Northeastern State University
Northeastern State University is a public university whose main campus is in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow. Northeastern is Oklahoma's oldest institution of higher learning and one of the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Tahlequah is home to the capital of the Cherokee Nation and about 25% of NSU students identify themselves as American Indian. The university has many courses focused on Native American linguistics, and offers Cherokee language education as a major. Some classes are taught in Cherokee for first language speakers.
History
On May 7, 1851, the Cherokee Nation founded the Cherokee National Female Seminary at Tahlequah, the same year that it opened a male seminary in its territory. This was after its removal to Indian Territory and part of its building institutions to support its future.On March 6, 1909, after statehood, the State Legislature of Oklahoma passed an act providing for the creation and location of Northeastern State Normal School at Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the training of teachers. For this purpose, it purchased from the Cherokee Tribal Government the building, land, and equipment of the Cherokee Female Seminary.
In 1921, the name was changed to Northeastern State Teachers College as it had expanded to a full four-year curriculum. In the 1950s Northeastern emerged as a comprehensive state college, broadening its curriculum at the baccalaureate level to encompass liberal arts subjects and adding a fifth-year program designed to prepare master teachers for elementary and secondary schools.
With addition of graduate-degree programs, in 1974, the Oklahoma Legislature authorized changing the name of the institution from Northeastern State College to Northeastern Oklahoma State University; in 1985 it authorized a change in name to Northeastern State University. In 1979, NSU opened its College of Optometry.
In the early 21st century, NSU is the fourth-largest university in Oklahoma. On March 6, 2009, NSU celebrated its centennial with Founders Day celebrations.
Presidents
- Albert Sydney Wyly, 1909
- Frank Redd, 1909–1911
- Frank E. Buck, 1911–1912
- W.E. Gill, 1912–1914
- George W. Gable, 1914–1919
- William T. Ford, 1919–1923
- Monroe P. Hammond, 1923–1935
- J.M. Hackler, 1935–1936
- John Samuel Vaughan, 1936–1951
- Louis H. Bally, 1951
- Harrell E. Garrison, 1951–1970
- Robert E. Collier, 1970–1977
- Elwin Fite, 1977–1978
- W. Roger Webb, 1978–1997
- Larry B. Williams, 1997–2007
- Kim Cherry, 2007–2008
- Don Betz, 2008–2011
- Martin Tadlock, 2011
- Steve Turner, 2012–2023
- Rodney Hanley, 2023–present
Tahlequah campus
NSU offers 69 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate degree programs, and 13 pre-professional programs in five colleges. The student-to-faculty ratio is 26 to 1, and in the Spring of 2008 the total enrollment for the Tahlequah Campus was 6,216. There is also a distance-learning program, by which students who cannot attend the university due to work or family obligations can complete courses via the Internet or videoconferencing.
Image:Seminary Hall.jpg|thumb|right|Seminary Hall Image:NSU Net Lab.jpg|thumb|right|The W. Roger Webb Educational Technology Center
Athletics
The Northeastern State athletic teams are called the RiverHawks. The university is a member of the Division II ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, primarily competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year; while its men's soccer team competes in the Great American Conference. The RiverHawks previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2011–12 school year; in the D-II Lone Star Conference from 1997–98 to 2010–11; and in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1974–75 to 1996–97.NSU competes in 12 intercollegiate sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, golf, soccer, softball, spirit squads and tennis.