse as Economic Theory, Money and Banking, Railroad Transportation, Trusts and Monopolies, Problems of Labor, Social Theory and more.
– 1917-18
– 1919-20
– 1921-22 Listed as the Department of Economics and Social Sciences and led by Carl W. Strow, A.B., A.M. This is the first time a description is listed for the department:
“The general aim of the Department is to educate for enlightened citizenship, for alert membership in society, for socialization of the individual. Systematic courses seek to accomplish this end by providing accurate, scientific information concerning social conditions and by the inculcation of scientific social attitudes.”
– 1924-27 Frederic M. Thrasher, A.B., A.M., and two years of additional graduate work, continues as Professor of Economics and Sociology.
– 1926-27 Sociology has its own department, headed by Thrasher, and offers this description:
“The courses presented in the department of sociology deal with the interplay of human personalities and groups and the problems arising therefrom. They are designed to afford to the average college student a broad understanding of social life and of human nature in its related and interacting aspects. Qualified students may pursue a course in this department designed to prepare them for teaching social science in high school or college or for technical training in social work.”
– 1928-29 Professor Samuel C. Ratcliffe, A.B., A.M, Ph.D. listed as department head and by 1931 carries this description:
“The courses presented in the department of sociology deal with the relationships between persons and groups and with the problems which arise therefrom. Each course contributes toward a more adequate understanding of some phase of social life and thus
promotes a more intelligent citizenship. Students who plan to enter any phase of social welfare work, as a vocation, should major in this department.”

In 1933 Edelbert Rodgers became the first African-American to graduate from IWU’s residential program with a Sociology degree. More information about him is available in this post.

[Research into this department’s development ceased with this year.]

Research Files: IWU’s First International Students

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Meg Miner

Photo scanned from a scrapbook held in IWU archives. The person is unidentified but the book belonged to an 1895 graduate.

Photo scanned from a scrapbook held in IWU archives. The person is unidentified but the book includes named graduates from classes in the years after 1890.

In 1890, Wesleyan’s first two international students graduated from IWU’s Law School. Their names were Yeizo Osawa and Kashiyira Tanaka. They were from Tokyo, Japan, and were in residence on campus when they graduated. Stories in our student publications relate how they shared their culture with IWU’s campus, such as delivering lectures and describing some of the customs of Japan. Their presence among the graduation class of 1890 was even noted in local newspapers and in the Chicago Tribune.

Even earlier, other graduates with international addresses received degrees through our Non-residential program, meaning they did not have to attend classes on our campus. This program is described the following way in an 1895 publication:

The object of this step was to furnish lines of systematic study for those
professional men and women whose duties and environments are such
as to make a resident course of study an impossibility, and yet who
earnestly desire systematic study.

Sounds a lot like what online learning programs promise today, doesn’t it?

An early graduate of the program with an international address is Rev. John Oakly Spencer of Japan, who graduated with a Ph.B in 1888. One wonders about the possibility of Osawa and Tanaka meeting Oakly and finding out about our small school in Central Illinois!

Other Non-resident graduates living abroad in the same time period were Rev. Myron Chesterfield Wilcox of China who also graduated with a Ph.B in 1886, and William Groves of Uruguay who graduated with an M.A. in 1897. William C. Armstrong and Frederick W. A.Meyer, of Ontario, Canada and Arthur Thomas Carr of Birmingham England all received M.A. in 1896.

These men were not international students in the same way we think of today, but they demonstrate our current philosophy has long-standing roots: bring the world to Wesleyan and Wesleyan to the world!

To learn more you can visit Tate Archives and Special Collections in the Ames Library or contact us at archives@iwu.edu!

Archives & Special Collections

Collection highlights and information about IWU's Tate Archives & Special Collections

Category Archives: Departmental histories