In 1877, after less than nine months of service, the Third District Normal School's second president, Alfred Kirk, resigned his position to return to the Chicago school system. Due to the brevity of Kirk's tenure, little is known about the man or his administration.

It is known that following Cheney's death, the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents chose Kirk as his successor. Kirk was the former superintendent of public schools in Chicago. He was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, and graduated in 1852 from Richmond College, Richmond, Ohio. He became a principal in the Chicago school system in 1868. Eight years later, he was hired as principal of the Third District Normal School in Cape Girardeau.