History of Arizona State University - Early Years

Early Years

Principal Hiram Bradford Farmer opened the Territorial Normal School’s four classroom building to 33 students on February 8, 1886, the first institution of higher education to open in Arizona. The Normal School was charged to provide "instruction of persons, both male and female, in the art of teaching, and in all the various branches that pertain to a good common school education; also, to give instruction in the mechanical arts and in husbandry and agricultural chemistry, in the fundamental law of the United States, and in what regards the rights and duties of citizens."

Admission requirements were a minimum age of 16 years old and successful completion of an entrance examination. Advanced placement by examination was accepted with 22 weeks of attendance. Principal Farmer taught all subjects. “Sub-normal” classes were offered to students lacking a high school diploma until 1923. Upon completion of the requirements a diploma and teaching certificate were awarded.

In 1899, the requirement for a diploma increased to a three-year course with a test of proficiency in academic and professional (teacher instruction) studies. By 1900 there were six faculty members and 131 students.

As a result of the opening of the Normal School at Flagstaff, in 1901 the legislature instituted the official and legal name Tempe Normal School that was presented in all official publications starting in 1903. The Department of Manual Arts (1906) and classes in Agriculture (1912) were introduced into the curriculum in accordance with requirements of the founding legislation. On March 20, 1911 President Theodore Roosevelt visited Tempe Normal School and spoke to the community from the steps of Old Main, two days after he dedicated Roosevelt Dam. In his thirteen-minute speech he presented his vision for education of children, educational training and the development of the Valley.

In the 1920s the Alumni Association lead political efforts to rename the Normal School and advance to a more robust teachers college curriculum. In 1923 admission requirements were raised to a high school diploma. The Tempe State Teachers College established in 1925 boasted 41 faculty members and 672 students, and by 1929 the Arizona State Teacher’s College offered a four year-college curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Education. A two-year curriculum was also available to secure a certificate of eligibility to teach in Arizona elementary schools.

Students completing the four-year course were eligible for graduate work in education at a university, and they would receive secondary certificates permitting them to teach in Arizona high schools. The requirement for a diploma and a grade school teaching certificates increased to a three-year curriculum.