Chadron State College: A Legacy of Education and Innovation in Western Nebraska
Chadron State College (CSC), nestled in the scenic Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska, stands as the only four-year college in the western half of the state. Founded in 1911 as the Nebraska Normal School, it has evolved into a comprehensive institution offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. As part of the Nebraska State College System, CSC plays a vital role in serving the intellectual, cultural, and recreational needs of its region.
From Normal School to Comprehensive College
The story of Chadron State College began in 1909 when the Nebraska Legislature authorized the establishment of a fourth normal school in the state. Chadron was selected as the location in January 1910, on the grounds of the former Chadron Congregational Academy. Classes commenced in the summer of 1911, marked by the dedication of the Administration Building. Initially focused on teacher preparation, the institution has broadened its scope to encompass a diverse array of disciplines.
The institution's name has changed over the years, reflecting its evolving mission. In 1921, it became the Nebraska State Teachers College, a change that authorized the college to grant Bachelor of Arts degrees. Finally, in 1964, it adopted its current name, Chadron State College.
Academics and Programs
CSC offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 50 disciplines, maintaining a student-faculty ratio of 17-1. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and subject-oriented accrediting agencies. Chadron State College is an open-admissions public institution committed to teaching and learning.
The college provides a strong undergraduate baccalaureate general education in pre-professional programs in a variety of disciplines. The undergraduate offerings are complemented with a limited number of master’s programs in education (1956), business (1984), organizational management (2006), and athletic training (2022). Within the Carnegie classification of institutions in higher education Chadron State College is under the category of Master’s Colleges and Universities -- Medium Programs.
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Chadron State, through the Justice Studies, Social Science, and English Department, offers both a major and a minor in History, and a subject endorsement in secondary education. Students can take courses that cover a host of topics, including Colonial, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century America; Latin America; the Middle East; East Asia; Greece and Rome; the American West; and American Indians. History majors, educators, and minors develop strong reading, writing, and research skills. The program also hosts a vibrant Social Sciences Club, the Native American Club, and the opportunity to participate in a study abroad experience in Cuba.
Campus and Facilities
Chadron State College's campus is located in Chadron, Nebraska, United States. The campus is 281-acre (114 ha) and has 25 major buildings. The campus includes eight academic buildings, six athletic buildings, three administration buildings, and five residential buildings. The campus includes High Rise, an eleven story high-rise building which is the tallest building in Western Nebraska.
Five campus buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Sparks Hall, Miller Hall, Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. All five were nominated for the National Register in 1983 in a joint application to recognize the educational contribution of the college as the primary institution in the western half of Nebraska. The buildings are from the college’s first 27 years and have survived without extensive external renovation. As a thematic group they represent architectural styles ranging from Prairie School and Classicism to Art Deco.
Sparks Hall
Originally a Women’s Dormitory, Sparks Hall is a two-story wood frame building with red brick veneer designed by architect Alfred Woods of Lincoln and built in 1914. It was the second building constructed on campus and was named Sparks Hall in the 1930s after the college’s first president, Joseph Sparks. It is a “simplified, vernacular product of a Georgian Revival form with Prairie School details,” according to the National Register application. It features the rectangular plan with symmetrical façade, a hipped roof, a projecting central portion and double-hung windows of the Georgian Revival. The Prairie School influences include the broad eaves and ornate brackets on the roof, dormers and porch, as well as the stone water-table and stringcourse.
Miller Hall
Originally a gymnasium, Miller Hall was constructed in 1920. Three stories with two-story side wings, the building was constructed with stone door surrounds with stylized pediments and paired windows, along with rectangular brickwork with white stone corner blocks between the floors, all Classical influences. J.C. Stitt of Norfolk was the architect, and Miller Hall was the third building constructed on campus. It was the first gymnasium in western Nebraska. “In its early years, the gym was the only building in western Nebraska devoted exclusively to a physical education program. Basketball tournaments were held to accommodate area high school teams. It served as a community building where many functions were held, such as conventions, meetings, celebrations, produce shows, poultry shows, and a circus, complete with an elephant,” reads the National Register application. An indoor swimming pool was also a “delightful luxury.”
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Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center
Originally constructed as the campus library, the original portion of the Sandoz Center was also designed by architect Stitt, following typical recommendations by librarians and the Carnegie Corporation. The one-story c…
Sustainability Initiatives
Chadron State College is committed to sustainability, exemplified by its innovative use of woodchips from the region’s Nebraska National Forest to heat and cool most of the buildings on campus. The college receives several truckloads of chips each day, which are burned to produce heat for the campus boiler system. This process helps maintain the health of the local forest, prevents forest fires, and saves the college thousands of dollars each month in energy costs.
Arts and Culture
In addition to athletic competitions, residents of and visitors to the area can take in musical performances, art shows and theatrical productions. The college is home to 44 pieces of the Nebraska 1% For Art Collection. The program, instituted in 1978, requires that 1% of the cost of state-funded construction projects be dedicated to commissioning works of public art. Since its inception, more than $5 million in artwork has been acquired for state buildings, state colleges and the University of Nebraska system. The public art must be displayed in buildings that allow public access, and an art selection committee is established for each project. However, please note that CSC periodically relocates the artwork for re-hanging, re-framing or cleaning.
The collection includes pieces of artwork located in: Memorial Hall, Nelson Physical Activity Center, Miller Hall, Old Admin & Sparks Hall, Chicoine Center, Burkhiser Technology Building, Rangeland Complex.
Memorial Hall
The collection includes the following pieces of artwork:
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First-Floor Lobby
- Students with Bell Tower: Added to the collection in 2004, this painting by Audrey Towater is located in the first-floor lobby. Inspired by the CSC clock tower, it features the tower with students underneath it.
- The Wacipi is Good Medicine: Added to the collection in 2004, this 22”x56” painting by Chadron artist Don Ruleaux is located in the first-floor lobby and depicts the traditional Native American Wacipi with six dancers.
- Goitrei: Added to the collection in 2004, this 31.5”x23.5” painting by Adrian Paui is located in the first-floor lobby. A humanoid figure and pig are shown in a gray fog.
- Contemporan: Added to the collection in 2004, this 29.5”x45.5” painting by Katy Cata is located in the first-floor lobby gallery. Four lightly-dressed women in warm-toned colors are featured.
- Taos Flowers: Added to the collection in 2004, this 33”x42.5” example of printmaking by R.C. Gorman is located in the first-floor lobby gallery, just up the east stairway and shows a woman kneeling on the ground with picked, scattered flowers.
First-Floor Hallway (traveling west from Lobby toward rear entrances)
- CSC Football Game: Added to the collection in 2004, this 24”x48” painting by Audrey Towater is located in the theater gallery and celebrates a touchdown by the Chadron Eagles.
- Bear Valley: Added to the collection in 2004, this 18”x24” example of printmaking by Frank Nichols is located in the theater gallery. The etching features a rocky barren mountain range in brown tones.
- Well: Added to the collection in 2004, this 24”x18” example of printmaking by Frank Nichols is a hand-colored etching in black/grey and red/orange tones.
- Chicago: Added to the collection in 2004, this 18”x23.5” example of printmaking by Frank Nichols is located in the theater gallery. The etching features furniture stacked in a way that makes it appear there is a mountain of it.
- Flint Hills Stream: Added to the collection in 2004, this 18”x24” example of printmaking by Frank Nichols is located in the theater gallery and features a river, rocks and trees.
- Untitled Landscape: Added to the collection in 2004, this oil painting by Frank Colbron is located in the theater gallery and depicts a desert-like landscape to snowy mountains.
- Immediate Jewel IV: Added to the collection in 2004, this 25.5”x16.75” painting by Ed Ward is located in the theater gallery and depicts several men in conversation.
NOTE: Memorial Hall typically has an art show on display in its Main Gallery during the academic year, and has other pieces on display year-round so be sure to wander throughout the building.
Nelson Physical Activity Center
First-Floor
- Eagle IV: Added to the collection in 1988, this 6’6” bronze sculpture with a 7’ granite base by Richard Reinhardt is located in the entrance to the building. Mounted on marble, it is at eye level, and it appears the eagle is about to land or take off.
- Crow and Red Cloud Buttes, Crawford Area: Added to the collection in 1988, this 18”x46” cold cast bronze mounted in stone is one of four bas relief plaques by Richard Reinhardt. All four are located on the first-floor just outside the entrance to the indoor track.
- Chadron State College, circa 1989: Added to the collection in 1988, this 18”x46” cold cast bronze mounted in stone is one of four bas relief plaques by Richard Reinhardt. All four are located on the first-floor just outside the entrance to the indoor track.
- Chimney Rock, Bayard Area: Added to the collection in 1988, this 18”x46” cold cast bronze mounted in stone is one of four bas relief plaques by Richard Reinhardt. All four are located on the first-floor just outside the entrance to the indoor track.
- Scottsbluff National Monument: Added to the collection in 1988, this 18”x46” cold cast bronze mounted in stone is one of four bas relief plaques by Richard Reinhardt. All four are located on the first-floor just outside the entrance to the indoor track.
Second-Floor
- Up-Rooted: Added to the collection in 1988, this 39.5”x29” watercolor on paper by Don Dernovich is located on the second-floor lounge area. Raised in Wyoming and living in Nebraska, Dernovich says he feels that his art is successful if it says “something about the beauty we have on this earth or the people who inhabit it.”
- Unknown: Added to the collection in 1988, this 40”x30” oil on canvas by Chadron State College graduate Scott Christensen is located in the second-floor hallway and depicts a cloud-filled sky over the rocky buttes.
Miller Hall
First-Floor
- Ashland 59: Added to the collection in 2002, this three-piece 2D Monotype/Relief by Tom Majeski is located in the first-floor hallway. The piece features slash-like marks made of red and black and patterns on a piece of glass.
- Ashland 70: Added to the collection in 2002, this two-piece mixed media installation by Tom Majeski is located in the first-floor hallway. The pieces are 12”x28” and 19”x31” and feature slash-like marks of blues, oranges and patterns on glass.
- Ashland 77: Added to the collection in 2002, this 20”x51” mixed media installation by Tom Majeski is located in the first-floor hallway and continues Majeski’s slash-mark look, this time in blues, oranges, purples and patterns on glass.
- Ashland 98: Added to the collection in 2002, this 26”x52” mixed media installation by Tom Majeski is located in the first-floor hallway and uses blues, oranges and patterns on glass.
Second-Floor
- Bright Lights VI: Added to the collection in 2002, this 24”x36” oil painting by Pat Mahan is located in the second-floor hallway and is done in blue and purple tones to depict a landscape of tall grasses and trees next to a stream.
- Dappled Daylights: Added to the collection in 2002, this 29”x39” oil painting by Pat Mahan is located in the second-floor hallway and showcases a yellow-toned landscape of grass, a stream and mountain peaks.
- Red Willow Rise: Added to the collection in 2002, this 23”x47” oil painting by Pat Mahan is located in the second-floor hallway. It features a red-tinted landscape of tall grasses and a stream.
- A Sky to Remember: Added to the collection in 2002, this 21”x29” oil painting by Pat Mahan is located in the second-floor hallway. It showcases a sunset over the rolling hills.
Third-floor
- Untitled (Train Station): Added to the collection in 2002, this 47”x95” watercolor by Nancy Jellico is located in the third-floor hallway and depicts a train pulling into the station.
- Untitled (Wagon Train): Added to the collection in 2002, this 47”x95” painting by Nancy Jellico is located in the third-floor hallway and depicts several wagons traveling across the rolling hills.
- Untitled (Trappers): Added to the collection in 2002, this 47”x95” painting by Nancy Jellico is located in the third-floor hallway and depicts a trapper on horseback headed toward a tipi.
- Untitled (Buffalo): Added to the collection in 2002, this 47”x95” painting by Nancy Jellico is located in the third-floor hallway and depicts a herd of buffalo in the yellow prairie grass.
Old Admin & Sparks Hall
- The Muses: Added to the collection in 2011, this 7’x8’ sculpture by David Clark is located in the plaza between Sparks Hall and Old Admin. The statue features three figures, two males and one female, holding hands and leaning outward away from each other.
- Warriors Wandering: Added to the collection in 2004, this 23.25”x31.25” painting by Earl Biss is located in Sparks Hall, Room 111. Raised on the Crow Agency, Biss said his work embodied the energy found within nature.
Chicoine Center
- Heart and Soul: Added to the collection in 2019, this stainless steel, COR-TEN and steel sculpture by Karen Yank is located in the Chicoine Center plaza. It reflects the elements of prairie grasses of the great Plains while highlight the big sky and open vistas of Northwest Nebraska.
Burkhiser Technology Building
First-Floor
- Prairie Quartet: Added to the collection in 2004, this series of four drawings, all 6.25” high, was done by Chadron artist Kit Watson. The pieces are, from left, 10”, 2” 4.75” and 7” wide and are located in Room 117, the first-floor office complex. Placed next to each other, the images combine to depict a view of massive clouds over a dark landscape.
- Road to Monarada: Added to the collection in 2004, this 19.25”x25.25” drawing by Crawford artist Mary Louise Tejada Brown in Room 117, the first-floor office complex, and showcases a small valley of purple wildflowers.
- Trout Pond: Added to the collection in 2004, this 19.25”x25.25” drawing by Crawford artist Mary Louise Tejada Brown is located in Room 160. The trout pond featured in the painting is surrounded by tall grasses, broken fencing and trees.
Second-Floor
- Lakota Legacy Lives: Added to the collection in 2004, this three-piece collection of 21”x11.5” paintings by Chadron artist Don Ruleaux is located in room 226. It includes three sections, each with a Lakota dancer.
- Reflections: Added to the collection in 2004, this 20”x15” painting by Chadron artist Don Ruleaux is located in the second-floor office complex. It is a vivid watercolor in which a vase’s reflection appears to turn into a massive circle with a rose and buffalo stampede.
- Red Sky at Twilight: Added to the collection in 2004, this 24”x36” drawing by Chadron artist Kit Watson is located in Room 200. A blue and red sunset fills the sky over rolling hills.
- Enter the Night: Added to the collection in 2004, this 24”x36” drawing by Chadron artist Kit Watson is located in Room 202 and depicts a sunset with clouds in blues and yellows.
- The Drinking Fountain: Added to the collection in 2004, this 20.5”x27” drawing by Chadron artist Kit Watson is located in the second-floor student lounge. The painting shows a young girl drinking from a water fountain in front of a barn.
Rangeland Complex
- You Feel Like Waving: Added to the collection in 2018, this beaded sculpture by Krista Birnbaum is located in the Rangeland Center above the stairwell. The sculpture represents a root system suspended from the ceiling with a block of wood as a base and spirals of brass wire, wood and stone beads.
NOTE: The Rangeland Complex also includes a number of full-body and shoulder animal mounts donated to the college’s wildlife management program by Cabela’s several years ago. The 65-piece collection includes several full-bodied mounts of animals such as moose, elk, mountain lion, caribou, grizzly and zebra, as well as several smaller mounts. The mounts are available for viewing when the building is open. Several of the mounts are in common areas of the Rangeland Complex, including full-body mounts of an arctic wolf, black bear, grizzly bear, cougar, coyote, bobcat, lynx and river otter.
Athletics
The Chadron State Eagles compete in NCAA Division II in 13 sports. For nearly 100 years, Chadron State College has had a special landmark. The huge concrete letter was the brainchild of T.A.F. The C is big. It is approximately 80 feet long and four feet wide. The top and bottom of the C extend more than 20 feet to the west. For many years, it was a tradition that freshmen would repaint the C shortly after they arrived on campus. Early this century, students in the Project Strive/TRiO program at CSC spent several hours on a Saturday cleaning and repainting the C so it will sparkle for spring commencement. The C withstood a stern test in the summer of 2006 when the devastating wildfire roared over the hill from the south and burned to the edge of the campus a few 100 yards below.
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