Illinois State marks 169th anniversary with Founding Celebration

Image courtesy of Illinois State University 

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University hosted its annual Founding Celebration and Awards Ceremony on Thursday, marking the school’s 169th anniversary.

In honor of the anniversary, 169 people rang the Old Main Bell during the celebration in the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center. Participants included this year’s award winners and nominees.

Awards presented included the Outstanding University Service Award, Service Initiative Awards, Outstanding University Creative Activity Award, Outstanding University Researcher Award, Outstanding University Teacher Award, Research Initiative Award, Creative Activity Initiative Award, David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award, Environmental Stewardship Award, Civil Service Distinguished Service Awards, Administrative/Professional Distinguished Service Awards, Administrative/Professional Emerging Leader Awards, Esprit de Corps Award, TEAM Excellence Award and the Stan and Sandy Rives Excellence in Undergraduate Education Award. Award recipients were also honored at a luncheon on Tuesday.

“Illinois State University has so many milestones that it has achieved throughout its 169-year legacy, and it truly is that, just a legacy background of the university that continues to help us move forward,” said Chris Coplan, director of media relations and strategic communications at Illinois State University. “I think it is a great rallying cry for our students, faculty, staff and alumni to celebrate this event every year and really carry on that legacy for years to come.”

In addition to Tuesday’s luncheon and Thursday’s ceremony, a Founder’s Day pop-up museum was open Monday through Thursday in the Circus Room at the Bone Student Center.

The museum featured six tables, each highlighting a different part of Illinois State’s history. It was organized by University Archivist April Anderson-Zorn.

“My whole job as the university archivist is to collect, protect, preserve and make accessible the history of the university — the items, the documents, the materials that tell us the story of how we got here 169 years later,” Anderson-Zorn said.

The first table focused on Illinois State founder Jesse Fell and his role in planning the campus quad. The second highlighted the university’s first president, Charles Hovey, including his work on the campus’ first building, now known as Old Main, and his Civil War service alongside students.

The third table centered on Old Main and featured relics from a time capsule discovered in its cornerstone during demolition. It also detailed the origin of the university’s red and white colors, inspired by the building’s red brick and white trim.

The fourth table honored the “Women of State” who made significant contributions to education when the institution was known as Illinois State Normal University.

The fifth showcased the university’s athletic achievements, including a game-used baseball bat from the 1969 NCAA championship and an Olympic jersey worn by former women’s basketball player and assistant coach Cathy Boswell.

The sixth and final table highlighted the history and evolution of the Redbird mascot, which followed an earlier campus mascot, a dog named Wahoo, adopted by the Women of Fell Hall.