Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - History

History

During the Post–World War II economic expansion, a lack of public higher education was noticeable in the growing Metro-East area. Organizations from across the area took it upon themselves to relieve this lack. Southern Illinois University, over 100 miles (160 km) to the region's south, opened a residence center in Belleville in 1949. In 1955, the Edwardsville Chamber of Commerce founded the Southwestern Illinois Council for Higher Education, tasked with creating a more permanent solution to the problem. SWICHE and the SIU Board of Trustees met and stated their agreement in goals in 1956, and, that same year, an Executive Committee from the Board of Education in Alton invited Dr. Alonzo Myers, Chairman of the Department of Higher Education for Higher Education at New York University, to perform a study of the need for higher education in the Metro-East.

Dr. Myers's 1957 report, The Extent and the Nature of Needs for Higher Education in Madison and St. Clair Counties, outlined the precise need: the 1950 census showed that students in the region in question were half as likely as others in the nation to finish a four-year college degree program (owing specifically to the lack of a nearby university and the financial difficulties of going to school away from home at other state universities). Businesses in the area were in need of college-trained employees, but were forced to hire outside of the area, especially in the fields of business administration, nursing, education, and industrial technology. Myers concluded that, rather than more residence centers, private schools, or junior colleges, a branch of a four-year public university would best serve the needs of the area. He recommended SIU, the closest large public university, as the best candidate.

Acting on the report, in 1957, SIU purchased both a former building of East St. Louis High School and the campus of Shurtleff College in Alton as temporary facilities. Even with all of the research and planning that had gone before, the true need had been underestimated. When the new campuses opened, officials planned on having about 800 students; 1776 enrolled, and enrollment doubled within two years.

The dual campus solution was temporary mostly because of both facilities were in urban areas with little room for expansion even at the time of purchase. Land for the permanent campus was purchased in 1960--- 2,660-acre (1,076.5 ha) of farmland. Money for the purchase came from A) contributions from individuals, businesses, industries, labor unions, civic organizations, and PTAs; B) loans from 14 Metro-East banks; and C) state funding. The location, west of Edwardsville, was chosen due to its accessibility via highways, its usability as an educational campus, and its proximity to the major urban areas of the Metro-East.

In 1960, a bond issue was voted upon by the citizens of Illinois: the measure passed by more than 100,000 votes, providing funds for the construction of the campuses of SIUE and the school now known as the University of Illinois Chicago. A conference entitled Environmental Planning-Edwardsville Campus (EPEC) took place in 1961, highlighting the architectural and spatial design of the future campus. The campus was designed by architects Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum. Ground was broken in 1963 and, with the first two buildings (Peck Hall and Lovejoy Library) completed, classes were first held on the Edwardsville campus in fall 1965. A series of dedication ceremonies from 1966 to 1969 highlighted the ongoing growth of the campus.

Prior to the development of the Edwardsville campus, six "Divisions of Academic Programs" were established for the SIU Residential Centers in Alton and East St.Louis on March 4, 1960. When the move was made to the new campus in 1965, the "Divisions" became the Schools of Business, Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences. The nursing program, which was to become the School of Nursing when the new campus opened, was established in March 29, 1964. On April 18, 1969, the Board of Trustees voted to establish the School of Dental Medicine, which opened in 1972. The School of Engineering originated as the Engineering Department of the School of Science and Technology and was elevated to School status in 1982. Between September 9, 1993 and July 1, 1995 the Schools of Fine Arts, Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences and the University College merged to become the College of Arts and Sciences. The newest of SIUE's schools, the School of Pharmacy, began classes in 2005.

Growing rapidly and maturing, the school became increasingly independent of its parent school in Carbondale. In 1971, the SIU Board of Trustees made official the campus's name of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

From 1969 to 1980, the SIUE campus hosted the Mississippi River Festival (MRF), a summer outdoor concert series that featured performances by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (which was in-residence on campus during the MRF's early years) and high profile classical, jazz, folk, pop, and rock artists including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Van Cliburn, Bob Hope, The Who, Yes, Chicago, Joan Baez, The Eagles, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and The Grateful Dead. The MRF stage was beneath a large tent which also covered the reserved seating section, with lawn seating outside on the grass of the large natural amphitheater. The MRF attracted crowds of upward of 30,000.