History
An Act of the Twenty-sixth General Assembly of Illinois, approved March 9, 1869, created Southern Illinois Normal College, the second state-supported normal school in Illinois. Carbondale held the ceremony of cornerstone laying, May 17, 1870.
In 1869, SIU was founded as a teacher's college named Southern Illinois Normal College. It began with twelve academic departments and an initial class of 143.
After World War II, there was more of a push towards higher education. Southern Illinois University grew rapidly in size from 3,500 to over 23,000 students between 1950 and 1980.
The university continued as a teacher's college until Delyte W. Morris took office as president of the university in 1948. Morris was SIU's longest serving president (1948–1970). During his presidency, Morris transformed SIU, adding Colleges of Law, Medicine, and Dentistry.
In 1957, a second campus of SIU was established at Edwardsville. This school, now known as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is now an independent university within the SIU system.
In 2005, then-SIU chancellor Walter Wendler unveiled a comprehensive plan called Saluki Way, which will reshape the Carbondale campus over a 15-year period. Since the unveiling, much progress has been made in completing the Saluki Way project. This includes a new Football Stadium, a renovated SIU Arena, and many cosmetic changes for the campus. Also part of Saluki Way, The groundbreaking for a New Student Services building is set for early 2012.
Read more about this topic: Southern Illinois University Carbondale
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