Chadron State College
Chadron State College is a four-year public college located in Chadron, Nebraska, in the northern part of the Nebraska Panhandle. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It has open admission and an acceptance rate of 100%. It has a four-year graduation rate of 19%, which is well-below the national average.
The school opened in June 1911, although a previous institution dated from the late 19th century. The college has an enrollment of about 3,000 students. Five of its 25 major buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Chadron State College was founded in 1909 by the Nebraska Legislature to provide a higher education institution in northwest Nebraska. The Board of Education of State Normal Schools selected Chadron as the location of its fourth institution in January, 1910. The school opened in June, 1911.Chadron State College is the only four-year and graduate-degree granting college in western Nebraska, and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and subject-oriented accrediting agencies.
Presidents
- Joseph Sparks
- Robert I. Elliott
- E.L. Rouse
- Wiley G. Brooks
- Barton L. Kline
- F. Clark Elkins
- Edwin C. Nelson
- Larry G. Tangeman
- Edwin C. Nelson
- Samuel H. Rankin
- Thomas L. Krepel
- Janie C. Park
- Richard R. Rhine
2006 Spotted Tail wildfire
Facilities
The campus has 25 major buildings, five of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Their replacement value is more than $60 million and they provide more than 1 million square feet of floor space. Classrooms and laboratory and research facilities are available in seven classroom buildings and the library.The library contains the equivalent of more than 250,000 volumes. Its automated catalogue is part of the Nebraska State College network.
Since the 1980s, the college has built several new facilities, including the Edwin and Avis Nelson Physical Activity Center, a wood-fired heating plant, the Student Center, the Lindeken-Carillon Clock Tower, a softball field, the Chicoine Center athletic facility, the Eagle Ridge housing complex, and the Rangeland Complex. An outdoor track is under construction as of 2020. Multiple buildings have been renovated since 2004, including Joseph Sparks Hall, which houses administrative and alumni offices; Edna Work Hall, a dormitory; the former Administration Building, now called Old Admin, which houses academic programs and classrooms; and Don Beebe Stadium, including the rebuilt Con Marshall Press Box and Elliott Field. The college's Math Science Building is set to be renovated in mid-2020.
, one of the buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Students can live in seven housing spaces.
Buildings
Dormitories- Albert Kent Hall
- Eagle Ridge
- Edna Work Hall
- Edna Work Wing
- High Rise
- Lyle Andrews Hall
- Wiley Brooks Hall
- Adelaide Miller Hall
- Burkhiser Technology Complex
- Vernon and Madge Fortune Chicoine Atrium
- Chicoine Center
- Con Marshall Press Box
- Don Beebe Stadium
- Edwin and Avis Nelson Physical Activity Center
- Edwin Crites Hall
- Eugene Sheaman Heating Plant
- Glenn Hildreth Hall
- Joseph Sparks Hall
- Lindeken-Carillon Clock Tower
- Maintenance Building
- Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center
- Math Science Building
- Memorial Hall
- Old Admin
- Outdoor track
- Rangeland Complex
- Reta E. King Library
- Robert Elliott Field
- Ross Armstrong Gymnasium
- Student Center
Academics
Training is offered in several academic and pre-professional programs. The academic areas are divided into the School of Liberal Arts; the School of Business, Mathematics, and Science; and the School of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences. The college offers four-year degrees as well as graduate programs leading to master's degrees. Pre-professional training is offered for careers in medicine and law. The college closed its Honors Program in 2008 following a decline in interest and support.
Through its distance learning programs, the college provides off-campus and online services throughout western Nebraska. About 50 courses are available each semester in Scottsbluff at Western Nebraska Community College or the Panhandle Education Center. Courses also are offered at Alliance, North Platte, and Sidney.
Chadron State College offers courses and workshops each summer. The college has online classes available throughout the year.
Activities
There are more than 70 student clubs and organizations on campus. Athletes have earned 97 All-American and 38 Academic All-American/Scholar-Athlete honors since 1980. In addition, the college has an Army ROTC program and a rodeo team.The college helps support the Post Playhouse at nearby Fort Robinson each summer. The Galaxy Series and Distinguished Speaker Series have brought noted entertainers and speakers to the college, including 2005 U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.
The APVMA Pre-Vet Symposium was held at Chadron State College in March 2004. It was the first time a school without a College of Veterinarian Medicine had hosted the symposium.
Athletics
Chadron State College, whose athletic teams are known as the Eagles, competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Chadron State sponsors 11 varsity athletic teams: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, women's golf, softball, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, and wrestling.Notable alumni
- Jim Anderson – Republican member of Wyoming Senate ; member of Wyoming House of Representatives
- Don Beebe – National Football League player, played in five Super Bowls
- Val Logsdon Fitch – Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist
- Garrett Gilkey – National Football League player
- Jerry D. Mahlman – meteorologist and global warming expert
- Steve McClain – head basketball coach for University of Illinois at Chicago, coached University of Wyoming from 1998–2007
- Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga – Governor of American Samoa
- Larry Riley – National Basketball Association coach
- Togiola Tulafono – Governor of American Samoa
- Tim Walz – Governor of Minnesota
- Danny Woodhead – National Football League player
- John Freudenberg – Associate Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court