ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Normal, Ill., U.S. It is part of the Regency Universities System in Illinois. The university comprises the colleges of Applied Science and Technology, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Fine Arts. In addition to undergraduate studies, Illinois State offers master's degree programs in most areas and doctoral degrees in education and in some of the arts and sciences. Campus facilities include the Eyestone School Museum and the Ewing Museum of Nations. Total enrollment is approximately 21,000. The university, established in 1857, is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln drafted the documents that established the school, which was among the first normal (teacher-training) schools in the United States. Notable graduates include playwright Rachel Crothers, and ethnologist John Wesley Powell taught geology there.