John Williston Cook

In 1868, Cook joined the ISNU faculty as the professor of history and geography.[2] In 1869, he became the professor of reading and elocution, and in 1876 was made the professor of mathematics.[2] In 1890, Cook was appointed president of the university.[3] In 1890, ISNU became the national center of Herbartianism, a pedagogical movement of reform for education in elementary schools.[4] Cook encouraged ISNU graduates to continue their education beyond the university in order to strengthen their training as teachers, and heavily supported the faculty’s study of Herbartianism.[5] As president, Cook advocated for the construction of a gymnasium on campus, and in 1895 the Illinois legislature appropriated $40,000 for the construction of the gymnasium,  later renamed John W. Cook Hall.[6] Cook was president of the university when it broke its tradition of free tuition and instituted a fee of two dollars per term starting in December of 1898.[7] Cook resigned from ISNU in 1899.[4]

In 1899, Cook began his career at the Dekalb Normal School, which would later become Northern Illinois University.[8] He served as president of NIU from 1899 to 1919.[9] He was essential to the organization of the school, the hiring of the first faculty members, and establishing the base curriculum for students.[9]