CHARLES WESLEY ROLFE AND B. C. JILLSON: GEOLOGY MOVES ON AT ILLINOIS, 1882-1917

In 1882, Benjamin C. Jillson took over geology at Illinois. Jillson, Principal of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania High School, was hired after Stephen Forbes and David Starr Jordan declined. Unacceptable to the students, he soon resigned to become an Army surgeon. His principal contribution at Illinois was to institute laboratory instruction, lack of which helped cause Taft's dismissal. In 1884, Charles Wesley Rolfe, an assistant in Natural History, succeeded Jillson, serving until he retired in 1934, but remaining active until his death in 1934. Under Rolfe, the Geology Department evolved from a one professor undergraduate and service organization to a full-fledged graduate department with four professors. Although Rolfe did little research, his staff, William S. Bayley, T. E. Savage, and John L. Rich, all became prominent research geologists. Rolfe was an energetic, innovative administrator and taught the entire curriculum before the advent of additional staff. He instigated what became the Department of Ceramic Engineering and was prominent in reviving the State Geological Survey on the Univesity Campus. He also was appointed "squirrel master" during an abortive attempt to domesticate campus squirrels.