California State University, Chico

California State University, Chico

Former names	Northern Branch State Normal School of California (1887–1921) Chico State Teachers College (1921–1935) Chico State College (1935–1972)
Motto	"Today Decides Tomorrow" [1]
Type	Public university
Established	1887;137 years ago (1887)
Parent institution	California State University
Accreditation	WSCUC
Endowment	$86.7 million (2022-23) (millions) [2]
Budget	$247.1 million (2023-24) [3]
President	Stephen Perez
Provost	Debra Larson
Academic staff	860 (Fall 2023) [4]
Administrative staff	1,048 (Fall 2023) [4]
Students	13,999 (Fall 2023) [4]
Undergraduates	12,866 (Fall 2023) [4]
Postgraduates	1,133 (Fall 2023) [4]
Location	Chico , California , United States 39°43′48″N121°50′51″W / 39.73000°N 121.84750°W / 39.73000; -121.84750
Campus	Midsize city [5] [6] , Central Campus: 119 acres (48 ha) Total: 3,249 acres (1,315 ha)
Newspaper	The Orion
Colors	Chico red, cornerstone gray, black, and white [7]
Nickname	Wildcats [8]
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division II – CCAA
Mascot	Willie the Wildcat
Website	www.csuchico.edu

California State University, Chico (Chico State ^[7] ) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. ^[9] It is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had a total enrollment of 16,630 students. The university offers 126 bachelor's degree programs, 35 master's degree programs, and four types of teaching credentials. Chico is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).

History

The historic campus of CSU Chico.

Trinity Hall as seen from George Petersen Rose Garden

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. In 1887, General John Bidwell donated 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land from his cherry orchard. 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. ^[10] 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. 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 1927 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 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 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.

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.

The Arts & Humanities Building is one of the newest buildings on campus. It opened in July 2016.

In 1972, Chico State College became California State University, Chico.

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. ^[12]

In 1987, Chico State was ranked as the top party school in the nation by Playboy. ^[13]

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 (local) house, which had previously been expelled from the university in 2001 due to violations. ^[14] 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. ^[15]

In 2011, CSU, Chico received a Civic Learning Initiative Grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to extend its efforts to establish civic engagement as a key component of students' academic success. ^[16]

Academics

Facade of the new 110,200-square-foot Science Building

The university has more than 75 departments ^[17] and offers more than 150 undergraduate degrees. ^[18] It is organized into seven colleges and four schools:

• College of Agriculture
• College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
  • School of Social Work
• College of Business
• College of Communication & Education
  • School of Education
• College of Engineering, Computer Science, & Construction Management
• College of Humanities & Fine Arts
  • School of the Arts
• College of Natural Sciences
  • School of Nursing

The university's library, the Meriam Library, has several special collections of Native American and Californian history. ^[19]

Rankings

Academic rankings Master's Washington Monthly [20] 6 Regional U.S. News & World Report [21] 16 National Forbes [22] 158 WSJ/College Pulse [23] 343

2023 USNWR Graduate School Rankings [24] Program Ranking Fine Arts 110 Social Work 172 Speech–Language Pathology 173 Public Affairs 214

According to the U.S. News & World Report 2023 college rankings, Chico State was ranked at 13th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied 10 in Top Public Schools, 22 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, 70 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs teeing 12 in Civil Engineering and 206 in Nursing. ^[25]

According to the U.S. News & World Report 2022 college rankings, Chico State was ranked tied at 17th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied 18 in Top Public Schools, tied 24 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, tied 75 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and tied for 251 in Nursing. ^[26]

According to the U.S. News & World Report 2021 college rankings, Chico State was ranked tied for 9th among 66 western regional public universities, tied at 16th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied at 22nd for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", tied at 41st for "Social Mobility", and tied for 26th overall among 127 regional universities in the western United States. Lastly it tied at 91 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Program at a schools where doctorate not offered. ^[27]

Chico State was ranked 335th out of 650 colleges, universities, and service academies in the U.S. in the 2019 Forbes America's Top Colleges list, and was ranked 68th in the West, 73rd for "Best Value", and 113th among all public universities. ^[28]

Campus

The California State University, Chico campus consists of a 119-acre main campus, the 800-acre Paul L. Byrne Memorial 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). ^[4]

Early construction

Kendall Hall in June 2023

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. ^[29]

Colusa Hall, completed in 1921 is the oldest building on campus. Today it is used as a conference and public events facility. ^[30]

Alfred E. Warren House, built by noted Californian architect Julia Morgan in 1922-23, serves as the university president's residence.

Arboretum

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

Nearby Bidwell Park includes 29 acres (12 ha) 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. ^[31]

Residence halls

Currently, the university can accommodate 2,150 ^[32] or approximately 13% of the student body in seven on-campus residential halls. Most buildings on campus are named after California counties.

Meriam library

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. A fourth floor of the library was constructed in 1985. ^[33]

Student life

Chico State campus: Laxson Auditorium

Associated Students, Chico

Main article: Associated Students, Chico

Associated Students, Chico is the student government at California State University, Chico.

Office of Student Life and Leadership

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2020

Race and ethnicity [34]	Total
White	69.2%	69.2
Hispanic	19%	19
Other [lower-alpha 1]	6.6%	6.6
Asian	5%	5
Black	2.2%	2.2
Foreign national	2%	2
Economic diversity
Low-income [lower-alpha 2]	42%	42
Affluent [lower-alpha 3]	58%	58

Student Life and Leadership, formally the Student Activities Office, incorporates four programs: Student Organizations and Leadership Education (SOLE), Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA), Rec Sports, and the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (CCLC).

Town Hall Meeting

Chico State has an annual event where Chico State students gather in a public area and discuss most current policy issues with their peers. Faculty members are also involved. ^[35]

The Great Debate

The Great Debate was created to drive members of both the campus and the community to take part in a conversation about important issues. A different topic is chosen every semester. ^[36]

Greek life

As of May 2017 ^[update] Chico State has 26 fraternities and sororities, making up approximately 12 percent of the student population. ^[37]

Demographics

Fall First-Time Freshmen Statistics

	2023 [38]	2022 [39]	2021 [40]	2020 [41]	2019 [42]
Applicants	22,910	22,137	19,990	19,999	25,908
Admits	20,864	20,324	17,056	18,034	18,740
Admit rate	91.07%	91.81%	85.32%	90.17%	72.33%
Enrolled	2,171	2,021	1,926	2,316	2,561
Yield Rate	10.41%	9.94%	11.29%	12.84%	13.67%
Average GPA	3.40	3.42	3.37	3.34	3.41

Male to Female Percentage: 44:56% ^[4]

CSU Chico along with CSU Bakersfield has the second largest enrollment percentage of Native Americans in the Cal State system. ^[43]

Student media

KCSC Radio was founded in 1951. The university's student-run weekly newspaper, The Orion first began publishing in 1975. ^[44] 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

Main article: Chico State Wildcats

The university's athletic teams are known as the Chico State Wildcats. The school sponsors soccer, basketball, golf, cross country, 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 (NCAA) in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). ^[45] 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. ^[46] The Wildcats softball team won the first AIAW Division III national championship in 1980, led by pitcher Kathy Arendsen. ^[47] Chico excels in cross country and track and field in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. ^[48]

The Wildcats of Chico State earned six team NCAA championships at the Division II level. ^[49] NCAA Division II individual championships by Scott Bauhs (2008) Men's cross country and J. J. Jakovac (2002, 2004) and Kyle Souza (2011) Men's Golf Championships.

• Men's Team (6)
  • Baseball (2): 1997, 1999
  • Golf (1): 1966
  • Swimming and diving (3): 1973, 1974, 1976

Sustainability

The Chico State Motto, "Today decides tomorrow"

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." ^[50]

Noted people

Notable alumni

See also: Category:California State University, Chico alumni

Name	Known for	Relationship to Chico
Annette Abbott Adams	First female Assistant Attorney General of the United States
Nelson Briles	Former Major League Baseball player
Donald J. Butz	United States Air Force major general
John Canzano	Sports Writer	BA in English, 1995
Richard Campbell	Musician
Don Carlsen	Former NFL referee retired 2012
Doug Chapman	Actor	BA, 1994
Rocky Chávez	served in the California State Assembly	BA in English, 1973
Raymond Carver	Author
Clay Dalrymple	Former Major League Baseball player
Mark Davis	Owner Las Vegas Raiders
Amanda Detmer	Actress
Big Poppa E	Professional slam poet	Attended 1994-2000 (Journalism)
Clair Engle	United States Senator	BA, 1930
Horace Dove-Edwin	Olympian	MA in exercise science, 1999
Ken Grossman	Co-founder Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Brandon Harkins	Professional golfer
Joseph Hilbe	Statistician and philosopher	BA in Philosophy
Dominik Jakubek	Goalkeeper for Major League Soccer	BA Liberal Studies 2009
Troy Johnson	Food critic, TV judge of Food Network shows	BA Speech Communications and Poetry 1997
Mat Kearney	Columbia recording artist	Attended Chico State for 2 years
Adnan Khashoggi	Saudi businessman
Sandra Lerner	Co-founder of Cisco Systems	BA Political Science 1975
Michael Messner	Sociologist, Professor at the University of Southern California	BA, 1974; MA, 1976
Tirin Moore	Neuroscientist and Professor at Stanford University / HHMI	BA, 1990
Bob Mulholland	Political strategist
Troy Neiman	Baseball player
Matt Olmstead	Writer and television producer
Kathleen O'Neal Gear	Historian and archaeologist	BA and MA
Maureen O'Toole	Olympic silver medalist
Michael Polenske	Entrepreneur & vintner	Bachelors in Finance [51]
Lubna al Qasimi	Minister for Economy and Planning of the United Arab Emirates	BS in Computer Science
Ed Rollins	Political strategist	BA, 1968
Thom Ross	Artist	degree in fine arts, 1974
Gene Scott	Ordained minister and religious broadcaster	BA and MA
Carolyn Shoemaker	Astronomer
Joshua Singleton	Television installer & video game designer (animated series Close Enough character)
Glynnis Talken	Author	BA
Dale Thayer	Major League Baseball player
Mark Thoma	Economist	BA, 1980
Mike Thompson	Member of the United States Congress
Mark Ulriksen	Painter
Johannes van Overbeek	Race car driver
Patrick Vaughan	Historian
Bill Wattenburg	Radio host, author, inventor
Chris Wondolowski	Forward for Major League Soccer
Don Young	Former member of the United States Congress	BA, 1958

Faculty

Name	Known for	Relationship to Chico
John Gardner	Author	Professor of English
Michael Gillis	Historian	Lecturer in history
Carolivia Herron	Author and scholar	Professor of English
Troy Jollimore	Poet	Professor of Philosophy
Janja Lalich	Sociologist	Professor of Sociology
Carolyn Ringer Lepre	academic administrator	assistant professor of journalism
Harold Lang	Dancer and actor	Professor of dance, 1970–1985
Peveril Meigs	Geographer	Professor of geography, 1929–1942
Nicholas Nagy-Talavera	Historian	Professor of History, 1967–1991
Michael Perelman	Author	Professor of Economics
Sarah M. Pike	Author	Professor of Comparative Religion and Humanities
Jane Wells Shurmer	Women's sports	Professor of Physical Education
Ivan Sviták	Philosopher, Critic, Poet	Professor of Philosophy, 1970–1990

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, 2016–2023
• Stephen Perez, 2023-Present

Notes

1. Other consists of Multiracial Americans & those who prefer to not say.
2. The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.
3. The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.

References

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Further reading

• Dunham, E. Alden. "Colleges of the Forgotten Americans. A Profile of State Colleges and Regional Universities." (McGraw Hill, 1969).

External links

• Official website