Some Events in the History
of the College of Engineering

The University of Illinois was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly of the State on February 28, 1867. This action was taken under the terms of an act of the federal Congress, known as the "Morrill Land Grant," whereby the national government was empowered to give to each state in the Union public land scrip equal to 30,000 acres for each senator and representative in Congress "for the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college whose leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts -- in order to promote the liberal and classical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." (Instruction was actually begun in the University on March 2, 1868.)

By the original act of the General Assembly the institution was called th. "I llinois Industrial University" and it continued to be so styled until 1885 when its name was changed to the "University of Illinois." In addition to the original endowment Congress has made additional provision for the Land Grant institutions by supplementary acts carrying annual appropriations -- generally for specific purposes. The principal support of the University, however, is provided by the State of Illinois, partly through a special tax of one-third mill, and partly by appropriation from the general revenue.

At the first meeting of the board of trustees, on March 12, 1867, Dr. John Milton Gregory was appointed regent and he continued in that office for thirteen years. Although, in response to the intention of the Morrill Act, work in agriculture and engineering was emphasized at the beginning, Dr. Gregory's conception of the functions of the new institution was much broader, and the work from the outset included courses in other branches of learning. In the first university catalog the admission requirements for the course in science, literature, and art included natural philosophy, physiology, algebra, geometry, and Latin grammar and literature. At first all courses were elective, thus anticipating a later widespread fashion in education. During the second year, however, curricula prevailing at other institutions were published in the catalog as "suggestions to students" and fairly definite curricula in mechanical and civil engineering were "recommended" to engineering students. Two years later four engineering curricula were listed and, with few changes, continued in force for twenty years.

In the minds of the promoters and supporters of the Land Grant Act there lay a dissatisfaction with the standard classical education of the time and a desire for a type of training more closely related to the ordinary experience and life of the people. This desire was naturally reflected in the thought of the trustees, the University administration, and the people of the State. There were no precedents for the new type of training, and among its proponents there was a great diversity of opinion. This entailed for Regent Gregory the burdensome task of reconciling these views and of winning acquiescence and support for his own liberal and far-sighted conceptions. To him, much more than to any other, must be given the credit for laying the foundations of the young institution with a breadth which permitted, a generation later, the erection thereon of the University as we find it today.