Commencement exercises in front of the University Library, now Altgeld Hall, circa 1917.

As President Corbally declared in his Commencement address to the class of 1979,

…The quality of the degree which you will receive today is special—special because it has been awarded to you by one of the great universities of the world. That special quality is a fragile thing—it has been earned and nurtured for over a hundred years since the University was founded as the Illinois Industrial University on a swampy site on the outskirts of Urbana.  That special quality has survived wars, depressions, disorders, and a variety of other problems and crises, and is now the hallmark of a university with three main campuses and with programs throughout the State of Illinois and, indeed, throughout the world.

Chung Sul Youn receives a gift from the wife of the President of South Korea at the Commencement ceremony in 1955. It was presented by Dean Joseph R. Smiley (right), with Youn’s mother and President Lloyd Morey by her side.

Thousands of students over the years are tied together through the University and its Commencement traditions: Frances Adelia Potter and Henry Sheldon Reynolds, a couple who met at University and married within a day of their mutual graduation in 1874; Chung Sul Youn, a 1955 graduate who was the first woman in more than 30 years to major in chemical engineering; and fourth generation Illini George E. Smith Jr., the great-grandson, grandson, and son of Illinois graduates and recipient of his degree in 1960.

Influential figures from all walks of life addressed graduating classes with observations, commentary, and life advice, including First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (1994), noted scientist Carl Sagan (1990), Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson (1950), and the most recent speaker and Illinois alumnus, billionaire entrepreneur Shahid Khan.

Few alumni can recall the speaker, or the contents of the address, ten years after their Commencement.  Nonetheless, each year more students achieve alumni status and contribute to University Commencement traditions. In his 1995 address, President Stanley O. Ikenberry concluded with this exhortation:

As you leave us, you carry with you an obligation to make sure that future generations—your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, your neighbors—enjoy the same wonderful opportunity to learn and grow. Pause one more time at the Alma Mater and read the inscription: “To the Happy Children of the Future, Those of the Past Send Greetings.” That is the intergenerational promise. Commit today to keep it. Come back; stay connected; help us build even more opportunity and hope for future generations.

To learn more about the history of Commencement at the University of Illinois, please visit the exhibit located outside the Archives hallway in the basement of the Main Library.

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Mason poses during a track meet. RS 41/20/230

In a 1937 News-Gazette article on the “past glory of Illinois track teams,” legendary Illini track coach Harry Gill named Arthur H. “Mike” Mason one of the best runners and fiercest competitors he ever witnessed. Gill recounted how Mason lost his shoe during a two mile race in 1915. Despite attempts to flag him down to prevent injury, Mason kept running and finished in the lead, setting a new Big Ten and Illinois record with a time of 9:42 2-3. After helping him to the locker room, Gill recalled how “a bloody sock was removed and the whole callous of his foot dropped off with it. That run was the greatest exhibition of courage I have ever witnessed.” [1] Mason bested this time on several occasions, and his records of 4:18 and 9:33 for one and two mile races stood until the 1920s. [2]

Mason spent his early life in Minnesota and moved to Urbana when his father Arthur S. Mason acquired a stake in the Leavitt Manufacturing Company, which fabricated bleacher units and animal dehorning clippers. Mason graduated from Urbana High School in 1912 and received a B.A. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois in 1916, where he also joined Delta Upsilon fraternity and Ma-Wan-Da. Given his success on the track at Illinois, he would have been a candidate to represent the United States in the 1916 Olympics had the war in Europe not prompted their cancellation.

But like many young men of his generation, this was not the only way the war altered the course of Mason’s post-U of I life. After a brief stint with Montgomery Ward in Chicago, Mason applied and was accepted to the officer’s reserve corps. He wrote to his parents on his decision to volunteer: “You may be touched with sorrow that your son has placed himself, or will place himself if he becomes a member of the officer’s reserves, subject to call by his country. But you must remember that if this war should develop to such an extent that the reserve officers were called out, your pride would be hurt if your son did not volunteer.” [3]

Mason’s Officer Identity Card. RS 41/20/230

The reserves were called out, as it happened, and in August 1917 Mason was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Field Artillery Section. [4] His experience as an athlete at Illinois influenced his mindset as he prepared for deployment to combat. Just before embarking to France with the 332nd Field Artillery of the American Expeditionary Force  in September 1918, Mason wrote to his parents: “My life in the army has not been unlike that which I experienced in my athletic days. The past year has been training for the big field day. But it will be a greater field day than in which I have here-to-fore competed. I am the champion of my own dear parents[,] the world liberty and God himself. I will bear myself like a champion and bring honor to those who love me most. It is a privilege to go, may the Lord make me worthy and a true fighter.” [5] Mason was on his way to the front in France when the armistice was signed in November,  ending the conflict. He was both relieved that the war came to an end, but somewhat ambivalent that after training so long and coming within a few days of the front, he did not see any combat. In another letter home dated November 21, 1918, he wrote, “I am of course thankful that this bloody struggle is over, and I that I will soon return to my dear father & mother to good old U.S.A. the best country in the world, to a civilian life and a job. Yet I regret that I have been denied the privilege in taking an actual part in the conflict. Again, I am anxious to get home, but would rather not be among the first troops to arrive. Undoubtedly the first troops will receive a great reception, and I can not but feel that we are not entitled to it.” [6] Despite these initial misgivings, later in life Mason was known to joke that the war ended so abruptly “because he was there.” [7]

Mason Letter, November 21, 1918. RS 41/20/230

These letters are included in the recently-acquired Arthur H. Mason Family Papers located in the Student Life and Culture Archives. In addition to the extensive correspondence from Mason himself, the collection includes letters from Mason’s cousin Ralph Norgaard and Charles A. McLellan (no relation to Mason), both of whom served in the infantry during World War I. A highlight of the collection, this correspondence as a whole provides a rich portrait of the experiences, daily lives, and psychological state of young men as they prepared for and fought in the war. The collection also documents Mason’s family history and genealogy, his family’s life in Urbana and connections to relatives in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Vermont, his career at U of I, his military service, and his professional and family life in Minnesota and Highland Park, Illinois. The collection includes extensive correspondence, photographs, awards, memorabilia, scrapbooks and news clippings, and will be an excellent resource to University of Illinois students and researchers studying World War I, local history, and student life and athletics at Illinois in the early twentieth century.

First page of Mason letter, November 21, 1918.

[1] “Harry Gill Thinks Mason Greatest of All Illinois Track Stars,” News-Gazette, Nov 17, 1937.
[2] Mason Papers – University of Illinois – Track Runners Clippings, c.1925, RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.
[3] Mason Papers – World War I – Arthur H. Mason Correspondence 1917 (folder 1/2), RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.
[4] Mason Papers – World War I – Arthur H. Mason Correspondence 1917 (folder 1/2), RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.
[5] Mason Papers – World War I – Arthur H. Mason Correspondence 1918 (folder 2/5), RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.
[6] Mason Papers – World War I – Arthur H. Mason Correspondence 1918 (folder 3/5), RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.
[7] Mason Papers – Family and Professional Life – Arthur H. Mason obituary and eulogy, 1983, RS 41/20/230, Student Life and Culture Archives.

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Enter Exhibit

Illustrated by Fridtjof Nansen.

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Students dressed up for an event in Lincoln Hall. Found in the 1936 Illio.

Like the rest of the nation, the University of Illinois certainly suffered the effects of the Depression.  Jobs were especially scarce and students were even forced to sell personal items in order to make  money.  Elston Herron of The Y wrote in 1931 that “students are selling everything from needles to threshing machines, from electric refrigerators to shoe laces.  And they aren’t making any bones about admitting that they’re selling things.  The day has passed when fellows were ashamed, for some foolish reason, to admit that they were trying to make a little money in ways other than writing back to the old homestead.”

Many students worked all summer in order to save up tuition money for the next school year.  They were aware of their family’s economic situations and worked their hardest to be as self-sufficient and sustaining as possible.

Football program cover, 1929. Found in Record Series 28/5/811

Instead of being brought down by the Depression, students used it as opportunity and motivation to better themselves.  They knew competition for jobs after college was high and they had to push themselves if they wanted to succeed.  Despite the extra work load required to make ends meet, student activities flourished; they gathered for parades, football games, dances, clubs, theater, and fraternity and sorority events.  Although their banks may have been broken, their spirits were not.

If you want to learn more about student life during the Great Depression, please visit the exhibit outside of the University Archives.

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Fans leave treats from one of Ebert’s favorite restaurants, Steak ‘n’ Shake, near the plaque of his boyhood home in Urbana, Ill. April 2013

He was beloved and respected by millions, unless you happened to be one of the unfortunate filmmakers who earned a “thumbs down” from Roger Ebert during his long and illustrious career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic. Ebert’s passing on April 4, 2013 has been mourned by friends and followers across the globe. Attendees of Ebert’s 15th Annual Film Festival, which begins this week and runs April 17-21 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, will certainly long for Ebert’s presence.

An Urbana native, Ebert attended Urbana High School and then the University of Illinois, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in 1964. One can still walk past Ebert’s childhood home at 410 E. Washington St. in Urbana, where fans and friends have created a make-shift memorial to the critic, leaving behind flowers, popcorn and the Steak ‘n’ Shake treats that he so enjoyed at the plaque designating Ebert’s childhood home.

Roger Ebert at work on the galley proofs of “An ILLINI Century,” 1967. Found in Record Series 26/4/1.

Many people forget that Ebert was a student journalist during his time at the University, rising to become editor of the Daily Illini during his senior year. Based partially on research done in the University Archives, Ebert also collected news articles, editorials, and even advertisements for a book entitled An Illini Century: One Hundred Years of Campus Life which was published in 1967. In the introduction to An Illini Century, Ebert, who seemed to have a bit of an archivist in him, recalled how the book came to be. As DI staff was thumbing through early, crumbling editions of the paper from nearly one hundred years ago, Ebert wrote:

“From these perishable items of daily journalism, an eaves-dropper of later years might obtain an idea of the day-to-day life of a great university: the achievements, disappointments, controversies, and trivia which together made up the undergraduate experience of thousands of Illinois students.”

Ebert’s eloquent words aptly state the responsibility of the University Archives. Documenting and making available the successes, failures and controversies of this great land-grant institution is what allows for much-needed transparency for University students, staff, faculty and the residents of Illinois. Thanks to the financial support of our Student Life and Culture Archives, we have  indirectly  addressed Ebert’s concern back in 1967–the Daily Illini (from 1874-1975) has been digitized and made freely available to anyone with an Internet connection here.

Currently, the University Archives holds the Roger Ebert Papers, 1995-2001 containing videotapes of the “Siskel and Ebert” and “Roeper and Ebert” television shows. It is also interesting to see where else Ebert’s name “pops” up in the Archives’ holdings. For example, Ebert had a long-time collegiate and professional relationship with Daniel Curley, a professor of English at the University from 1955-1988. Curley was very much a mentor to Ebert and in 1986 they wrote The Perfect London Walk together, a travel book based on London walking routes. The relationship between the two resulted in extensive correspondence, documented in Curley’s Papers, which shows an enduring friendship. In the letters, the two men reminisced over beers they had shared and discussed the pleasures of baseball double-headers. Ebert also briefly corresponded with University Professor of Russian Language Stephen Hill, on Hill’s research interest regarding pornography in film.

These records allow fans and researchers to understand different facets of this journalism giant. Thanks in part to the University Archives,’ Ebert and his legacy will not be forgotten.

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Photo of Thomas Clark Shedd (second from right), ca. 1955. Found in Record Series 39/2/20.

Thomas Clark Shedd first became acquainted with Hardy Cross at Brown University, where he graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1913. Cross, who served as Assistant Professor from 1911 through 1918, proved to be an instructive mentor to Shedd; reflecting upon his time teaching at Brown, Cross said, “Taught Professor Shedd there…My most important accomplishments are teaching men like him.”[2] Despite his civil engineer mentor, Shedd was a mechanical engineer by education; likewise, it appeared he had “deserted what amounted to a family tradition and forsaken the study of civil engineering.”[3] Having a father, grandfather, and uncles who worked as civil engineers, it seemed Shedd had indeed alighted on a slightly different career path. His work at the Phoenix Bridge Company after graduation, however, brought him back to his roots – an experience that, along with the influence of Hardy Cross, would prove instrumental to his career at the University of Illinois, where he would devote himself to the “economics of structural design.”[4]

In 1921, Cross began teaching in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois. A year later, Shedd also joined the Civil Engineering faculty at the U of I, where he was appointed Associate in Engineering, and later full Professor in 1936. It was during his early days at the U of I that Shedd continued his education, acquiring both a professional degree and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in 1925 and 1933, respectively. In addition to his academic duties, he served on the Illinois Structural Engineers Examining Committee (1922-1958) and the Illinois Professional Engineers’ Examining Committee (1944-1959), while also working as a bridge design consultant for a number of firms, such as Waddell & Hardesty and Anaconda Copper. Among his most notable projects as a consultant, Shedd contributed to the construction of the steel frame that supported the 4 million pound and 180 feet in diameter “city of tomorrow” Perisphere displayed at the New York World’s Fair in 1939.

Sepia tone photo of Hardy Cross, ca. 1930s. Found in Record Series 39/2/25.

Both Shedd and Cross had a considerable impact on the field of structural engineering. During his career, Shedd authored the foundational texts, Structural Design in Steel (1934) and Theory of Simple Structures with J. Vawter (1931). Simple Structures made the fundamentals of design and analysis understandable to a new generation of structural engineers, having influenced the professionalization of structural engineering in an era when many developments in the field emerged.[5] Likewise, Cross was recognized for his seminal publications. In 1932, he published “Analysis of Continuous Frames by Distributing Fixed-End Moments,” in the transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which fundamentally influenced the analysis of indeterminate structures. Known as “Moment Distribution,” or the “Hardy Cross Method,” Cross’ idea provided a numerical solution of the slope-deflection equations that was used in the design of complex structures.[6]

The vast majority of Shedd’s correspondence with Cross occurred after the latter became head of Civil Engineering at Yale University in 1937. Their correspondence contains discussions on the nature of the engineering profession and education, their respective departments, teaching (such as Shedd’s course on bridge design), familial affairs, and new theories and developments in the field. In one letter, Cross recounted his difficulty recruiting new faculty to Yale. He outlined not only his expectations for such a candidate, but also more broadly his thoughts on the direction of the civil engineering curriculum:

I have come to the conclusion that we must very definitely pay more attention in civil engineering to what are often sloppily called the “broad aspects.”…The opportunity is here is for a man who can see the problems as distinguished from past practice in the development of railways, highways, aviation, and inland navigation and correlation of them. This can be done, of course, to some extent by inter-relating courses in economics to engineering. It has not, however, been done successfully that way anywhere that I have heard of and I am pretty certain that if it is to be done sanely, it should be done in engineering and not merely through engineering. I want to look at these matters from the engineering point of view which I think may be interpreted to mean that we draw some pictures and put down some figures and then quarrel with the pictures and figures. The engineer, I think, forces his mind to think in terms of physical property rather than metaphysical concepts.[7]

In his reply to Cross, Shedd wrote, “I was greatly interested in your remarks about the “broad aspects” of civil engineering, and I can see that you have gone cultural in a big way.”[8] Cross and Shedd continued to discuss new ways of reformulating the engineering curriculum to include more coursework on philosophy, economics, and history. Cross had previously presented a paper titled “Educational Inflation” in 1937, which discussed his ideas concerning the civil engineering curriculum: “We have two responsibilities…We must give them enough vocational education to get and hold a job till they are rooted in a competitive world. Our other duty – much the more important – is to train them in methods of thinking and investigation so that they can meet the demands of society.”[9]

It could be said that Shedd fulfilled Cross’ philosophies on teaching. At the same time, Shedd’s approach to teaching had a profound impact on Cross’ own ideas: “Without qualification I consider Mr. Shedd the greatest teacher of undergraduate structural design…I often drop in to listen to his explanations to Seniors of layout and detail because I come away a better teacher and a better engineer.”[10] No doubt, the correspondence of Shedd and Cross enables us to begin tracing the early development of the structural engineering curriculum and thus its influence on several generations of engineers.

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Twenty Three Portraits, 2010-11
University Of Illinois YMCA & YWCA Building, Murphy Gallery
February 24th – April 1st, 2011
Image taken by Brent Faklis

Erma Scott Bridgewater was born on November 24, 1913. She received a sociology degree from the University of Illinois in 1937.  She was also a member of the local chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Two years after graduating, she became the Director of Champaign’s Department of Recreation at the Douglas Center.   She continued to work for the the city of Champaign in a variety of positions until her retirement in the 1980s.

Involvement in, and support of, community was a central theme throughout her life. In 2001, Erma Bridgewater and Ellen Swain, the Student Life & Culture Archivist, sat down for an interview at her home in Champaign.   This interview is available for streaming or reading on the Archives’ Oral History Projects webpage.

Because of Erma Bridgewater’s unstinting support and participation in her community, she was recognized at a 2010 symposium celebrating people working to make a difference in Champaign-Urbana’s African American community.  Her story is included in Difference Makers 2010: An eBlack Champaign-Urbana Publication.

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To our knowledge, the University Archives does not have Easter cards from the Nineteenth century.  However, the below Germany-made postcards, addressed to Maize Jane Elliott of Connersville, Indiana, date from 1907.

Record Series 39/2/28, Box 39

Record Series 39/2/28, Box 39

For those of you who celebrate Easter, enjoy the season. For those of you who do not celebrate Easter, enjoy the beginning of spring!

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Dedication of the original building in 1941 completed a long planning process started early in the Twentieth Century.  Interest in a specially built Union building began with the inauguration of President Arthur C. Willard, who appointed a committee to investigate building plans and construction.  The decision to raze University Hall, built in 1871, to make room for the new building was unanimous.

President Emeritus Arthur C. Willard and Student President Mary Wham at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Illini Union, 1951.

Construction began in 1939 and the Illini Union opened on February 8, 1941.   Reflecting at the 10th anniversary celebration, President Emeritus Willard stated that “The aim was to erect a building which would be not only a distinguished social center, open to all students, faculty, and alumni, but also to inspire those who use it with the best traditions of our early American way of life.”[1]

As the University population increased, so did the demand for facilities and services.  The Illini Union finally expanded in 1963 to support the many cultural, social, and recreational programs it sponsored.  In its first 25 years, the Illini Union more than doubled in size.  Homecoming, Mom’s Day, Dad’s Day, International Fair, Jazz Concerts—the Illini Union supported these and many more programs from its earliest years.

Not long ago, the Illini Union donated a large number of historical photographs that are now available via a University Archives’ webpage.  A select number of these photographs are part of the exhibit opening tomorrow at the Illini Union.

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Photo of visitors at an Engineering Open House exhibit, ca. 1959. Found in Record Series 11/1/12.

Our students and faculty, as you, feel the need to help contribute to the solution of the pressing problems of society. Energy, materials, food, housing, transportation, health care delivery, and employment opportunities, all fall far short of meeting the world’s needs…Engineers must create technologies with accompanying social benefits at acceptable economic and social costs. To do less is to fail as an engineer. This is why so much of what you see reflects our very extensive engineering research activity.[2]

Program from the 1922 Electrical Show. Found in Record Series 11/6/805.

Friday, March 8th marks the beginning of the 93rd Engineering Open House, the largest annual student-run event of its kind to promote scientific and technological innovations in engineering through exhibits, contests, and demonstrations.[3] As it was in the 1970s, the Engineering Open House is global and futuristic in scope, cognizant of the social responsibility of engineers and the impact of their scientific and technological advancements. Although the Engineering Open House was officially established in 1920, it has roots in the Department of Physics Open House and Department of Electrical Engineering Electrical Show in 1906 and 1907, respectively. The latter, while a modest affair at first, attracted increasingly larger crowds each year with such demonstrations as the melting of glass with electricity, the conversion of light into electricity using Professor Jacob Kunz’s photoelectric cell, and even an electric fortune teller.[4]

Although the intent of the Electrical Show was to chiefly demonstrate new technologies and ideas, the Engineering Open House was initially more educational in nature.[5] The first Open House in 1920 coincided with a commemoration of James Watt and his “influence upon the industrial development of the world.”[6] It exhibited the College’s laboratories and facilities, including a Mining and Railway Museum located between the Mining Laboratory and the Transportation Building.[7] During the 1930s and 1940s, the College also hosted annual Illinois Student Engineering Exhibits which served a similar function to the Open House. Following World War II, the Electrical Show and its demonstrations were subsumed by the Open House,[8] and the affair eventually evolved into an event with the intent of showcasing the accomplishments of departments as well as student innovations in research through both exhibits and demonstrations.

Each year the Engineering Open House has explored a different theme. The 1972 Open House “Engineering – Key to Survival” program, for instance, emphasized the ways in which technology was instrumental to providing solutions for large-scale problems relating to pollution, nutrition, and transportation (featured below):

Program from the 1972 Engineering Open House. Found in Record Series 11/1/805.

While general themes of innovation and progress tended to pervade early Open House programs, the advent of the Space Age in the late 1950s and the 1960s and increasing environmental and social concerns in the 1970s and 1980s influenced its scope. As Dean Drucker mentioned in his letter above, Engineering became more concerned with the role of technology in relation to issues of societal and global import. Recent acquisitions of archival materials from the College of Engineering elucidate this progression, such as the recently acquired 1980 Ceramic Engineering program, which advocated the different ways glass could be used as a “versatile material for the 80′s” (featured below):

Ceramic Engineering Open House program, 1980. Found in Record Series 11/4/50.

Though some of the original goals of the Engineering Open House are still included in its programs, such as educating the public and highlighting the accomplishments of the College, archival materials demonstrate the development of the Open House and the College becoming more aware of its role in the larger cultural and social milieu, which in turn has influenced its goals, demonstrations, and exhibits. Dean Drucker underscored this idea well: “we try to convey to our visitors the important role of technology in our daily lives and how our future depends critically on the contributions of well-educated engineers.”[9] The University Archives’ collection of programs, photos, newspaper clippings, and posters document the perspectives of students, faculty, alumni, and the public as they visited the Open House and learned more about the importance of the role of science and technology in society. As more archival documents and electronic files are transferred to the University Archives, the more complete our understanding of this, and other events in the College of Engineering’s history will become.

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