Illinois State University

Illinois State University, originally named Illinois State Normal University, was founded in 1857 by Jesse W. Fell (1808-1887), and was the first public institution of higher education in the state. Normal schools were schools specifically designated for the education of teachers. In 1964, as the institution began expanding and moving toward a full liberal arts curriculum, its name was changed to Illinois State University at Normal, and by 1968 to Illinois State University.

Related Topics:
1857 - Jesse W. Fell - Higher education - Normal school - 1964 - 1968

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ISU is located in Normal, Illinois, a town in McLean County in the central part of the state. The town of Normal took its name from the school. Its original name had been North Bloomington. It remains a top school in teaching in Illinois. Its athletic teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Gateway Football Conference, and are known as the "Redbirds" in reference to the state bird, the cardinal.

Related Topics:
Normal, Illinois - McLean County - Missouri Valley Conference - Gateway Football Conference - Cardinal

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Illinois State is also home to the world's tallest (but not largest) dormitory, Watterson Towers, which houses 2,200 students. The pair of buildings was completed in 1967.

Related Topics:
Watterson Towers - 1967

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The school's motto was originally "and gladly wold he lern and gladly teche", in the Old English spelling of its author, Geoffrey Chaucer. By the 1960s, the motto was spelled in the modern style, "and gladly would he learn and gladly teach". Both styles were an implicit denial of the school's large female-to-male student body ratio, an oversight that was finally addressed when the motto was changed to the gender-neutral "Gladly we Learn and Teach".

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The school's Alma Mater song is "Glory Hast Thou", written to the tune of Haydn's "Austrian Hymn", better known as the tune used for "Deutschland Uber Alles".

Related Topics:
Alma Mater - Haydn - Deutschland Uber Alles

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