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California State University, Chico

Former names	Northern Branch State Normal School of California (1887–1921) Chico State Teachers College (1921–35) Chico State College (1935–72)
Motto	Ars Probat Artificem (Latin)
Motto in English	"Art is the test of the artisan."[1]
Type	Public
Established	1887
Endowment	$64.7 million (2018-19)[2]
President	Gayle Hutchinson
Provost	Debra Larson
Academic staff	987 (Fall 2017)[2]
Administrative staff	1,046 (Fall 2017)[2]
Students	17,488 (Fall 2018)[2]
Undergraduates	16,420 (Fall 2018)[2]
Postgraduates	1,068 (Fall 2018)[2]
Location	Chico , California , U.S.
Campus	Small/Medium City[3] Central Campus: 119 acres (48 ha) Total: 3,249 acres (1,315 ha)
Colors	Red and white
Athletics	NCAA Division II – CCAA
Nickname	Wildcats [4]
Affiliations	California State University system Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Mascot	Willie the Wildcat
Website	csuchico.edu

California State University, Chico (also known as CSU Chico or Chico State), is the second oldest campus in the 23-campus California State University system. It is located in Chico, California, about 90 miles (140 km) north of Sacramento. As of the Fall 2018 semester, the university had a total enrollment of 17,448 students. The university offers 126 types of bachelor's degrees, 35 types of master's degrees, and four types of teaching credentials. The university does not confer doctoral degrees.^[5][6]

History

On March 12, 1887, a legislative act was enacted to create the Northern Branch of the California State Normal School. Less than a month later, Chico was chosen as the location. On June 24, 1887, General John Bidwell donated 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land from his cherry orchard. Then on July 4, 1888, the first cornerstone was laid. On September 3, 1889, doors opened for the 90 enrolled students. The library opened on January 11, 1890 with 350 books. On June 20, 1891 the first graduation took place, a class of 15.

In 1910, Annie Kennedy Bidwell donated an additional 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land to be used for work with elementary agriculture. The next year Mrs. Bidwell donated an orange orchard lot 55 × 440 feet (130 m) as the children's playground, which is connected to the Training School.^[7] Twenty years later in 1921, legislation was enacted to change the school's name to Chico State Teacher's College. In 1922, Chico State Teacher's College added a junior college curriculum and awarded a certificate after two years. Also in 1922, Bidwell Mansion was turned into a women's dormitory, Bidwell Hall. In 1923 the first college paper, The Collegian, was published. In 1924, the state Board of Education allowed the school to grant baccalaureate degrees. Also in 1924, the wildcat was chosen as the mascot. In 1925 the alumni organization was founded. In 1927 a fire destroyed the Normal Building. That same year a gym was built on the grounds of Bidwell Mansion. In 1929, the cornerstone for the new administration building was laid on top of Normal Building's original cornerstone. In 1929 the student bookstore was established.

Chico State campus in the spring

In 1935, Bidwell Hall was turned into a recreation and student center - the first student union. Also in 1935 a legislative act changed the college name from Chico State Teachers College to Chico State College. In 1937 evening classes started on campus and athletic fields were purchased from the Chico Board of Education. In 1939, chimes were installed in library tower. Sororities held a fund drive to raise $600 for them. In 1940 the college offered civilian pilot classes.

In 1948, dorms for 500 male students were set up on west side of Warner Street. The buildings were built during World War II and were used as bachelor quarters for a Marine Hospital in Klamath Falls, Oregon. They were brought to Chico State in sections and reconstructed in the spring of 1948. The two-story barrack-like structures had 36 rooms, each occupied by 4 students. North Hall later became a female dormitory. The speech and debate team was founded by Herbert Rae, Speech & Drama Department Chair.

In 1950, California's governor allowed state colleges to grant Master of Arts degrees. In 1951 the college reorganized from 18 departments into seven divisions with chairmen. Then in 1956 a new flagpost and sign in front of Kendall Hall was donated by the class of 1956. In the following year, 1957, a new cafeteria was built and the rose gardens were planted. In 1958 the first "telecourse" was taught, Psychology 51.

KCSC, a student-run radio station, launched, broadcasting old-time radio dramas on the campus public address system in 1951.

In 1972, Chico State College became California State University, Chico as a result of legislation passed in 1971.

In 1975, broadcasts of classes through closed circuit TV were used for the first time by residents in Oroville, Marysville and Colusa. Also in 1975, The Orion, the campus student newspaper, published its first issue. In 1977, the other campus paper, The Wildcat, changed its name to Chico News and Review and moved off campus to become an independent publication. In 1978 bike riding was restricted on campus.

Chico State's library was renamed in 1981 for father and son Morrison E. Meriam, professor of psychology from 1902 to 1934, and Theodore "Ted" Meriam, community leader, alumnus, and friend of the University, a member of the California State University Board of Trustees from 1961 to 1971, and its chair from 1968 to 1969.^[8]

CSU Chico opened its first sub-campus in Redding, affiliated with Shasta College, in 2007.

In 2005, student Matt Carrington was hazed to death at the Chi Tau house, which had previously been expelled from the university in 2001 due to violations.^[9] Carrington died as a result of water intoxication during a hazing session involving the victim being forced to exercise and drink large quantities of water.

In 2010, the President of the Associated Student body, Joseph Igbineweka, was stabbed in a racially motivated attack.^[10]

In 2011, CSU, Chico received a Civic Learning Initiative Grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation extend its efforts to establish civic engagement as a key component of students' academic success.^[11]

Academics

The university has more than 75 Departments^[14] and offers more than 150 undergraduate degrees.^[15] It is organized into seven colleges and four schools.

The school's library, the Meriam Library, has several special collections of Native American and Californian history.^[16]

Rankings

Campus

The California State University, Chico campus consists of a 119-acre main campus, an 800-acre university farm, and 2,330-acres of ecological reserves. These reserves include the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) and the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve (BCEP).^[2]

Early construction

The construction of the normal school building was begun in September, 1887. It was a large brick building, consisting of three stories and full basement. It was of Romanesque design with Elizabethan gables and artificial stone trimmings. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1927. The current administration building Kendall Hall was built on the site of the normal school in 1929.^[21]

Chico State's Kendall (Administration) Hall

Colusa Hall, completed in 1921 is the oldest building on campus. It was used for purposes related to the industrial arts, but now the building is now used as a conference and public events facility.^[22]

Arboretum

The Campus Arboretum is located across the campus of California State University, Chico along Big Chico Creek.

Nearby Bidwell Park includes 29 acres (117,000 m²) of a former arboretum, now run somewhat wild, which contains trees such as English oaks, hawthorn, Cherry Plum, bay laurel, cork oak, ponderosa, aleppo, and Monterey pines, willow, mulberry, linden, maple, catalpa, pine, and eucalyptus, collected from around the world.^[23]

Residence halls

Currently, the university can accommodate 2,150^[24] or approximately 13% of the student body in seven on-campus residential halls. Sutter, Whitney, Shasta and Lassen halls are on the main campus, while Esken, Mechoopda and Konkow are near the athletic fields about a block and a half away from the main campus. Whitney, Shasta and Lassen are the names of major mountains in Northern California, and the others are named after Native American tribes which used to inhabit the area. Most buildings that make up the campus are named after counties in California. University Village or "UV" is a university-owned dorm about a mile off campus. The university opened its newest dorm, Sutter Hall, for the Fall 2010 semester. It is located between Whitney and Shasta and Lassen halls. For much of the Fall 2010 semester, Sutter Hall's dining area remained closed. However, it opened in the Spring 2011 semester, featuring new dining options for students.

Meriam library

Meriam Library started out as an unnamed library in 1887, housed in what was then known as Chico State Normal School. In 1927, the Normal School building and its library burned down in a fire. The library found a new home in 1933 when a new building, Trinity Hall, was constructed. In 1959, Chico State College Library was built. The library was expanded and renamed to the "Learning Activities Resource Center" (LARC) in 1975. It was in 1985 when the library gained another expansion and its current name, Meriam Library. This name was dedicated after the family of Ted Meriam. A fourth floor of the library was constructed in 1985.^[25]

Student life

Associated Students, Chico

Chico State campus: Laxson Auditorium

Associated Students, Chico is the student government at California State University, Chico. Associated Students, Chico owns and operates several student services on-campus including all vending machines, and foodservices, as well as the campus bookstore. The students of CSU, Chico also own their own student union building named the Bell Memorial Union which houses the Marketplace Cafe, the Chico State Wildcat Store, and the student government offices. Student officers are elected annually from among and by the students. Students are assessed a mandatory Activity Fee at registration which funds the student government and other programs.

The AS is generally divided into three areas, each the responsibility of one of three Associated Students standing committees. The AS' role as a government is manifested in the Government Affairs Committee. The student union is administered under the original authority of the Bell Memorial Union Committee. The administration of the businesses is under the original authority of the Business Committee. All of these areas are under the ultimate authority of the AS Board of Directors.

Office of Student Life and Leadership

Student Life and Leadership, formally the Student Activities Office, strives to create an environment in which all students and student organizations are encouraged and aided in the development of positive social, cultural, intellectual, recreational, and leadership programs and activities. The Student Life and Leadership staff supports programming which promotes learning, personal growth, self-governance, social responsibility, and understanding.^[26] The office of Student Life and Leadership incorporates four programs: Student Organizations and Leadership Education (SOLE), Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA), Rec Sports, and the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (CCLC).

Greek life

As of May 2017^[update] Chico State has 26 fraternities and sororities, making up approximately 12 percent of the student population.^[27]

The Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA) program embodies three Greek governed councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Multicultural Greek Council, and the Panhellenic Council.

Fraternities in the IFC include Alpha Sigma Phi, Kappa Sigma, Delta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Tau, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Nu and Sigma Pi. The Panhellenic Council includes Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Kappa. The Multicultural Greek Council includes Delta Xi Phi, Lambda Theta Nu, Lambda Sigma Gamma, Sigma Omega Phi, Upsilon Kappa Delta, Epsilon Sigma Rho and Nu Alpha Kappa.^[28]

Demographics

Male to Female Percentage: Male 46% - Female 54%^[2]

Student media

KCSC Radio was founded in 1951. The university's student-run weekly newspaper, The Orion first began publishing in 1975.^[29] In 1989, The Orion won the National Pacemaker Award, the first of nine times the paper has won the top prize in college journalism. In 2009, The Orion won the National Pacemaker Award for the 11th time at the College Media Convention.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997 Wild Oak Music Group, an independent record company, was founded and is run by the Music Industry students within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Athletics

The university's athletic teams are known as the Chico State Wildcats. The school sponsors soccer, basketball, cross country, golf, and track and field for both men and women. The school sponsors softball and volleyball for women, and baseball for men. The school's athletic director is Anita Barker. The school competes in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.^[30] Since 1998, Chico State's athletic teams have won 99 NCAA Championship berths, 40 CCAA titles, 24 West Region titles, and 15 NCAA national titles.^[31] The Wildcats softball team won the first AIAW Division III national championship in 1980, led by pitcher Kathy Arendsen.^[32]

Sustainability

The Chico State Motto, "Today decides tomorrow"

CSU, Chico has received a number of honors for its leadership role in sustainability^[33] and environmental awareness and education. CSU, Chico's Green Campus Program won the Best Practices award for Student Energy Efficiency in the CSU in April 2008. In 2007, the University was awarded the Grand Prize by the National Wildlife Federation for efforts to reduce global warming.^[34]

The University was ranked on a list of 15 colleges and universities around the world cited for their leadership in sustainability and environmental programs.^[35]Grist Magazine, on online environmental publication, placed CSU, Chico on its list of “15 Green Colleges and Universities.”^[36] The DailyGreen, an environmental website, has featured CSU, Chico in a list of 10 top colleges and universities that includes Harvard University, Duke University, Middlebury College and Oberlin College.^[37]

Chico Professor Jeff Price, shared in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,^[38] and is also Senior Fellow for Climate Change and Biodiversity at the United Nations Environment Program – World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC).

CSU, Chico University Printing Services has been awarded Forest Stewardship Council chain-of-custody certification by Scientific Certification Systems (certificate number SCS-COC-001517), supporting CSU, Chico's campuswide commitment to sustainability. CSU, Chico is one of the first universities in the country to receive this certification.

CSU, Chico's director of the Institute for Sustainable Development is Dr. Jim Pushnik.^[39] Complete information on the University's involvement in sustainable issues is listed on the Sustainable News Web site.

Chico State made The Princeton Review’s 2011 "Guide to Green Colleges," honoring campuses that "demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation." ^[40]

Noted people

Notable alumni

Faculty

University presidents

• Edward Timothy Pierce, 1889–1893


• 
  Robert F. Pennell, 1893–1897


• Carleton M. Ritter, 1897–1899


• Charles C. Van Liew, 1899–1910


• Allison Ware, 1910–1917


• Elmer Isaiah Miller, 1910, 1917–1918


• Charles Osenbaugh, 1918–1930


• Clarence Knight Studley, 1930–1931


• Rudolph D. Lindquist, 1931


• Aymer Jay Hamilton, 1931–1950


• George Glenn Kendall, 1950–1966


• Robert Eugene Hill, 1966–1970


• Lew Dwight Oliver, 1970–1971


• 
  Stanford Cazier, 1971–1979


• Robert L. Fredenburg, 1979–1980


• 
  Robin Wilson, 1980–1993


• Manuel A. Esteban, 1993–2003


• Scott McNall, 2003–2004


• Paul Zingg, 2004-2016


• Gayle E. Hutchinson, 2016–present

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to California State University, Chico.

• Official website


• Official Athletics website

Coordinates: 39°43′54″N 121°50′58″W / 39.73167°N 121.84944°W / 39.73167; -121.84944