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History & Mission
| Important Dates in Northeastern's History |
| 1867 |
The Cook County Commissioners appropriated money to establish an experimental Teacher Training School in Blue Island, Illinois. No rooms were available and the 32 students were accommodated in a leaky freight car. |
| 1870 |
On September 21, the school opened in its new building in Englewood. Over the next few years, the school came to be called The Normal School. |
| 1897 |
The Normal School became Chicago Normal School, under the aegis of the City of Chicago. |
| 1938 |
The "Normal" was the only tuition-free, four-year, degree-granting institution in the city. It was officially renamed the Chicago Teachers College, a four-year institution conferring the Bachelor of Education degree. |
| 1940 |
Chicago Teachers College received full accreditation from North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. |
| 1949 |
Overcrowding led the Board of Education to establish two branches on the north side. |
| 1961 |
The two north side branches at Foreman and Sabin were closed and a new facility was built at the current St. Louis Avenue location. The North Side Teachers College was opened with an enrollment of 1,364 students. The South Side branch on Stewart remained open. |
| 1965 |
Control of the Chicago Teachers College passed to the State of Illinois in July. The names of the two campuses were changed to Illinois Teachers' College North and Illinois Teachers' College South. Control was transferred to the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities. |
| 1966 |
The Center for Inner City Studies on Chicago's south side was established to further prepare teachers for schools in disadvantaged and minority communities. |
| 1967 |
Illinois Teachers' College North became Northeastern Illinois State College. Secondary teacher training programs were now offered, as well as degrees for students who did not wish to enroll in education curriculums. |
| 1971 |
Northeastern Illinois State College became Northeastern Illinois University on July 23. Enrollment reached 7,281 students, and continued growth led to the offering of Master's degrees and non-traditional programs. |
| 1996 |
Control was transferred from the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities to an independent board of trustees. |
Mission and Goals
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is dedicated to both excellence and access. The most important facets of the university's mission are to offer high quality undergraduate and graduate programs to a broad spectrum of students and to foster student growth and development. To these ends, the university attaches primary importance to excellence in teaching. Since program quality is enhanced by professional activities beyond the classroom on the part of the faculty, emphasis is also given to pure and applied research and to academic and public service.
Unique to Northeastern's mission are the two distinctive features of diversity and community partnerships. Because of its location in the Chicago metropolitan area, the university serves a population which is diverse in age, culture, language, and race. This diversity, a major asset, means that the academic programs utilize a variety of perspectives to enrich the teaching and learning experience and to prepare students for the multiculturalism which characterizes our society. The university's location also provides students and faculty with many opportunities to integrate field-based learning, research, and service with classroom instruction.
Northeastern Illinois University preserves the finest traditions of university education, augmented by active involvement in the metropolitan area, on behalf of the residents of Illinois.
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