Happy 90th Bemidji State University
Ninety years ago, Bemidji Normal School opened its first fall session with 38 students, including 10 males, on September 2, 1919. *
A long, hard-fought battle had been waged to secure Bemidji as the site of Minnesota's sixth normal school. The communities of Cass Lake and Thief River Falls had been fierce contenders. On July 15, 1913, however, the Normal School Commission unanimously selected Bemidji.
The school's first summer session, which started on June 23, 1919, had successfully served some 130 students, 14 of whom enrolled for the fall session. A faculty and staff of 10 were in place to see that the fall term would be a success, as well.
That year, the school had its first library acquisitions, a Webster's dictionary and a second-hand set of Encyclopedia Britannica. One extracurricular activity was offered, the Dramatic Club. No athletic teams existed.
Today, Bemidji State University has nearly 5,000 students and a faculty-staff of about 600. The University has 375,000 catalogued books in its library, more than 75 student clubs and organizations, and 17 athletic teams.
The University is committed to shaping the potential of those it serves, so they, in turn, will shape the worlds in which they live and work.
* Information gathered from University in the Pines by Arthur O. Lee.
Bemidji State over the years gallery
Bemidji State Campus Today
click to see a map of campus with dates of when each building was constructed.
What are your BSU Memories?
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THETA TAU EPSILON! 1965-Present
Sep 22, 2009 at 2:35 pm #22 Dana Haberman
Here I am again. I would like to comment on registration day at Bemidji State Teachers' College in the fall of 1940.Quarter tuition was $10. We took our fee statements out on the porch at Deputy and got our books free. There were 104 students in school when I graduated at Thanksgiving "43 with a BA ., 100 women, 4 men, all of them 4-F. I am so proud of the fine education I got at Bemidji. Happy Birthday, BSU!
Sep 14, 2009 at 3:03 pm #21 Jewell (Anderson)Mendenhall
I enrolled at Bemidji State Teachers' College in Sept of '40. College was fun and everything was greater than I expected. I fell in love with a football hero and we were an item. Unfortunately, he was in the reserves and was shipped out after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attack also had a negative effect on our Concert Choir, under the direction of Carl Thompson.We had been reheasring :"The Mikado", had purchased costumes, and were building scenery. Naturally we had to switch operas and start all over! I have many more stories of my college years (1940-43) the cost of tuitions, books, the names of professors, and other stories of those times. I would love to put them in print if you are interested. Sincerely, Jewell Mendenhall 218-547-0020
Sep 13, 2009 at 9:38 pm #20 Jewell Mendenhall
Thank you BSU for great memories! I started classes at BSU in 1965 as a very shy high school graduate. I lost 15 pounds before I was here a month because of my fear! You'd never guess that today! My experiences at BSU and the Newman Center helped me to overcome that disability. I went on to be employed at BSU, 28 or so years now. I remember Deputy with the very tall ceilings and beautiful wood before the remodeling; the Union in the basement of Sanford where I played cards; my first memory typewriter, the unbelievable Data General computer and then computers that were not fast enough even though they were only a year old! Yes, I wore the green beanie and I knew Bob Scarpino (Comment #17) too. Thanks for the memories!
Sep 11, 2009 at 2:20 pm #19 Kathy Hughes
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