North Dakota Agricultural College
From NDSUwiki
North Dakota Agricultural College was the original name of NDSU until 1960. The school first enrolled a class of students in 1891, with the first actual campus building being opened in 1882. The school was also briefly referred to as the North Dakota State College in the 1940s. In 1960, it officially changed its name to North Dakota State University to more accurately reflect the offerings available.
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Founding
In 1883, S. G. Roberts (member of the Dakota Territorial Council) convinced his fellow representatives to draft and pass bills that would allow the northern portion of Dakota Territory to create a penitentiary, "insane" hospital, and an agricultural college. The bills passed and Fargo was chosen to house the agricultural college, but the Territorial Legislature provided no funding for the creation of such a school. Funding was again denied in 1885 due to a large number of schools receiving tax money and the University of North Dakota being located eighty miles north of the agricultural college's proposed location.
During the Constitutional Convention of 1889, a Bismarck-Fargo block decided that the Agricultural College would be located in Fargo and the state capital would be located in Bismarck. To smooth over hard feelings with Valley City, who was also in the running for the location of the Agricultural College, the Bismarck-Fargo block saw to it that the city received a teachers college. The bill creating the North Dakota Agricultural College was passed and signed into law by Governor John Miller on March 8, 1890. The permanent location of the college was to be Section 36, Range 40, Township 140.
On October 15, 1890 Horace E. Stockbridge became the first president of NDAC, when the college was officially organized. The same day the first three faculty members: Henry L. Bolley, Edwin F. Ladd, and Clare Bailey Waldron were approved by the Board of Trustees.
Six classrooms were rented from the Fargo College, until the college’s first building (Old Main) could be built. A provisional course was first held on January 6, 1891; however, the first regular class of students was not admitted until September 8, 1891. It was not until 1892 that College Hall (Old Main) was completed. College Hall contained offices, classrooms, and a library; it served the 80 students that were currently enrolled at NDAC.
History
On June 25, 1895 the Board of Directors passed a resolution that the degree of Bachelor of Science be granted to Ralph Dairs Ward, Robert Birdsley Reed, Merton Field, Charles Monroe Hall, and John William Hilborn, this being the first class to graduate. Then, in 1896, a resolution of the faculty recommending the organization of a summer school was adopted by the board, officially implementing summer courses at NDAC. The first issue of the college newspaper, The Spectrum was printed in December of 1896.
In 1897, Lieutenant French of the U.S. Army was detailed as the first military instructor, with arms and equipment being obtained from the War Department. The next year, twenty-three male NDAC students join the Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. President John Worst had a tree planted in a memorial grove for each NDAC student who volunteered to fight in the Spanish-American War.
Another monument was placed on May 17th, 1904. The Bjornson 'bauta sten' was unveiled at NDAC in honor of Bjornstjerne Bjornson, a Norwegian writer and statesman. A crowd estimated in the thousands was on hand for the unveiling ceremony.
In 1907, The Agassiz was printed as a college yearbook. The Agassiz was later changed to the Bison, which ceased publishing in 1980. It was also in 1907 that all athletic events between NDAC and UND were canceled due to ill feelings between the colleges, marking an important point in the athletic rivalry between the schools. The athletic contests were eventually resumed in 1910.
It was in 1909 that the Chemistry Building burned and exploded. This destruction was responsible for the vacant area between Old Main and South Engineering, which still is an open area today. With the Chemistry Building destruction, a museum displaying Norwegian costumes and utensils and containing many costly robes and silver dishes was completely lost.
Six official schools were organized in 1917, which would later merge into either departments or colleges. They were: agriculture, chemistry and pharmacy, education, home economics, mechanic arts, veterinary medicine and surgery; plus a group of applied sciences.
In 1942 (due to World War 2) the Officer Candidate School Opens at the college. The Field House, Men's Dormitory (Churchill Hall) and Dakota Hall were taken over by the Army for living quarters; Ceres Hall cafeteria for mess hall; Festival Hall for general assembly; basement of Health Center for infirmary; and north wing of Science Hall (Minard Hall) for Army school. Army also rented Theta Chi & Gamma Rho fraternity houses as school and post headquarters and the College YMCA as a recreational center.
The Student body voted for the creation of a Student Union building fund. The fund was created by a special assessment to the amount of $5.oo per term, added to the student activity fees. Construction began on the facility in 1952.
In 1953 the Graduate School was established at NDAC.
Name Change
In 1958 a vote to change name of NDAC to North Dakota State University (NDSU) fails. The vote would be held again on November 8, 1960, but this time passed. The name of the college officially changed to North Dakota State University on December 8, 1960. The name change was to reflect the increasing field of study breadth of the institution.
