After the move to Naperville, in the fall of 1871, Jasper G. Cross joined the faculty of North Western College as the head of the Commerce Department.Cross was born in New York State in 1835 and moved with his parents to Illinois at a young age. He taught in the public schools and became an ordained Methodist minister. He was affiliated with the Jennings Institute in Aurora, where he later established the Aurora Commercial College.
He became known for his mastery of ornamental penmanship and pen drawing as a form of art. He also became famous as the founder of the "Eclectic System" of shorthand.
Two departments at North Western were organized by Professor Cross- the Department of Business and the Department of Fine Arts.
Cross left the college for a position in Southern California University in 1879.