The Founding of Disability Resources at the U of I

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

This month commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which ensures and protects the civil rights of people with physical and mental disabilities. In honor of this important legislation, we are celebrating the work of Illinois’s Disabilities Rehabilition-Education Services (DRES). The records that the U of I Archives holds on DRES and its work was processed and selectively digitized in 2008-2009, thanks to funding from the University of Illinois President’s office and support from B. Joseph White.

Timothy Nugent with Robert Ebert in 1995. RS 16/6/20.
Timothy Nugent with Robert Ebert in 1995. RS 16/6/20.

DRES, a groundbreaking institution that provides resources, therapies, and advocacy for students with disabilities, was founded by Timothy Nugent, an internationally recognized professor, lecturer, and advocate for disability resources and scholarship.[1]

DRES transformed the community of Champaign-Urbana; the accommodations made and supported by DRES allowed students with disabilities to participate as full members of the University—in classes, student groups, and athletics—benefiting both the whole student body and the University. [2]

A student receiving physical therapy
A student receiving physical therapy

The journey to bring DRES to campus began in 1947, as many veterans with disabilities were returning from World War II. A deputy commander of the American Legion wrote to U of I President George Stoddard. DRES was founded at the University of Illinois Galesburg campus, which opened to support the influx of veterans coming to campus under the GI Bill. Previously a hospital, the facilities at Galesburg were suited to DRES’s needs. At the Galesburg campus, students’ therapies included bowling, swimming, and basketball. [3] Continue reading “The Founding of Disability Resources at the U of I” →

Students in Cars on Campus?: The Case of William O’Dell

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Cars along Wright Street, near Altgeld Hall, circa 1936
Cars along Wright Street, near Altgeld Hall, circa 1936

Written by Ellen Swain

July 16 marks the 80th anniversary of first installation of the parking meter (1935), brought to us by news reporter and inventor Carl C. Magee of Oklahoma City. (1) (Thanks Carl.)

As someone who has paid many campus parking tickets over the years, I will not be marking the occasion; I’m sure I am not alone. Illinois students and staff are all too familiar with the appearance of that annoying white ticket wedged in their windshield wiper.

Before parking meters made their debut in Champaign-Urbana in the 1940s, (2) Illinois students negotiated other automotive-related restrictions. In September 1926, UI Council on Administration,  the campus decision-making body, instituted a regulation prohibiting undergraduate students to use cars on campus without permission.(3)

William O’Dell ’31 vividly recounts his encounter with this rule in a 2001 interview for the SLC Archives:

William O'Dell '31, March 18, 2001
William O’Dell ’31, March 18, 2001

“Oh I remember the [rule] that made me a 1931 graduate instead of a 1930 graduate. When I got kicked out of school!

There was a “no car” rule at the University at that time and undergraduates could not drive cars unless they were employed. I got my parents’ permission to take the family car from LaGrange down to Champaign for a big Spring dance weekend…this made travel with my girlfriend from one fraternity to another easier and to go to many different fraternity parties during on weekend.

I was driving down Green Street with three or four people, in route to Chicago or LaGrange, to return my car and then take the train back to Champaign on Monday.  There was a note in my mailbox from Dean [of Men] Thomas Arkle Clark asking me to come into his office at 11:30 the next morning. This would strike terror into anyone’s heart!

Continue reading “Students in Cars on Campus?: The Case of William O’Dell” →

Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

Since its inception, the U of I has been home to many illustrious awards and award-winners. One of the more unique titles, though, was awarded to an Illinois student one hundred years ago.

In April 1914, the Chicago Sunday Tribune named ten girls “The Most Popular Girls in College.” The

Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914
Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914

girls selected represented schools from across the country, from Stanford University  in California to Wellesley  College in Massachusetts. According to the Tribune, the defining characteristic of all of the young women selected was “a gracious democracy.” They wrote, “[E]ach and all of the girls chosen possessed above everything else the genius for democracy. It was their certain loadstone of attraction.” The women were selected after correspondents from the paper sent photographs and a description of each girl, detailing “the traits which accounted for her being the universal choice of her school” [1].

Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio
Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio

One of the ten women selected was Clara Cronk, a senior at Illinois in 1914. The Tribune described Ms. Cronk as “the most popular girl at the University of Illinois,” who “is a senior, a member of the senior memorial committee, and has always taken a prominent part in class politics” [2]. Continue reading “Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School” →

Campus Memories: Boneyard Creek

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“Through the shady Arboretum,/ By the Balm of Gilead tree,/ gently flows the Bone-yard/On its journey to the sea./ In the summer, little violets/ ‘Midst the greenest mosses bloom,/ And their sweetest fragrance mingles/ With the Bone-yard’s own perfume.“[1]

Postcard from RS 41/20/73.<br /> The note on the reverse reads: "Where all freshman [<em>sic</em>] are in danger of being dumped."
Postcard from RS 41/20/73.
The note on the reverse reads: “Where all freshman [sic] are in danger of being dumped.”
From the 1908 Illio, p. 539. Caption reads: "Life on the ocean wave or crossing the Boneyard during the recent flood"
From the 1908 Illio, p. 539. Caption reads: “Life on the ocean wave or crossing the Boneyard during the recent flood”

While there are many aspects of life as a U of I student that have remained the same throughout the years, one of the things that has changed is the symbolism and importance of Boneyard Creek. Fraternity battles! Student antics! Accidental explosions! Boneyard Creek has been home to it all.

For students of the past, Boneyard Creek was one of the most recognizable aspects of life in Champaign-Urbana. In fact, almost every Illio yearbook through the early 1920s featured some mention of the Boneyard. A student on campus in 1907 described the creek as “the most famous place here.” [2] Continue reading “Campus Memories: Boneyard Creek” →

The Courtship of Louis and Ruth: An Illinois Love Story

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Louis and Ruth c. 1935
Louis and Ruth c. 1935

Written by Anna Trammell

Scrapbooks, dance cards, and letters in the Student Life and Culture Archives often reveal tales of love that blossomed on campus. The love story of Louis Wright and Ruth Fisher materializes out of a combination of these items and comes to light through discoveries made by their daughter Nancy Wright Meyer, also a graduate of the University.

When Nancy and her sister Lois began organizing the attic of their parents’ home in Des Plaines, Illinois, they came across extensive correspondence between Louis and Ruth during their courtship. “There was no way we could throw them away… not after being saved for more than sixty-five years. They chronicled a developing friendship, romance, campus life in Champaign-Urbana, life on the farm, life in Des Plaines, teaching at Maine Township High School, job search, and life in general during the mid-1930s,” Nancy wrote in the preface to The Courtship of Louis and Ruth. [1] Nancy transcribed each letter and published this volume as a way to share them with family and friends. Continue reading “The Courtship of Louis and Ruth: An Illinois Love Story” →