Established by the State of Michigan in 1849, Eastern Michigan University opened its doors as the Michigan State Normal School in 1853. Michigan State Normal School was the first teachers' training school west of the Allegheny Mountains and initially taught students at a basic secondary level, instructing them in teaching methods and material to cover at a variety of levels.

In 1899, Michigan State Normal School changed its name to Michigan State Normal College. Professor Richard Gause Boone lobbied to establish Normal as four-year college, rather than a secondary school. Normal entered the twentieth century as Michigan's premier teacher training school and had become the first teacher training school in the United States to have a four-year degree program.

The Class Day Exercises collection documents the spring Class Day activities held at Michigan State Normal School and Michigan State Normal College. The Class Day Exercise was an annual exhibition of musical and dramatic performances and also included speeches by class presidents and benedictions.