United Tribes Technical College Celebrates 50th Anniversary

KXMB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Bismarck, ND posted "United Tribes Technical College celebrates 50th anniversary," with reporting by Aaron Fields. Fields interviewed college administrators and provides an interesting overview of the institution's history and bright prospects for the future.

United Tribes was initially founded as a training center. It gained accreditation in 1982 from the Higher Learning Commission and now serves as a 1994 Tribal Land-Grant Institution operated by five tribes: Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, the Spirit Lake Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

The college web site offers a 50 Year Chronology as part of their Building a Legacy of Success campaign associated with the centennial. The book is edited by Dennis J. Neumann and the 132-page document is available as a .pdf.  It provides "...starting points for learning more about activities, events, accomplishments and people associated with UTTC."

Campus Museums: Cabinets of Curiosities

Margaret Dahlberg, Ph.D., vice president and dean of academic affairs at Valley City State University in Valley City, ND authored an interesting short post for her President's Corner column on November 30, 2018 while she was serving as interim president, "The Normal School Museum and Lura Perrine."

 Dahlberg offers a description from a 1905 Catalog noting that the campus museum "...includes a rich collection of zoological types, an herbarium, a private collection of conchological and geological specimens, and a private collection of eggs..." Lura Perrine developed the collection during her 1892-1919 tenure as a faculty member.

Natural history collections are commonly cited in histories of colleges.  You can learn more in an article on JSTOR written by Sally Gregory Kohlstedt that appeared in ISIS, a journal of The History of Science Society in September 1988 (Vol. 79, No. 3), "Curiosities and Cabinets: Natural History Museums and Education on the Antebellum Campus."

Consider posting a comment below if you are aware of a similar blog post describing a natural history museum on a campus with which you are familiar....thanks!!

Reflections on the Significance of Campus Renovation

The High Plains Reader published an intriguing article, "Gateways to History are Best Kept Open," by Ken Smith.  Smith focuses on the armory, a building built in 1905 on the campus of the former Manual Training School in Ellendale, ND.  His article also includes an historical sketch of the institution that evolved to become a branch campus of the University of North Dakota before closing in the early 1970s.

Work on the armory is now finished and in September, 2018 the current occupant of the campus, Trinity Bible College, will host an open house and also open two other renovated campus buildings of similar vintage, a residence hall and the president's home.  

Smith comments that , "Saving and refurbishing these structures is an accomplishment that deserves notice around the state and region. It hasn't been cheap or easy, but this good work deserves recognition far and wide."  

He also draws an interesting contrast with a controversy involving the University of North Dakota's upcoming decision on possible destruction of buildings of Wesley College.  Smith also notes an irony where the "...state’s leading secular university is about to demolish a set of buildings that were once devoted to a religious purpose. (While) Here in Ellendale our religiously based college is about to finish restoring a pair of buildings that were once devoted to a secular purpose."

Dickinson State University Celebrates Centennial

Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota is celebrating the centennial of its founding in 1918.  The institution was founded as Dickinson State Normal School. The name changed to Dickinson State Teachers College in 1931 and to Dickinson State College in 1963.

The DSU Centennial web pages include links to the History of DSU, digitized versions of 72 editions of Prairie Smoke, the college yearbook, hundreds of historic photographs. and information on upcoming events.

North Dakota Colleges that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names

This table below includes institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names.  If you note a need for changing or updating information, please notify ray01brown@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is available.

There is a College History Garden Facebook group or you can view and follow multiple College History Garden boards on Pinterest or there is a board specifically devoted to North Dakota colleges.

Thanks for your interest and suggestions!

University of Jamestown (ND)

An editorial from the Jamestown Sun on August 22, 2013 supports the institution's announcement of a change in name to the University of Jamestown.  The institution was founded as Jamestown College in 1883 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

An article by Keri Lucin from the Fargo Forum on August 21, 2013 provides more details on the institution and the decision.