Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - History of the University (Powell) [PAGE 392]

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History University of Illinois

ated from the State normal university at Normal in 1865 and had come to Urbana as superintendent of schools. It was a fortunate day for the university and for the man himself when Burrill took a place upon its faculty. His significant intellectual powers were developing; the great and generous qualities of character which were his commanding gifts were offered a liberal field for exercise. Charles M. Moss, a professor in the classical department, says of these early years: ''He taught most of the day, was horticulturist to the experiment station, planted with his own hands or saw to the planting of most of the trees on the campus, after he had laid it out for treatment, wrote reports, lectured here and there, served on innumerable committees, collected specimens up and down the state, and, lest some remnant of his time should be unoccupied, was charged by the board with the sale of a pair of mules, whose labors on the south farm showed that they were not so able to stand the strenuous life as he was. His professorship began at sunup and lasted indefinitely, and included everything that needed doing." Burrill was compelled by the necessity of the university to give several years to administrative work. In 1878 he was made dean of the college of science. In 1879 he became acting regent and vice president while Gregory was in Europe. He also served in this position during the interregnum between the Gregory and Peabody administrations in 1880, and again from 1891 to 1894 between the Peabody and Draper terms. The three years from 1891 to 1894 proved him a man of genuine administrative capacity. Almost his first undertaking was to reorganize the troublesome military department in such thorough fashion that it has given no trouble since. During these years the graduate school, the summer session, the course in municipal and sanitary engineering were established. Burrill adopted a new fashion of dealing with the legislature. Instead of hesitatingly asking for as little money as the university could maintain itself upon, he courteously and forcibly requested enough for reasonable expansion. It was a wise policy as the later development of the university proved. Although compelled to devote himself to administrative work during these years Burrill by no means neglected scientific