Like Townsend, Eugene Davenport was a native of Michigan. As Dean of the College of Agriculture from 1895 to 1922, he assembled a faculty and developed a curriculum for instruction and research in scientific agriculture. Professor George Morrow's early efforts in agricultural education had made little progress. Davenport's years coincided with the rapid development of academic instruction in agriculture. His ability to shock wheat and appeal to common social and political viewpoints gave credibility with Illinois' rural and political constituencies and placed agriculture on a sound footing at the university level.