Lewis Institute grade sheets, 1897-1919

Collection

Identifier: 001.02.02

Staff Only

Grade sheets for Lewis Institute classes: handwritten on a preprinted form that records title, section, term, instructor, students, attendance, and grade. Some contain additional notes about students dropping out or failing, texts used, assignments, or topics covered. Includes classes in Applied Arts, Chemistry, Mechanical Arts, Engineering, Mathematics, English, Cooking, Romance Languages, German, Latin and Greek, Physical Culture, Cooking and Sewing. Arranged chronologically and by department name. Of particular interest are the list of textbooks used for the college level adult education classes.

Dates

Creation: 1897-1919

Creator

Lewis Institute (Chicago, Ill.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Available for research

Collection Size

6 Box

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

The Lewis Institute was a technical and professional college that served the greater Chicago area from 1896 to 1940. In 1940 it merged with Armour Institute of Technology to form the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

The Lewis Institute was created by the bequest of Chicago business Allen Cleveland Lewis (1821--1877), who willed his estate to the creation of a school of higher learning open to all men and women regardless of finances or social standing. The Lewis Institute was subsequently established in 1896 in a building designed by Henry Ives Cobb on the corner of Madison St. and Robey St. (now Damen St.) Lewis Institute’s first president, George Noble Carman (1856--1941) and first dean, Edwin Herbert Lewis (1866-1938), worked together to create an innovative higher education program that blended liberal arts with practical training. When Lewis Institute opened in 1896, it offered a high school (academy) program, a two year degree and a four year engineering degree. One of the requirements of Allen C Lewis’s will was that the college offer night classes for working adults; these began in 1896 as well, and are thought to be one of the first night college programs in the United States.

By 1906 Lewis Institute expanded into three main areas of study: General Science, which included Domestic Arts; Liberal Arts; and Engineering and Mechanical Arts. In 1917 the school began offering a four year bachelor’s degree in Arts & Sciences in addition to Engineering. All of these programs, including Domestic Arts, focused on a practical professional education for both male and female students. In 1940, after a decade of increasing financial and accreditation problems, Lewis Institute merged with the Armour Institute of Technology.