Masses of students enter and exit the Holmes Student Center every day, but few realize the significance of the building’s namesake. Nope, it isn’t named for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, but for NIU’s fifth president, Leslie A. Holmes.

Holmes, who served from 1949 to 1967, replaced Karl Adams, who died while in office. In his stint as president, Holmes guided the campus and the students through great societal changes-from the dawning of the Cold War to the tumultuous Vietnam era. Holmes was born in Freeport, Ill., graduated from the University of Illinois, and was a professor and administrative assistant at Illinois State University before coming to NIU. Known to be a relaxed, down-to-earth person, Holmes’ area of expertise was geology and he enjoyed traveling and the outdoors, as well as various philanthropic pursuits.

Holmes’ 1949 inaugeration was an important event on campus, drawing a crowd of 900, including the governor. He was also interested in outdoor education, and expressed interest in establishing a nature campus like Loredo Taft Field Campus. In his inaugeral address, Holmes proclaimed such a campus was necessary “for the college to make available to students and to the faculty facilities that will permit them to live with nature as they work with her.”

Though Holmes was generally an agreeable man, there was friction in his relationship with the Teacher’s College Board and NIU’s board of governors. He did get along with most of the faculty and townspeople, however, and was a believer in encouraging students to become involved with religious life on campus.

For many years of his administration, in fact, Holmes had a close rapport with students and student leaders; he was said to always have time for impromptu visits with campus organizations.

However, as students demanded more freedoms over the years such as coed dormitories, an expanded bookstore, new dress codes, and stronger student government, Holmes found he had to make decisions about student rights. In 1966, he granted a free speech area for those who wished to speak their minds on increasingly sensitive situations.

Holmes did have a runin of sorts with the Northern Star over the word “bitch-in,” which was used to describe various student meetings and protests across campus. He also objected to some aspects of the Star’s news coverage, but the paper’s staff retained its editorial independence by asserting that it would “continue to manage the paper as we see fit.”

As an administrator, Holmes sought to increase the number of teachers in the Northern Illinois region, expanded NIU’s enrollment and established an extension program at Statesville prison. He also pushed for NIU to gain university status, which was long known to improve a school’s reputation and quality. Despite initial caution and oposition, Holmes lobbied for the change, and NIU became an official university on May 23, 1957.