JOSEPH H. HILL

President of Kansas State Normal School
from 1906 to 1913

Joseph H. Hill, the seventh president of Kansas State Normal School, later Emporia State University, was the first president to have graduated from KSN. He graduated from KSN in 1876 and went on to teach at the secondary level and obtain a higher degree from Northwestern University before returning to teach at KSN in 1887. He was head of the Latin department for 19 years and was an instructor in the history of education. He was vice president of KSN for five of those years before being named president in 1906.

Two new buildings were built during Hill's tenure: the gymnasium and the Science Hall. The Old Music Hall also was acquired. The Normal schools at Hays and Pittsburg were branches of KSN at that time as well. Buildings opened during Hill's term were old Albert Taylor Hall, Kellogg Library, and the hospital. The graduate program also was introduced during Hill's tenure.

After leaving KSN, Hill was a professor of education at Boston University. Hill started the Clark Teachers Agency in 1915 and later served as a pastor of the First Methodist church in Topeka before moving to Kansas City.