Photographs of Brockport Faculty
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Item Burlingame, Herman(2012-02-27)Herman Burlingame, pictured here about 1875, taught at Brockport from 1868 till his death in 1891. He was a popular teacher of mathematics, and also served as the librarian for the school. A keen mathematician, he offered one of the early algebraic proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem, and developed a set of special blocks for teaching the calculation of cubic roots; a set of the blocks are on display in the Alumni House. In his role as librarian for the Normal School he helped expand a small book collection into more of a real library, building one of the larger libraries among New York Normal Schools. This and the reading room he established were forerunners of today’s Drake Library. His home was on Holley Street and for many years was known as the "Burlingame place." Today it is the home of the president of the college, for which purpose it was acquired in the 1960s.Item Cooper, Charles(2012-02-27)Charles Cooper, whome Cooper Hall is named after, was Director of the Training School at Brockport from 1911-1936. He came to Brockport from Pennsylvania, where he had attended Bucknell University. He was a friendly and encouraging mentor to many generations of aspiring teachers in the "practice school," or what was later called the "campus school." This was a school within the college; in Cooper's time it covered the first through eighth grades. The students were children from the village who were taught by professional "teacher critics," who not only taught the children but supervised the steady flow of student teachers through their classroooms. In the 1930 Saga Yearbook that this photo comes from, there was a description of going to see Mr. Cooper: "Then came the Day of days, when we were admitted to that Sanctum Sanctorum, Mr. Cooper’s office, for general criticism. How we secretly trembled as he slowly swung around in his chair and emitted a gruff, ‘Well, what do you want?’ But then, we found out that behind that gruffness he concealed as kindly, sympathetic and inspiring a personality as could be desired by anyone…”Item Richmond, Elizabeth(2012-02-28)Eilzabeth Richmond, pictured here about 1875, was head of the department of "vocal music, reading, and elocution" at Brockport from 1867-1901. She grew up on a farm in the town of Sweden and attended the local one room school, and then went to the Brockport Collegiate Institute in 1857-58. Afterwards she taught in several local schools until she was recruited by Malcolm MacVicar to teach at the Collegiate Institute and she continued on at its successor, the Brockport Normal School. She furthered her education by studying summers at the Boston Conservatory of Music for some years. In her obituary (6/11/1914) it was said that "As a teacher Miss Richmond had the enviable quality of being able to draw out the best in her pupils, and this was especially true in her work as a teacher of vocal music where it is said she possessed a peculiar ability in recognizing the possibilities of a voice which neither the owner nor others might have suspected." In addition to her teaching, she conducted a popular "Song Circle" at the school for many years, and assisted with the choirs of several of the village churches; her funeral was presided over by the ministers of the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches!Item Lowery, Jane(2012-02-27)Jane Lowery was from Parma and was born in 1843. She attended the local common schools and then the Clarkson Academy. After teaching high school in Binghamton, she came to teach at Brockport in 1871, staying on until her death in 1903. Her motto was "Non scholae sed vitae discimus," or, "Not for school but for life we learn." In a local history column of 1959 a resident recalled that "Many students sought her advice; and her sound judgement, her impartial view and keen foresight were always at the service of her students." She also had an interesting personal connection with the school; she was the sister-in-law of Charles McLean, the principal of the school, and she lived in a room in the principal's apartment in the old Normal School building!Item Nihiser, Edwin(2012-02-29)Edwin Nihiser was a very popular and successful coach and teacher at the old Normal School. From Maryland, he studied at the University of Maryland and then played professional baseball for two years, as a pitcher for the Hagerstown team of the Blue Ridge League. In 1928 he came to Brockport to coach men's sports and to industrial arts. He coached several sports at Brockport, but it was in basketball that he had the greatest success, with his "Nihisermen" carrying a .698 record of wins. He was elected to the Golden Eagle Hall of Fame in 1986. He also coached the local village baseball team for some years, the Brockport Freezers. This photo of him is from the 1932 yearbook.