Bemidji State University DEI Timeline

Year	Event
1919	Teachers College Opens
1920	School colors of green and white adopted as suggested by student Cyrillus Freeman
1921	First extracurricular activity: basketball
1932	Dr. Manford Deputy declares Beavers the college mascot
1941	20 students lost to War II
1958	Enrollment surpasses 1,000: 653 men and 385 women
1961	Minnesota Viking football team names BSU as summer training camp
1965	Dr. Alexander Nadesan of Indonesia and Ray Jensen develop Asian Studies program
1969	First Ojibwe Language Program
1969	Start of varsity women’s athletics
1975	Faculty unionize
1977	First Pow Wow held on campus
1980	First Female President at BSU
1983	Office of Indian Student Services established
1988	First Chinese language classes offered
1988	First Japanese language classes offered
1988	Cultural Diversity, first and five-year plan
1989	First Cultural Diversity report released
1989	American Indian Resource Center established
1989	Minority Student Retention
1990	Alumni Arch constructed to mark main entrance in front of Deputy Hall
1990	Renovation of Pine Hall into apartments for single parents, now officially called Cedar Apartments
1990	First Affirmative Action officer, Lorena Cook, hired
1990	Year two Cultural Diversity report released
1990	BSU has largest ethnic minority students in State University System
1991	President Duly moves school from divisions to colleges: College of Arts and Letters, College of Social and Natural Sciences and College of Professional Studies
1992	BSU choir, first choir ever selected from a Minnesota public college to sing at the American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Texas
1993	April designated Cultural Diversity Month. Faculty and students participate in Hands Across Campus on April 22
1993	Dr. Annie Henry, only African-American faculty, speaks at Service of Remembrance for Dr. Duly.
1993	Ground breaking ceremonies for the construction of the Native American Center, expanded to American Indian History and Policy Center
1994	BSU has produced more American Indian graduates than any school in Minnesota (200+)
1995	Bemidji State joins the Minnesota State system
2008	Online Education Initiative begins
2012	Articulation Agreement with Weifang University, China
2013	Russian Scholar Lecture
2015	Girls Who Code
2016	German Trade Show
2016	BSU Choral Groups accessible
2017	Women in Leadership
2020	Food Pantry begins
2020	Spanish language offered
2022	Inaugural Director of Civil Rights and Affirmative Action
2022	Inaugural Director of Civil Rights and Restorative Justice
2024	Planning for Institute for Indigenous Education

 

Northwest Technical College DEI Timeline

Year	Event
1966	Bemidji Area Vocational Technical School opens, located at the southern city limits on a 21 acre plot. Classes include: accounting, clerical, secretarial sequnes, carpentry, auto mechanics and mechanical drafting. Licensed practical nursing has been approved but must secure a director first.
1966	99 students enroll
1969	Basketball League, The Vo-Tech Cagers, formed
1975	Student strike for rights; first Student Senate formed
1984	Minority Student Recruiter, Larry Stately, hired
1989	Women’s Resource Center for single parents started by Linda Blessing
1991	Minority Women’s Advocate, Sharon Kingbird, hired
1992	School name change to Northwest Technical College
1995	Computer Age; laptops use begins
2003	22 Ojibwe Women Beat the Odds; Upon graduating from Northwest Technical College and earning degrees, 22 Ojibwe women from Red Lake reservation are the first in the country to earn their certification to change the lives of the education on the reservation.