Most colleges and universities come from humble origins. Some, however, leave an immediate impact on the people they serve. Wednesday, Oct. 5 marks the 165th anniversary of the first classes at Illinois State University, the first public institution of higher learning in the state. The influence of the university was felt across Illinois almost from the outset. Before then, higher learning in Illinois was dominated by religious denominations, which founded colleges as preparatory schools for the ministry, priesthood, and other Christian vocations. At least sixteen of these schools dotted the landscape of Illinois in 1857, the year that Illinois State was founded. Illinois was actually behind many neighboring states in creating public universities, as Michigan (1817), Indiana (1820), Iowa (1847), and Wisconsin (1848) already boasted impressive state institutions of higher learning. However, Illinois State quickly made up for lost time. The institution was a “normal school,”
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