ABSTRACT
In the fall of 1921, Herman B Wells came to Indiana University (IU), enrolling as a sophomore and wanting to study business. Hailing from Boone County, he spent his freshman year at the University of Illinois. Without the advantages conferred by status or affluence, Indiana did possess an unusually extensive network of educational leaders, much of it traceable to Jordan. The Indiana milieu operated as a "cultural glue" to attract and fix the allegiances of its academic community and served as a social setting where university norms, rituals, and customs were enacted. Wells was Indiana's chief executive during a time of tremendous change in higher education. Citing the color and excitement of college life, he was taken by his academic classes, university ceremonies, and verdant Indiana campus. Typically translated as "spirit of place," genius loci have played a special role in the development of American higher education and its institutions.
