President Jesse F. Millspaugh was born in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1855. In 1875, he entered the University of Michigan and four years later graduated from the classical course. After a brief period as a high school principal he entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with "honorable mention" in the spring of 1883.

Millspaugh began practicing medicine in Nebraska, but ill health forced him to suspend his practice for several months. During that time, he again became interested in education and eventually accepted the principalship of the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute. In 1890, he was elected superintendent of Salt Lake City Schools where he served for nine years before coming to Winona.

Millspaugh put much stress on the importance of the elementary school. He gave Winona's Model School much attention. He raised the salaries of teachers in that department and made every effort to secure the best talent possible.

Millspaugh served Winona Normal for more than five years during which he left his mark on the school's development. He resigned to bring the Winona Normal School model to California when he became president of the State Normal School at Los Angeles, Calif. (later known as UCLA).