Our Presidents - Jacob Forney IV

A State Normal School graduate (Class of 1886), Forney became president of his alma mater in 1893. He was a native Jacksonvillian and attended the Dallas Academy in Selma. After his graduation from the State Normal School, he went on to the University of Alabama and received two degrees, the A.B. degree (with honors) and an honorary M.A.. He was principal of Noble Institute for Boys in Anniston from 1890 to 1892, and returned to the Normal School to teach math. In 1899 he resigned his presidency to become the first Chair of Psychology and Pedagogy in the School of Education at the University of Alabama. He died in Springville in 1902. Forney Hall is named in his honor.