Over the span of 139 years, Northeastern Illinois University has grown from a small vocational school in the southwest suburbs to one of the most diverse state universities in the nation.
NEIU has always been known for its College of Education. From its conception, the focus was on training educators. In 1867, the Cook County Normal School was founded in Blue Island Illinois. Normal School, which specialized in training teachers, was the only school of its kind in the nation.
In 1961, the school was relocated to the north side campus in what is now the North Park community. According to NEIU’s Web site, the enrolment in 1961 was at 1,348 students. The school was granted university status in 1971 and renamed Northeastern Illinois University.
During 2004, a group of NEIU students conducted a trifurcated research project co-led by Dr. Jon Hageman, Dr. Lesa Davis and Professor Cyndi Moran. The project focused on gaining historical data on NEIU’s campus through archival research and an archaeological dig. The Media Department documented the whole process. The group’s research revealed some interesting historical facts about the campus.
The 67 acres that NEIU is situated on was once the site of a reform school for truant boys. The Parental School, as it was called, was opened by the Chicago Board of Education in 1902. The school served as a temporary home for truant or “incorrigible juveniles,” with the hopes that the students would eventually be able to return to a regular school setting.
The school campus was just south of the Classroom Building and consisted of several residential cottages, a schoolhouse, hospital and barn. The school was purchased by Northeastern in 1973 and was closed down two years later because of insufficient funding.
According to the group’s findings, a portion of the land was also used for a veterans’ housing program. At the end of World War II, the Parental School loaned 20 acres of its land to the government in order to provide housing for veterans and their families. After seven years, the government abandoned the program.
In addition, during the war the area where the P.E. Complex is located was rented out in order for residents to plant victory gardens in an effort to support the war by easing the demand on the coutry’s food supply.
NEIU’s make up, like that of the neighborhood it is located in, has changed, but its accessibility and quality education hae remained the same. The university continues to grow and serve the community as it has for over a century.