18 NORTHERN MAGAZINE From left: Doug Grote, Jim McHugh and Mike McHugh stand behind the table made from wood salvaged from the Lincoln Hall Gallery. Mike McHugh, step-grandson of Isaac Lincoln, said that while it was sad to see the old building torn down, keeping Isaac Lincoln’s name associated with the new building is a nice nod to the impact Lincoln had at Northern. “I think he was a progressive and advancing enough person that he would see the benefits of having this new facility,” McHugh said. As students and faculty settled into the building that January morning, a 22-foot conference table was being carefully put into place. Built from wood salvaged from the original Lincoln Hall Gallery and crafted by the step-grandson of Isaac Lincoln, the table arrived as more than furniture. It arrived as a reminder: even in a building designed for the future, Northern’s past still has a seat at the table. Legacy Holds Seat At The Table Isaac Lincoln was more than a namesake. He was Northern’s first local secretary, serving for years in an unpaid role overseeing the construction of buildings and guiding the school through much of its first seven years. He is widely regarded as one of the fathers of what was then the Northern Normal and Industrial School. But Lincoln was also, fittingly, a businessman: a local banker and an area farmer — two pillars of the regional economy and two fields that remain connected to the School of Business today. In many ways, Lincoln embodied the very blend of entrepreneurship, finance and agricultural enterprise that still defines the region and shapes Northern’s business programs. His work in banking and farming helped fuel the growth of the community, just as his vision and persistence helped secure the future of the school itself. When a women’s dormitory was completed in 1918, it was named Lincoln Hall in his honor. More than a century later, although the original building has given way to the Business and Health Innovation Center, Lincoln’s influence remains — from Isaac Lincoln Tower and its iconic “N” to the conference table that now anchors the northeast conference room. It stands as a physical link between where Northern began and where its School of Business is headed: forward-looking, innovative and firmly rooted in a legacy of leadership and enterprise. That sense of purpose — blending tradition with forward momentum — has defined Northern’s School of Business from the very beginning. From Practical Beginnings While no formal business department existed when the Northern Normal and Industrial School opened in 1902, business courses were still among those first offered at the school. Bookkeeping was offered in 1902 in both the Latin and English courses.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzkyNTY=