Henry Sabin served as president of the Iowa State Normal School (later UNI) Board of Directors from 1888-1892 and 1894-1898. He was born on October 23, 1829, near Pomfret, Connecticut. He was educated in New England common schools, including Woodstock Academy and Amherst College. After gaining the experience required for teaching, he taught in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Illinois before relocating to Iowa in the late 1860s.

Sabin served as Superintendent of Schools in Clinton, Iowa, from 1871-1887. Working in this capacity, he became aware of American public school system’s inherent problems and committed his life to finding and implementing solutions. During his tenure as superintendent, he was among the final three candidates for the Iowa State Normal School’s first president. In 1878, he was elected president of the Iowa State Teachers Association.

From 1896-1897, Sabin was chair of the National Education Association Committee on Rural Schools. The Committee’s final report recommended consolidation, efficiency, and professional teacher training as solutions for the deficiencies of rural education. Sabin was influential in improving Iowa’s educational standards and the report echoed his belief that, “The school must be the aid, the active ally of civilization, from a humanitarian standpoint as well as from that of the arts and sciences. A human education is necessary to the growth and preservation of a civilization, which is humane in its nature.”

As President of the Iowa State Normal School Board of Directors, Sabin worked closely with President Homer H. Seerley to ensure that teachers and students in Iowa were well-educated and worked to improve state educational standards overall. During his tenure, ISNS secured the ability to certify normal school graduates on the basis of training rather than examination; established the training school for observation and practice teaching; developed special curricula for the training of teachers for different areas of public school work; and procured appropriations for campus improvements and construction projects. Additionally, Sabin was influential in laying the foundation to transition the Iowa State Normal School (1876-1909) to the Iowa State Teachers College (1906-1961).

Following his retirement, Sabin taught at Highland Park College in Des Moines and lectured around the Midwest. He also operated a “Teachers’ Exchange” in Des Moines, assisting teachers in finding positions. Sabin served as editor for Midland Schools (1988-1907) and the Iowa edition of the Western Teacher (1901) and authored two books, Talks to Young People (1899) and Common Sense Didactics (1903). He co-authored The Making of Iowa (1900) and Early American History for Young Americans (1904) with his sons, Elbridge and Edwin. Sabin passed away on March 22, 1918.