Digital Commons @ EMU

A History of Eastern Michigan University: 1849-1965

Egbert R. Isbell

Although the history of a university is not easily captured, it is valuable to us as a measure of our successes and failures, a chronicle and evaluation of what has gone before. This history is of special interest and inspiration as it traces the story of one of the most significant chapters in the development of higher education in the United States.

Professor Isbell unfolds an inspiring story. Thousands of graduates of Eastern Michigan University have carried into schools and colleges over the entire country the idea of their University. They have influenced the minds of legions of young people and their professional colleagues. Thus, much that has happened in the last 120 years is now playing a part in shaping the course of American education.

A History Of The Michigan State Normal School (Now Normal College) at Ypsilanti, Michigan 1849-1899

Daniel Putnam

It is not easy to write, with entire impartiality, the history of an institution in which one has been, for any considerable time, a personal actor. The writer has been connected, in various relations, for thirty years with the Michigan State Normal School. He has known pretty intimately all the Principals of the school, and has taught with all these except Principal Welch. With a very few exceptions he has known personally all the teachers who have been connected with the school.

Under such conditions it will be difficult to exclude the the personal element from the narrative or from the discussions which now and then occur. An attempt has been made, however, to prevent this element from giving any unfair or unjust coloring to any statements or conclusions in regard to persons, events, or the policy and administration of the school. It is too much to expect that the attempt has been in all cases entirely successful, but it is hoped that no injustice has been done to any one who has, at any time, been connected with the institution in any capacity.

Mark Jefferson: Geographer

Geoffrey J. Martin

The study of the life and works of Mark Jefferson, one of the most scholarly geographers ever to grace the U.S. scene, is an attempt to fill, in part, the void in the literature of geographers' lives and thoughts and contribute to an understanding of the geography of American geographers.

His influence on the development of this professional field in the first half of the present century was critical. As professor of geography at the Michigan State Normal College (1901-39), he schooled future generations of teachers in the subject matter of geography, influenced geographic thinking by his numerous writings and oral presentations, and helped win respect in the U.S. for his subject as a discipline.

The Michigan State Teachers Colleges

The Council of Teachers College Presidents

The Council of Teachers College Presidents submits herewith a statement bearing on the Teachers Colleges of Michigan. This statement considers briefly their origin, legal status, control, and development. It outlines their functions in relation to our established system of education of which they are a part. It contains a brief exposition of the causes which have led to the phenomenal growth of school enrollments in Michigan and points out the part which the Michigan Teachers Colleges have played in meeting the new demands. Added also are tables of statistical information relating to Michigan education with special reference to the enterprise of training teachers. Certain statistical tables relating to the budgets of the Teachers Colleges are included also.

The State Normal School of Michigan: Its Plan and Purpose and an Outline of Its Work

The State Normal School of Michigan

It is the purpose of this pamphlet to set forth, briefly, the work and scope of THE MICHIGAN STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, in order that friends of education in America may be informed concerning what Michigan is doing in the professional training of her teachers. It is also designed to aid educators from other countries in gaining an acquaintance with the present condition of progress in American Normal schools.