Category Archives: Higher education

Sister Jane Like & Carol Bressan: Unsung heroes of SIU Med SChool

This entry has been corrected. See below and in comments. The lecture title said it all: “The Early History of SIU School of Medicine: Not for the Naïve or Faint of Heart.” According to Glen Davidson, Ph.D, two women – … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Higher education, Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, State government | 1 Comment

Robert Preston Taylor (Lincoln College of Law, Illinois State Museum)

By one measurement, Robert Preston Taylor (1876-1951) goes into history as the first African-American graduate of the old Lincoln College of Law in Springfield. But that would ignore Taylor’s more significant achievement: bringing to life exhibits at the Illinois State … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Education, Higher education, Museums, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

First Black U of I trustee

John J. Bird became the first African-American trustee of the University of Illinois more than a decade before the school even had any Black students. Bird’s tombstone in Oak Ridge Cemetery doesn’t mention that distinction, but its text does include … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Education, Higher education, Illinois capital, Politics, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Brown’s Business College (1864-1994)

In 1864, Washington Rutledge, a relative of Abraham Lincoln’s reputed love Ann Rutledge, opened Rutledge & Davidson’s Commercial College in Springfield. Over the next 130 years, Rutledge & Davidson’s and its descendants provided what an early advertisement called “passports to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Education, Higher education, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Lincoln Land Community College founded, 1967

Lincoln Land Community College held its first classes on Sept. 23, 1968, in temporary buildings on a temporary site. Even the name was temporary. LLCC – officially known as Lincoln Land Junior College until two weeks after classes began –was … Continue reading

Posted in Education, First Citizens, Higher education, Local government, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Lincoln College of Law

The Lincoln College of Law educated prospective lawyers, mostly in night classes, for more than 40 years in Springfield. Many graduates went on to distinguished legal careers. The school opened on Sept. 4, 1911, sharing space that first year with … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Higher education, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts | 11 Comments

Benedictine University at Springfield

Note: This entry has been updated to reflect the 2018 announcement that the entire campus was to be shut down.  Benedictine University at Springfield, which began as Springfield Junior College in 1929, abruptly announced the closure of its undergraduate programs … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Higher education | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments