[3]: 7  Eberhart noted that Cook County schools lagged far behind their counterparts in the City of Chicago, especially in terms of the quality and competence of instructors.

In March 1867, the Cook County Board of Supervisors created a Normal school at Blue Island on a two-year experimental basis; Daniel S. Wentworth was the first principal.

Dedicated to the proposition that the nature and interests of the child should determine curricular decisions, not vice versa, progressive reformers from the 1890s forward tried to banish what they saw as oppressive and authoritarian standards of instruction.

Parker urged teachers to grant pupils the freedom to learn from their environment, to let curiosity rather than rewards or punishments provide their motivation, and to advance American democracy by democratizing their classrooms.

Since many graduates found employment in the Chicago Public Schools system, it was natural that the city would take over, though initially it was very resistant to the idea.

He wanted instructors to gain real world experience in Chicago's public schools, and he encouraged their placement in poor, immigrant communities.

From that point forward, the school would be characterized not just by its innovative pedagogical practices, but also by its commitment to expanding opportunity to underserved sectors of society.

[citation needed] In 1913, the school was renamed Chicago Normal College, with higher admissions standards and several new buildings gradually added to the campus.

In 1926, the college moved to a three-year curriculum, with heavier emphasis placed on traditional academic subjects as opposed to pedagogy.

Meanwhile, interest in the school rose, as financial destitution forced many Chicago-area students to forgo residential institutions elsewhere for a commuter campus closer to home.

[citation needed] In 1938, the school again changed its name, this time to Chicago Teachers College to reflect the recent adoption of a four-year curriculum.

President John A. Bartky had ambitious plans for invigorating instruction through a new commitment to the liberal arts and a doubling of the time devoted to practice teaching.

The city was no longer able to fund the institution adequately, and in 1951 Governor Adlai Stevenson signed legislation that reimbursed the Board of Education for its operating expenses on a permanent basis.

[citation needed] As the demographic composition of the south side of Chicago changed, increasing numbers of African-American students began to attend the college.

[citation needed] Once the state of Illinois took over control of the institution, the student body and programs offered rapidly expanded.

In January 1975, 5,000 students signed a petition on a 45-foot-long (14 m) scroll requesting that President Gerald Ford give the commencement address at graduation that summer.

On July 12, 1975, President Ford gave the commencement address at the ceremony held in the Arie Crown Theatre at McCormick Place and received an honorary doctor of laws degree.

These shifting demographics encouraged a debate over whether CSU should be considered a predominantly African-American institution, akin to the HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) or whether it should retain a multicultural and multiracial identity.

[citation needed] Elnora Daniel became president in 1998, and she worked to increase federal and state funding and to create new programs.

Special funds were procured to finance a textbook buying program for African schools and two new buildings: the University Library and the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center.

[15] A similar 2014 suit charged that Watson improperly hired and promoted administrators and engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship with an employee.

[24] The board's decision received harsh criticism for its lack of transparency and the high cost it imposed on the institution already in the midst of a budget crisis.

[20] Then in March 2017, Chicago State settled a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former school attorney James Crowley for $4.3 million.

[27] Zaldwaynaka Scott was unanimously voted by the board of trustees to serve as the 12th permanent president of Chicago State University and assumed the role on July 1, 2018.

[29] In 2025, according to US News & World Report, Chicago State had an 11 percent graduation rate within the standard four-year period of study.

[citation needed] The Jacoby D. Dickens Center (JDC) is home of the Chicago State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.