North Dakota State University

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North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University seal.svg
Motto For the land and its people.
Established 1890
Type Public, land-grant
Endowment $88.5 million[1]
President Dr. Dean L. Bresciani
Academic staff 871
Admin. staff 1,614
Students 14,399
Location Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Campus Urban - Fargo Campus: 258 acres (1.0 km²)
Colors Yellow and Green            
Sports 14 Division I
Nickname Bison
Mascot Thundar
Affiliations North Dakota University System
Website www.ndsu.edu
North Dakota State University

North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University (NDSU), is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and sits on a 258 acre (1 km²) campus. Founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as a land-grant institution. The university operates several agricultural research extension centers spread over 18,488 acres (75 km²). NDSU is part of the North Dakota University System.

NDSU offers 102 bachelor's, 79 minors, 66 master's, 44 doctoral, and 10 graduate certificate programs. NDSU is a comprehensive doctoral research university with programs involved in high research activity.[2] NDSU uses a semester system - Fall and Spring with two summer sessions. The majority of students are full-time with 55% male and 45% female.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

The bill founding North Dakota Agricultural College (NDAC) was signed on March 8, 1890, seven years after initial plans to start an agricultural college in the northern portion of the Dakota Territory. NDAC was established as a land-grant university.[3]

On October 15, 1890 Horace E. Stockbridge became the first NDAC president and the Board of Trustees was formed.[4]

Classes were initially held in six classrooms rented from Fargo College. A provisional course was held on January 6, 1891 and the first regular class of students was admitted on September 8, 1891. College Hall (Old Main), completed in 1892, was the first building and consisted of offices, classrooms, and a library to serve the four NDAC students.[4]

[edit] 20th century

It was in 1909 that the school’s official colors, Yellow and Green, were ratified one year after the school’s alma mater The Yellow and The Green was written.[3]

NDAC continued to grow and became known as North Dakota State University on November 8, 1960. The name change was to reflect the increasing field of study breadth of the institution.[3]

A 36-acre (15 ha) area including 12 historic buildings was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as North Dakota State University District in 1986.[5]

[edit] 21st century

At the turn of the century, NDSU began a phase of growth.

NDSU surpassed 10,000 students in the fall of 2000 for the first time, and by Fall Semester of 2009, NDSU increased enrollment by another 10% to 14,189 students.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag; see the help page

[edit] Ranking

The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education has named NDSU to the elite “Research University/Very High Research Activity” category, which represents the 108 top ranked private and public universities in the United States. NDSU is the first and only institution in North Dakota to receive the prestigious categorization.[2]

National Rankings [6][7]

  • The National Science Foundation (NSF) ranks NDSU 40th nationally, when compared with research and development expenditures among 572 research universities without a medical school.
  • NDSU is listed among the top 50 research universities in the country when compared to schools without a medical school.
  • In several National Science Foundation research subcategories for fiscal year 2009, NDSU ranks in the top 100 in several areas, including agricultural sciences, social sciences, physical sciences and chemistry.
  • NDSU ranks 124th out of 697 research universities in the U.S. The ranking is based on total research expenditures reported in fiscal year 2009. NDSU’s total research expenditures were 113.2 million for fiscal year 2009, the most recent year available in the national research survey. For fiscal year 2010, NDSU has reported an estimated 126.4 million in research activities and for fiscal year 2011 NDSU has reported an estimated 134 million in research activities for the next NSF survey.

Forbes.com lists North Dakota State University and Fargo as No. 5 in an article called “Top College Towns for Jobs.” The article suggests that research universities are conducive to great environments for business, providing an educated labor force and centers of innovation stemming from university research.[8]

[edit] Libraries

Total collections at the NDSU Libraries include holdings of approximately 1 million physical items in addition to access to extensive electronic resources.

Libraries at NDSU:

  • Main Library - As of February 2012, the Main Library contained over 500,000 items including books, periodicals, government documents, maps, media, and microforms.
  • Heritage Collection – This special collection contains 13,000 manuscripts, artifacts and other primary materials.
  • H.J. Klosterman Chemistry Library - This branch library contains nearly 20,000 physical items.
  • Klai Juba Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library – This branch library contains over 20,000 physical items.
  • Barry Hall Library – This branch library supports the College of Business and Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and contains over 4,000 physical items.
  • P.N. Haakenson Health Sciences Library – This branch library contains 8,000 physical items.
  • Institute for Regional Studies and University Archives – This special collection contains over 22,000 manuscripts, artifacts and other historical resources.
  • Storage Annex – The Libraries’ Off-Campus Storage Annex houses over 300,000 physical items.

A feasibility study was recently completed regarding the construction of a new Main Library.

[edit] Research

See also: Red River Valley Research Corridor

NDSU is a major component of the Red River Valley Research Corridor and does research in many areas. According to the National Science Foundation, NDSU is the largest research institution in the state of North Dakota. NDSU’s position is the highest National Science Foundation ranking in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and is also among the top 100 research universities in the United States in six research categories including both federal and non-federal research expenditures. NDSU's annual research expenditures exceed 134 million dollars.

Major fields of research at NDSU include nanotechnology, RFID technology, agriculture, chemistry, and polymers/coatings. NDSU also has a 55 acre (223,000 m²) Technology Park located on the north side of the main campus.

The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education has named NDSU to the elite “Research University/Very High Research Activity” category, which represents the 108 top ranked private and public universities in the United States. NDSU is the first and only institution in North Dakota to receive the prestigious categorization.[2]

[edit] Athletics

Main article: North Dakota State Bison
The Bison's current athletic logo.

NDSU's sports teams are known as the North Dakota State Bison, or simply The Bison; however, they are also known as "The Thundering Herd." NDSU's athletic symbol is the American Bison.

North Dakota State's intercollegiate sports teams participate in NCAA Division I in all sports (Division I Championship Subdivision in football). NDSU was a charter member of the Division II North Central Conference (NCC), and made the move to Division I sports in the fall of 2004. NDSU spent the next two years as an independent in Division I in all sports other than football, in which it was a member of the Great West Football Conference. The school was accepted into The Summit League on August 31, 2006, and began play in that conference on July 1, 2007. The football team left the Great West Football Conference and joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference on March 7, 2007. They became a full member of the conference during the 2008 season.

The Bison football team was the winningest program in NCC history with twenty-six conference championships and eight national championships (1965, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990) before moving to Division I Championship Subdivision in 2004. In January 2012, NDSU defeated Sam Houston State in the FCS National Championship game becoming the 2011 season National Champions. NDSU football is a major event in the city of Fargo and the region, averaging over 18,000 fans per home game. The Bison play their home games at the Fargodome (cap. 19,287).

The men's and women's Bison basketball teams play in the Bison Sports Arena. The women's basketball team won five titles during the 1990s - 1991, 1993 through 1996. In January 2006, the NCAA recognized NDSU's four consecutive Division II Women's Basketball Championships (1993–1996) as one of the "25 Most Defining Moments in NCAA History." NDSU's men's basketball team gained national recognition in 2006 with an upset win at #13 ranked Wisconsin, and again in the 2006-07 season with a win at #8 ranked Marquette. In 2009, the Bison earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as winners of the Summit League. On March 10, 2009, North Dakota State gained a bid to the NCAA Basketball Tournament in its first year of eligibility for Division I postseason play by defeating Oakland 66-64 in the Summit League Tournament Championship game.

The Bison wrestling program has won four Division II team titles in 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001. The team is fully eligible for the Division I tournament competition. They recently joined with six other institutions to create the Western Wrestling Conference.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Campus media

Thunder Radio, an NDSU radio station, operates on KNDS-LP 96.3 FM and offers online streaming. The Bison Information Network, founded in 2009, is a student run TV station. It focuses on student and athletic news, and is broadcast on campus channel 84 and Fargo public-access television cable TV channel 14.

[edit] Publications

The Spectrum is NDSU's student newspaper. It has been in print since 1896.

Bison Illustrated is a magazine covering North Dakota State Bison athletics.

Bison Briefs is a newsletter for alumni and friends of North Dakota State University. Story ideas and information for Bison Briefs come from a variety of sources, including alumni, newspaper clippings, faculty and staff. [9]

[edit] Performing arts

The Division of Fine Arts offers four performance facilities:

  • Festival Concert Hall - An acoustically tuned 1000-seat hall, opened in 1981. FCH is the concert home for all NDSU music major ensembles, such as the Gold Star Concert Band and the NDSU Concert Choir, and the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and Fargo-Moorhead Opera.
  • Beckwith Recital Hall - A smaller setting with a seating capacity of 200. It is used as a classroom for art and music as well as faculty, student and small group recitals.
  • Askanase Auditorium - A 380-seat proscenium theater. The Little Country Theatre uses the theater for a majority of their plays.
  • Walsh Studio Theatre - A flexible studio-laboratory black box theater. It is located in Askanase Hall.

NDSU's marching band, the Gold Star Marching Band, performs for Bison football games at the Fargodome.

Residence Dining Center at North Dakota State University

[edit] Residence Life

The Department of Residence Life supports students by providing a vibrant, healthy place to live and learn. NDSU Residence Life currently operates 14 residence halls and apartment complexes serving over 3000 students.

[edit] Greek life

Greek life has been a part of the NDSU campus since 1913 and there are currently 14 national fraternities and sororities. The Greek community has over 500 students. In 2011, the 14 fraternities and sororities at NDSU raised nearly $50,000 and served over 15,000 hours to local and national charities.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ As of August 31, 2010. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2010 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2009 to FY 2010" (PDF). 2011 National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute.. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2010NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values_Final.pdf. Retrieved January 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c "The Carnegie Foundation...Classifications". The Carnegie Foundation. http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/classifications/sub.asp?key=748&subkey=15627. 
  3. ^ a b c "NDSU History and Traditions Council: Did You Know?". NDSU History and Traditions Council. http://www.ndbison.com/htc/didyouknow.php. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
  4. ^ a b "University Archives - NDSU History". http://web.archive.org/web/20070911213405/http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/archives/ndsuhistory/index.html. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  6. ^ "National Science Foundation Survey of R&D Expenditures at Universities and Colleges". National Science Foundation. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/rdexpenditures/. Retrieved March 2012. 
  7. ^ "National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Fiscal Year 2009". National Science Founation. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11313/. Retrieved March 2012. 
  8. ^ "Top College Towns For Jobs". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/19/college-towns-jobs-lifestyle-real-estate-jobs.html. Retrieved March 2012. 
  9. ^ "Bison Briefs". http://www.ndsu.edu/vpur/bisonbriefs/. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 46°53′30″N 96°48′01″W / 46.891582°N 96.800252°W / 46.891582; -96.800252

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