EARLY ALUMNI WHO HAVE DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Charles Wesley Rolfe of the class of 1872 entered the Illinois Industrial University in September, 1868. He was a member of the Philomathean society. From 1872-1873 he served as an assistant in natural history; from 1881 to 1917 he was connected with the university as professor of Geology and most of the period as head of the department. has rendered special service in originating and organizing the school of ceramics and in making a contour map of Illinois-of each county in the state. In 1917 he was made professor of geology emeritus. He Nathan Clifford Ricker of the class of 1872 entered the University in 1870. He was second president of the college government. The first two terms of 18721873 he was in charge of the department of architecture and the summer term of 1873 he spent in study in Berlin, Germany. From that time until the present he has been connected with the University as instructor, professor and dean. His contributions to the science of his profession have been many. He is, too, the architect of the law building, the (old) armory, and the natural history hall. He has been made professor emeritus. "Resolved, 1. That it is the sense of this convention, judging from the annual report of the Trustees of the Illinois Industrial University, that the course of studies of the University is not in accordance with the design of the originators of the scheme of industrial education in the United States, or with the act of Congress, or with the charter establishing the institution. "2. That in our opinion the ancient languages should not be made prominent or taught as an independent course in the Industrial University, but only in connection with an agricultural and mechanical education. "3. That we claim the right, as citizens of Illinois, to freely criticise the doings of our State Institutions, so far as the same are made public in their published reports. "4. That a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, in compliance with the invitation of the Regent of the Industrial University, to examine into the management of the same, and make such report as circumstances shall seem to justify to a future meeting, to be called by said committee. "23 Turner, called upon for an expression, said that he had tried "to secure for Illinois a great Industrial University, such as Mr. Cornell had secured for New York. He then took up the Annual Report of the University and read from its course, 'First, we find here Chemistry,' said he, 'this you will say is right. Next comes Natural History. This is as it should be. Then follows Agriculture, Mechanical Philosophy, Mathematics, Civil Engineering, etc., and this you will say is right. And what comes last? The Languages, just as they should. All this is much better than the old system, and this institution is far in advance of others in those particulars.'" The criticism he made then was that the student must be ground through a four years' course while he thought "a young man ought to be permitted to take what he pleases-to take chemistry alone, if he wishes it, for three months." Had Turner given the catalog a thorough reading he would have found that the very elasticity for which he pled was accorded. Under the heading, "Departments of Study" in the first catalog is found this paragraph: "It is expected that each "Champaign County Gazette, March 1870. " student will pursue studies in three or more departments at the same time, in order to fully employ his time. But, on special request, he may give his whole time to any one department, if the studies and practice in that department will afford him full employment." Turner acknowledged, however, that the industrial university had worked its way against disadvantages. "If the State would give them $500,000 to begin with, and $100,000 a year through all coming time, then we might expect great things of them." He then went on to state his idea of what such an institution as the industrial university might become. This greatly impressed his audience, as the following from the Gazette's account of the convention shows: "We could have wished the whole state present to hear his eloquent exposition of the sublime scope of the true Industrial University. Without knowing it, (for he had evidently misread the report) he made a most effective defense of the plans of the Trustees, and we count confidently on Professor Turner, as a firm supporter of those plans when he shall give them more careful attention." Nor was the writer mistaken in his confident expectation as will appear later. William M. Baker of the university faculty made a statement of what the university was doing, and showed that it was fulfilling the law, according to his interpretation at least. Whereupon the resolutions were passed with but little show of interest. Turner obtained the passage of a resolution declaring it to be the unanimous wish that the constitutional convention should take such action as the honor of the state demanded in behalf of university education. Another member moved that the convention ask the legislature to make liberal appropriations to the industrial university and the convention broke up in the midst of good feeling. It was good feeling that became more pronounced when the committee appointed at the convention visited the university and made an honest investigation. And best of all Turner was completely won over to the new institution of which he had hoped so much. The impossible had happened-the preacher at the head of the university had made good and the Grand Old Man in the cause of industrial education was the first to rejoice in the fact that he himself had been mistaken. The visit of the committee was made September 20 and 21, 1870. They found in attendance 194 men and 14 women students divided into classes as follows; each student carrying three or more studies: agriculture and horticulture 50, mechanics and civil engineering 54, chemistry 65, comparative anatomy 15, mathematics 138, military tactics 23, commercial 50, English literature etc. 92, German 63, French 27, Latin 20, Greek 0, which was precisely the number the committee was pleased to find pursuing that ancient and time honored means of culture. The farms, gardens, and machinery were found to be, like patients recovering from small pox, doing as well as could be expected. The investigations by this committee cleared up the misunderstanding that had prevailed, and laid to rest the distrust that had so hampered the development of the university. All parties now could unite in pronouncing the first years of foundation building successful. Upon these foundations which had been well laid in spite of and because of keen criticism, there now could be reared in the course of the next half century, a structure of the highest significance and truth. CHAPTER XIII THE FIRST BOARD OF TRUSTEES In pursuance of the law creating the university, Richard J. Oglesby, Governor of Illinois, on March 1, 1867, appointed the following to the first board of trustees. Name Allen, Lemuel District 2nd Grand Judicial 1st Grand Judicial Ex officio Lemuel Allen (b. 1818-d. 1905) who served as trustee from 1867-1871 always took an active part in the educational and religious life of his community. He served Tazewell county for |