Construction era and continued enrollment increases highlight 2013 for CSC

Steel beams for the new 94,000 square-foot Event Center have been hoisted into place by a crane perched on the site for weeks.  Plans are to name the facility for long-time CSC advocate Vern Chicoine pending review and approval by the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State College System. A bequest of $2.3 million from Chicoine’s trust will benefit the college in numerous ways including $1 million dedicated to the Event Center.

The Coffee Agriculture Pavilion reached substantial completion in early December with an equine communication class meeting in the space the following day. Site preparation for the Phase II classroom and lab building is scheduled for mid-spring.

The three housing units which comprise Eagle Ridge all have concrete foundations and floors in place with sheeting complete on one building and trusses on another. When completed in the fall of 2014, the units will house 72 students.

Other infrastructure improvements comprised roof replacements on the residence halls and the Student Center, the extension of 12^th Street from the softball parking lot to the Rangeland Complex and the installation of an energy-monitoring system that will result in more efficient power usage.

An enrollment increase, for the eighth consecutive year, was manifest in the fall semester total of 3,070 compared to 3,005 a year ago. The incoming, full-time freshmen class of 451 was the largest in 10 years and the second largest since 1986.

Accomplishments by academic departments were highlighted by two programs earning reaffirmation of specialized accreditation: the education program through National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, now known as the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation and the business program through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

April was an eventful month for CSC. The 11^th president of Chadron State College, Dr. Randy Rhine, was inaugurated in a ceremony conducted by the Nebraska State College System just weeks after a major snow storm closed the campus for two days. Rhine came to CSC in 2005 and served as assistant to the president, vice president of enrollment management and marketing and interim president prior to the NSCS naming him the college’s president Jan. 15, 2013.

The evening prior to the inauguration, country music star Keith Anderson performed a concert and expressed his support for the students who collected thousands of pieces of donated clothing during the “Nearly Naked Mile.”

A first-time service project, “The Big Event,” involved over 400 volunteers from the campus and community assisting area residents, agencies and businesses by painting, building fences, shoveling gravel and many other tasks.

A devastating October blizzard, Winter Storm Atlas, turned out to be an opportunity for CSC students to show their willingness to serve others on campus and in the community. When 90 percent of the 1,000 trees on the landscaped portion of campus were damaged, students from Dr. Teresa Frink’s classes rallied to help grounds crews carry broken tree limbs to curbs around campus. Frink is an associate professor and applied science department chair.

Community members, coaches and players shoveled tons of snow from Elliot Field so that the Homecoming game against Adams State could be played, in a rare exception, on Sunday. Many Homecoming events were cancelled or postponed due to the 12-15 inches of snow, broken power lines and broken tree limbs. The Chadron State Foundation forged ahead with a celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the foundation.

Several days later, a group of over 70 students, faculty and staff helped remove debris for community residents, in parks and other public areas.

Other students representing the college throughout the region were theater majors who adapted, staged and performed 12 folk tales from other countries. The students, along with two faculty members, dismantled, packed and reassembled their stage for performances at six elementary schools in the Panhandle and one on campus.

Further from home, a group of 13 students participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico as part of an American history course.

A freshman from Sheridan, Wyo., Bailey McClean earned the title of Miss Chadron State College Rodeo reviving a tradition from the 1970s during Family Day weekend.

Dr. Teresa Frink and her students are actively involved in a collaborative project with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study the distribution of the endangered swift fox in western Nebraska.

In rodeo news, Chadron State College cowgirl Amy Tierney, Oral, S.D., finished third in the goat tying at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.

Led by the top three goat tiers in the region, the Chadron State College cowgirls held second place team standings in the Central Rocky Mountain Region at the halfway point in the 2013-14 competition. They trail first-place Gillette College by just 50 points while the third place team is nearly 1,000 points behind them. Five more rodeos will take place in the spring.

The Eagles played the West Texas A&M Buffaloes in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in September. They scored 21 consecutive points in the opening quarter and led 31-16 in the fourth quarter, but the Buffs scored 17 unanswered points to escape with the victory. In addition to family members of the team, college officials, alumni and other fans, the CSC show band attended and played at the game.

Chadron State College tailback Glen Clinton, a senior from Cody, Wyo., was selected to the 2013 Daktronics All-America Second Team and the Associated Press Little All-America Third Team. A Harlon Hill finalist and a two-time Academic All-American, Clinton was also tabbed as a Beyond Sports Network All-American. He rushed for 1,518 yards, scored 14 touchdowns and gained 1,923 all-purpose yards during his senior season.

Other All-Americans in football include Pierre Etchemendy, Douglas, Wyo., Sam Parker, Harrison, and Zach Sandstrom, Chadron.

Chadron State College women's cross country runner Stacy Girard, Alliance, was recognized as an All-Region honoree by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. She is the first runner in Chadron State cross country history to earn all-region honors.

Kelly Troester, a senior from Marsland, was named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America Division II Men's Track and Cross Country Third Team as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Troester, with a 3.98 grade-point average while majoring in rangeland management, was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Summit Award winner for both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons in recognition of having the best GPA at the conference championships.

Students and faculty traveled to numerous regional and national conferences to study a variety of topics such as leadership, English, writing, geoscience, paleontology and music. Art students designed logos for a regional park association, communication arts students developed a media kit for a local school and social work students created a press kit for a Panhandle foster parent campaign.

A wide array of topics were explored in innovative First Year Inquiry courses. Students witnessed the discovery of an estimated 7,000-year-old project point at the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center north of Crawford and heard various professional guest speakers among other high-impact learning experiences.

Chadron State made a big splash by sponsoring a Rush hockey game in Rapid City Feb. 9. Nearly 100 CSC faculty, staff and students attended the event which featured the CSC mascot, Elmo, dropping the puck and distributing t-shirts.

In March, the NSCS Board of Trustees approved a new tuition rate for all out-of-state students, one dollar over in-state tuition.

The new rate, called the Chadron State Eagle Rate, was introduced to prospective students over the summer including a large CSC banner on the Rushmore Mall. The sign generated attention in the region and a number of faculty, staff and current students posed by it and posted their photos on Facebook.

In addition to this change, in June the NSCS Board of Trustees announced a two-year freeze tuition, an accomplishment achieved by working with Governor Dave Heineman and the legislature.

Another initiative was CSC becoming the first Nebraska institution of higher education to become a partner with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

Faculty and staff achievements were abundant this year. Dr. Sandy Schaeffer, professor of music, received the CSC Teaching Excellence Award and went on to also receive the NSCS Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Jesse Sealey, assistant professor of education, and Dr. Yvonne Moody, professor of family and consumer science, were hosted by the Educational Testing Service on the outskirts of Princeton, N.J. for several days while they provided valuable feedback regarding pre-professional tests administered to teaching candidates nationwide.

“Meeting of the Minds,” a first-time symposium, organized by a committee led by Lee Miller, associate professor of humanitites, was held in the King Library Learning Commons showcasing poster sessions, presentations and other scholarly student work from across the curriculum.

Con Marshall, whose name is considered by many to be synonymous with Chadron State College, will be inducted into the 2014 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In the late 1990s, Chadron State named a facility, the Elliott Field pressbox, in Marshall's honor. He served as the college information officer and sports information director for decades, has authored two CSC history books and continues to write CSC and local stories.

Numerous events hosted on campus brought experts, faculty and students together to discuss pertinent issues.

The professional Social Work senior class organized and hosted a regional conference on the topic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a hidden wound suffered by military veterans.

Law enforcement, veterans, mental health care professionals and others from several states gathered for a full day of discussion about many issues related to PTSD and resources available to help veterans.

Holocaust survivor Jack Adler told a full Student Center Ballroom of his boyhood memories in an open ghetto and concentration camps in Poland during a conference sharing best methods for teachers to utilize when covering the historical event in their classrooms.

Another guest presenter, death row exoneree Curtis McCarty, told a large audience of his years on death row in Oklahoma as an innocent man.

Dr. Wendy Ring shared her insights, as a nationally-known medical doctor, into the health risks associated with climate change.

CSC's alumni represented the college through their accomplishments. CSC graduate Sydney Van Deist Holmes, who attended the CSC pre-nursing RHOP program, received the Nurse Corps Scholarship from Health Resources & Services Administration. The value of the award is approximately $60,000 was received by about 200 students from an applicant pool of over 3,000.

CSC alum Jake Zitterkopf, now a third-year dental student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was one of only nine postgraduate students nationwide to receive the Horatio Alger Association's Dennis R. Washington Achievement Graduate Scholarship. He was also elected president of the Class of 2015.

In early 2013, several positions on campus were filled with new personnel. Jon Hansen, a former CSC admissions representative and military science professor and administrator, was named interim vice president of Student Services and Enrollment Management, a post previously held by the college’s new president, Dr. Randy Rhine. Tena Cook, former director of admissions, was named interim marketing coordinator following Justin Haag’s resignation to become a regional editor with NEBRASKAland magazine. Lisa Stein, an admissions staff member for over seven years, took the helm as interim director of admissions.

The loss of two students and a long-time advocate of the college punctuated the year. Freshman Sterling Atkins, of Broken Bow, died of natural causes off campus. He was remembered at an evening on campus as humorous and energetic, always ready to take part in a practical joke.

Zack Muma, a sophomore from Chadron, died as a result of complications from diabetes off campus. Some pieces of his artwork and photography were displayed in the Student Center and a gathering for his family and friends was hosted in the Sandoz Center.

Virginia Coffee, long-time supporter of the college, passed away. She and her husband, Bill, had established scholarships, the C.F. Coffee Gallery of the history of ranching in the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. The gallery is named for Bill’s grandfather who was instrumental in the early development of the college. The Coffee family’s many other contributions include a major gift to Phase I of the Rangeland Complex, named the Coffee Agriculture Pavilion.

Looking forward to 2014, plans are to increase international student enrollment through several initiatives and establish an International Friends of CSC group. Also, admissions is conducting preliminary steps to adopt a new software system for communication with prospective students.

CSC concerts and guest musicians appear throughout the spring calendar along with a student theater production, “The Play About the Baby." Volunteers will come together for the annual “The Big Event" and students will travel to Florida for the International Society of Range Management conference.

The social work department is preparing for the review of its reaffirmation and a positive outcome is anticipated.