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

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