David Sands Wright
UNI 150: People you should know
David Sands Wright taught the very first class, and was its longest-serving teacher
When the Iowa State Normal School opened its doors in 1876, David Sands Wright was not only a member of the first faculty but also taught the first-ever class at UNI, continuing to teach for over 50 years. His decades of service earned Professor Wright the distinction of being the longest-serving teacher in the college’s history for generations – a record that stood until being surpassed by Basil Reppas in 2014.
“The man who was the youngest member of the first faculty of ISTC has helped not a little in making the school the great institution it is today. He is an inspiration to teachers and students alike and one needs only to look into his kindly face to know that here is a man who is living the life worthwhile–that of serving one’s fellowmen,” wrote “The College Eye” in 1928.
Wright taught English literature for five years, switching to mathematics in 1881. He contributed approximately 125 articles to the Iowa Normal Monthly, including a drill book in English grammar, geometrical outlines and Bible study outlines. The Bible study outlines reached their third edition and were used throughout Iowa in high schools where the Bible was a taught subject.
Wright was well known throughout the state for his sermons and lectures as he was considered an eloquent and forceful speaker to many. He retired from mathematics to become the director of religious education at the Iowa State Normal School in 1916.
The State Board of Education presented Wright with a special award for fifty years of service in 1926. The same year, Wright published an anecdotal history of the Iowa State Teachers College titled “Fifty Years at the Teachers College.”
In April 1957, the Vocational Building on campus was renamed to the David Sands Wright Hall in his honor.
Wright’s wife, Eliza is also included in UNI’s legacy, as part of the first four-year graduating class of the Normal School in 1880. On the same day she graduated, she married Wright in the music building (Central Hall) with the president, J.C. Gilchrist officiating. Years later, Eliza would be the first person to turn over a shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Campanile.
Senior professors M.F. Arey and D. Sands Wright.
David Sands Wright and his wife, Eliza.
Celebrate 150 years of the University of Northern Iowa by nominating individuals who have made a significant impact on our campus, community and beyond.
