In March 1903 the Nebraska State Legislature appropriated $50,000 to build a normal school in western Nebraska. In September of that same year, after 111 ballots, the State Board of Education accepted the city of Kearney's offer of 20 acres (8.1ha) and Green Terrace Hall at the western edge of the city to become its site. On October 18, 1904, the cornerstone of the first building was laid, while in the summer of 1905 the school offered its first classes in Kearney public facilities. The first classes on campus were held in the fall of 1905 as building was being completed. The first-year class consisted exclusively of women; Men's Hall was later established as the first hall for male students. The major sidewalks on campus were once roads, and the stoplight was located where the water fountain is now.[4] The first president was Augustus O. Thomas.[5]
In 1921 the institution's name changed to Nebraska State Teachers College. In 1963, it became Kearney State College. Both name changes were a part of system-wide changes for the state colleges.[4]
In 1989, a legislative act transferred the institution from the Nebraska State College System to the University of Nebraska system. After a Nebraska Supreme Court review, Kearney State College became the University of Nebraska at Kearney on July 1, 1991. Before its affiliation with the University of Nebraska, Kearney State had often been called "K State", an expression also often used for Kansas State University.[4]
In common with other campuses in the NU system, the university faced financial distress in the early 2020s, necessitating schoolwide job and program cuts. In 2023, university leaders planned to eliminate over 24 faculty positions and nine degree programs to begin to mitigate the university's $4.3 million budgetary shortfall.[6]
Campus
The UNK campus comprises 49 buildings on 514-acre (208ha). Not all buildings are part of the contiguous campus, and many are used for non-academic purposes.
Museums
The Museum of Nebraska Art, founded by the state legislature and located in Kearney since 1986, is administered as a department of the university.[7]
The G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture is a Richardsonian Romanesque mansion on the western edge of campus, formerly the residence of the administrator of the Nebraska State Tubercular Hospital. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture is open to the public, as well as being used for University functions.[7][8]
eCampus
UNK has an eCampus offering online undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as a blended-learning (online and face-to-face) Driver Education endorsement program.[9] UNK was ranked 9th best Public Regional University in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report, and the eCampus was ranked 35th overall among online graduate education programs in the United States in US News' 2017 Online College Rankings.[10]
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