Raymond W. Fairchild

Former Superintendent

Raymond W. Fairchild (1889-1956) was the eighth president of ISNU. He was also the second longest serving president in school history at twenty two years behind Felmley’s thirty year tenure. Fairchild came to the university during a period of controversy as the previous president resigned amid allegations of misconduct. An alumnus of Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University, Fairchild was highly educated and a well-known educator in the region. Fairchild served as the superintendent of schools in Elgin, Illinois before becoming the head of the Chicago Campus (then known as the McKinlock Campus) at Northwestern University. After Brown’s departure in 1933, Fairchild was appointed by the Normal School Board of Illinois to be ISNU’s eighth president.

Transformation of a Normal Campus

Several of the buildings on campus today were constructed during Fairchild’s tenure. While his predecessors had difficulty in obtaining construction funds, Fairchild was able to acquire financing for campus structures thanks in part to federal funding during World War II. Some of those buildings include Milner Library (the first Milner Library, now known as Williams Hall), the Administration Building (now known as Hovey Hall), Rambo House (demolished in 2016), the first Cardinal Court (demolished in 1962), the first Student Union (now known as Old Union), and Metcalf Elementary School.

Graduate Courses

Fairchild was also instrumental in bringing graduate coursework to campus, making ISNU the first of the normal schools in the state to offer graduate level training. He also worked to bring special education courses to all areas of teacher training, making ISNU one of the first schools in the nation to provide high level training in special education across all disciplines. Fairchild’s efforts to improve special education training were recognized in 1951 when the new special education building was named in his honor.

Illness Takes a President

In May 1954, Fairchild was forced to have his right leg amputated above the knee for an undisclosed illness. In his absence, the Teachers College Board chose Dean Arthur Larsen as acting president until Fairchild could return. However, Fairchild never regained his full health and stepped down from the presidency on August 15, 1955. Though he had started the work of the university’s centennial celebrations, he would not live to see them. Raymond Fairchild died on June 11, 1956. Funeral services were held in Capen Auditorium and Fairchild was buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois.