您的位置: 网站首页 > 英语学习 > 英语四级考试学习资料汇总 > 阅读 > 【UNK History】

UNK History

Founding years: 1903-1905

March 1903: The Nebraska Legislature appropriated $50,000 to build a normal school in western Nebraska, touching off a heated competition among several communities bidding to be selected. On September 1, 1903, after 111 ballots, the State Board of Education awarded the school to Kearney for its offer of 20 acres and the Green Terrace apartments for a dormitory.

1905: A.O. Thomas, then superintendent of Kearney Public Schools, was named the normal school’s first president and the inaugural classes were held that summer in Longfellow High School and Whittier Elementary. One week into the fall semester, September 25, classes moved from KPS to the campus Administration building though it featured only temporary stairs, lacked window glass, and required steam engines to deliver heat until the heating plant was completed.

The first decades: 1900s-1920s

“Normal Schools” were devoted to teacher preparation and students could enter after completing 8th grade. In addition to studying math, sciences and history the curriculum included art, language and literature, drama and music, domestic science and woodworking and agriculture. Among many clubs, Recreation Club and Agriculture Club were the most popular. During WWI, enrollment dropped from 451 (1915) to 305 (1918).

1921: The name change reflected a truly significant shift to granting four-year baccalaureate degrees in the liberal arts for teachers. Case Hall (1930) was the first residence hall constructed, with room and board costing $6.50 per week, and the first hall for men, Men’s Hall, opened in 1939. The college celebrated is Golden Anniversary June 15, 1955, attended by members of the first graduating class (1906) and enrollment reached 2,000 in 1961.

Kearney State College: 1963-1991

1963: More than a mere name change, the naming of Kearney State College signified that the institution had become more than a teacher education institution, and that Kearney had a mission unique from the other three former Teachers Colleges. In 1970, the number of faculty swelled to 274 and student enrollment increased to 5,870, requiring construction of the Centennial Towers in 1965 and 1967. For a time, students referred to the college as Nebraska State, using a large “N” on uniforms and cheerleading outfits.

1989: The Nebraska legislature passed a bill moving KSC to the University of Nebraska system. This law was then challenged and reviewed by the Nebraska Supreme Court, and affirmed.

The name change was far from cosmetic and required numerous transformations from reorganizing separate schools into colleges and to revision of institutional, faculty and staff constitutions and bylaws to increased admissions standards among many others. After an initial period of transition, the campus has achieved increasing distinction in academic, scholarly and creative activity, campus renewal and construction, and student success.

Names for UNK since 1903

1903: “Normal schools” in the early 1900s referred to schools training high school graduates to become teachers: Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney.

1921-1962: the college was Nebraska State Teachers College at Kearney.

1963-1990: Kearney State College, part of the Nebraska state college system.

1989: The Nebraska legislature passed a bill moving KSC to the University of Nebraska system. This law was challenged and reviewed by the Nebraska Supreme Court, and affirmed.

1991: University of Nebraska at Kearney becomes official on July 1, 1991.