This early commitment to diversity of people, ideas and experiences is a hallmark of our University.

This letter appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of the Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine

Every February, at the annual Founders' Day Convocation, we have the opportunity to celebrate the vision and foresight of the individuals who founded this institution and to reflect on the legacy they have bequeathed to us.

Most of you are familiar with the story of our founding 158 years ago. It was a time of great challenge. The country was becoming increasingly divided over the issue of slavery, and President Zachary Taylor had died in office, just 16 months into his first term. But it was also a time of great opportunity, as the American frontier pushed farther west and St. Louis, Bloomington and Chicago were linked by the newly-laid tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad.

It was amid this optimism and sense of destiny that Illinois Wesleyan was born.

For more than a year, civic leaders discussed bringing a university to Bloomington. While there were 30 founders who eventually signed our birth certificate, the Rev. John Barger is often credited with being the "father of Illinois Wesleyan," because it was he who persisted in the face of what some believed were insurmountable obstacles.

But beyond those 30 men whose signatures brought the University into being, there are others whose contributions are no less important. The first female student, Hannah Shur, enrolled in 1870. Gus A. Hill became our first African-American graduate, receiving a law degree in 1880. Martha Buck, in whose honor the Buck Memorial Library is named, became our first female trustee in 1892.

> Continued

Previous Remarks

> February 23: Remarks at Admissions Open House

> February 19: Founders' Day

> February 15, 2008: Response to the Shootings at Northern Illinois University

> November 13: Kemp Hall Anniversary

> September 26: President's Convocation

> August 27: School of Nursing Convocation

> August 23: "State of the University" Remarks at Faculty and Staff Breakfast

> August 21: New Student Convocation

> June 27: Message to the Campus regarding U.S. News rankings

> May 25:  Letter to Alumni and Friends: Commencement Reflections

> May 6:  Commencement 2007 Welcome

> May 5:  Remarks at the Phi Beta Kappa Initiation

> April 19, 2007:  In the Wake of the Virginia Tech Tragedy

> From the President's Desk: Letters from the Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine:
Spring 2007 | Summer 2007 | Fall 2007 | Winter 2007

> Archive of President Richard F. Wilson's Remarks & Messages, 2004-2006