By the time John Williston Cook was offered the job as the first president of Northern Illinois State Normal School, he was 55 years old and had spent 36 years at Illinois State Normal in Bloomington – three as a student, 24 as a teacher, and nine as president.
Cook was something of a star in the normal school orbit, and a popular speaker at conventions and public forums. Newspapers of the day referred to him as “The Crown Prince of Teacher Education.” Thus he pressed his advantage with the NISNS board, making three demands before taking the job:
First, he insisted that he be able to bring his colleague Charles A. McMurray to run the Practice School for student teaching. Second, he wanted the Practice School concept to be both a physical place and an agreement with local schools to place student teachers in classrooms. Finally, Cook demanded to be able to hire his own faculty “without interference on the part of anyone.”
The new NISNS board readily agreed to Cook’s demands. While the final work on the building was still underway, Cook had to assemble his faculty. In addition to teaching expert McMurray (for whom McMurray Hall is named), Cook added faculty in psychology, mathematics, history, natural science and biology, geography, ancient and modern languages, reading, and drawing, as well as a librarian.
Cook had a vision for NISNS that included having under its supervision the entire town’s elementary school system for purposes of teacher training. The local school board agreed to this, since the arrangement included building a school on campus (now McMurray Hall) at no cost to the town. Cook was also allowed to select and hire the superintendent of DeKalb public schools, whom he insisted must be a member of the NISNS faculty.
Next he had to create a curriculum, enroll a student body, secure places for them to stay, and push forward on completion of the building – all in about four months’ time.
Leaflets and ads in the Daily Chronicle recruited the first class of 173 students.
Cook was a very popular figure and a hands-on leader who guided Northern through its first 20 years. In Norther yearbooks from this period, students routinely praised Dr. Cook and mentioned his warmth and dedication to them as individuals. In 1915, the first residence hall for women was named for Cook, but using his middle name, Williston. After his retirement, Cook returned to NISNS for one last visit in May of 1921. The entire student body and faculty held a general assembly to welcome him back, singing praises for the man education leaders called “The Best Normal School President in the United States.”
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