Colorado State College

The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed its name three times, first to Colorado State College of Education, at Greeley on February 16, 1935, Colorado State College on February 11, 1957, and its current form since May 1, 1970. Approximately 10,000 students are enrolled in six colleges. Extended campus locations are in Loveland, Denver/ Aurora, and Colorado Springs.UNC Impact 2014. University of Northern Colorado. UNC's 19 athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Big Sky Conference.

Campus

The campus is divided into two main areas: central and west. UNC's Central Campus includes the areas north of 20th Street and west of 8th Avenue in Greeley, Colorado. The residence halls on Central Campus have been designated a state historic district.

Organization

The board of trustees for the university oversees the administration and approves the university annual budget. Several members of the university's administrative team are ex officio members of the Board.

Presidents

The university has had 13 presidents since its establishment:
* Thomas J. Gray — 1890–1891
* James H. Hayes — (interim) 1891, November 11, 1915 – 1916
* Zachariah Xenophon Snyder — 1891–1915
* John Grant Crabbe — Late summer 1916–1924
* George Willard Frasier — 1924–1947
* William Robert Ross — 1947–1964 (assumed office December 20, 1947)
* Darrell Holmes — 1964–1971
* Frank P. Lakin — 1969, 1971 (interim)
* Richard R. Bond — 1971–1981
* Charles Manning (acting) — 1981
* Robert C. Dickeson — 1981–1991
* Richard Davies (acting) — January 1 – August 29, 1987
* Stephen T. Hulbert (interim) — July 1 – September 30, 1991
* Herman Lujan — 1991–1996
* Howard Skinner (interim) — June 1996 – June 1998
* Hank Brown — July 1998 – June 2002
* Kay Norton — July 2002 – July 2018
* Andy Feinstein - July 2018 – present

College of Performing and Visual Arts

The College of Performing and Visual Arts (PVA) is an arts community of practitioners, scholars, and learners representing a range of arts traditions and disciplines.

UNC has a tradition as an arts institution and its main college offices, located in Guggenheim Hall, are one of the oldest buildings on campus.

Student life

Greek life

Traditional sororities

* Alpha Omicron Pi
* Alpha Sigma Alpha
* Alpha Phi
* Delta Zeta
* Sigma Kappa

Traditional fraternities

* Delta Sigma Phi
* Lambda Chi Alpha
* Pi Kappa Phi
* Pi Kappa Alpha

Multicultural sororities

* Lambda Theta Nu
* Pi Lambda Chi
* Sigma Lambda Gamma
* Lambda Theta Alpha
* Kappa Delta Chi

Multicultural fraternities

* Sigma Lambda Beta
* Nu Alpha Kappa
* Lambda Sigma Upsilon

Athletics

Sports teams at the school are called ''Bears.'' Northern Colorado joined the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2006. The school mascot is Klawz the Bear and the school colors are navy blue and gold. The Fight Song is the "UNC Fight Song". Northern Colorado's Athletic Director is Darren Dunn.

The Bears play their football games at Nottingham Field, while the men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team play at the Bank of Colorado Arena at Butler-Hancock Athletic Center. "Fear The Claw" is the student section slogan. Northern Colorado won its first Big Sky Championship in 2009 when the women's volleyball team beat Portland State to capture the Big Sky Volleyball Championship.

A number of the university's alumni have gone on to have professional sports careers. Vincent Jackson attended and played football at Northern Colorado from 2001 to 2004 before being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 2005 NFL Draft. Other football alumni for the school include punter Dirk Johnson, quarterback Kyle Sloter, safety Reed Doughty, and defensive lineman Aaron Smith.

Before upgrading to NCAA Division I in 2006, UNC was a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference from 1923 to 1972 and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972–76). Following several years of being conference independent, the university joined the North Central Conference. The Bears have won two Division II Football National Championships in 1996 and 1997. On March 9, 2011, the Bears won the Big Sky Conference tournament championship in men's basketball, clinching a trip to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the first in the school's history. The Northern Colorado men's baseball program also ranks among the top 15 schools for most all-time NCAA College World Series appearances, tied with the University of Oklahoma at ten appearances apiece. The Northern Colorado women's softball team appeared in the first eleven Women's College World Series ever held in 1969–1979, advancing to but losing the title game in 1974.

Mascots

The bear became UNC's mascot in 1923. Before the school adopted the bear, athletes used the nickname "the Teachers." The bear was said to be inspired by a bear on top of an Alaskan totem pole donated by an 1897 alumnus in 1914. The totem pole was kept in the University Center, but under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, the pole was reclaimed by the Tlingit in 2003.

Klawz is the mascot that attends all university sporting events. Klawz is the newest addition to the long line of Bears' mascots over the years at the university. Klawz made his first appearance in Nottingham Field on August 30, 2003, before the UNC football team opened their season against New Mexico Highlands.

Notable alumni

* William D. Alexander, filmmaker, winner of 1964 Cannes short film Palme d'Or for "The Village of Hope"
* Glen Alps, printmaker, coiner of term collagraph
* Bob Bacon, former Colorado State Senator
* Gregg Brandon, college football coach of Colorado School of Mines
* Dominic Breazeale, boxer
* Pat Burris, two-time Olympian judoka, Pan American Games bronze medalist
* Jack Cassinetto, plein air painter
* Sa'ra Charismata, singer/songwriter (real name is Sara Haile)
* Earnest Collins Jr., football player and head coach for UNC
* Walt Conley, folk singer, musician and actor,
* Kimberly Corban, victims' rights advocate
* Margaret L. Curry, state parole officer
* Steven Dietz, playwright
* Reed Doughty, football safety for Washington Redskins
* Ben Dreith, AFL and NFL referee
* Rhonda Fields, member of Colorado State House of Representatives
* Bill Frisell, jazz guitarist
* Justin Gaethje, professional mixed martial arts, currently competing in the UFC
* Greg Germann, actor from '' Ally McBeal and Dr. Tom Koracick on Grey's Anatomy''
* Margaret Hayes Grazier, librarian, educator, and author
* Pat Haggerty, NFL referee
* Vincent Jackson, football player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
* Virgil Jester, baseball pitcher for Milwaukee Braves
* Dirk Johnson, NFL punter
* Dave Keller, baseball minor league player and coach
* Bill Kenney, quarterback for Kansas City Chiefs and politician
* Maryanne Kusaka, politician
* Carlotta Walls LaNier, member of Little Rock Nine
* Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, President and Founder of SMWW
* Mike Madden, former baseball pitcher for Houston Astros
* Beth Malone, Tony Award-nominated actress
*Karyl McBride, psychotherapist and author
* James A. Michener, author
* Steven Moore, literary critic and ''Washington Post'' book reviewer
* Carol Mutter, Marine Corps Lieutenant General
* Rory Ogle, member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
* Andrew Perchlik, member of the Vermont Senate
* Amanda Peterson, famous actress, appeared in Can’t Buy Me Love.
* Mary Peltola, member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska
* Lisa Poppaw, former Fort Collins city council member
* Sayyid Qutb, author and leading Islamist of 20th Century
* Jeannie Ritter, former First Lady of Colorado
* Jed Roberts, former CFL linebacker, defensive lineman, Edmonton Eskimos
* Mary G. Ross, first Native American female engineer
* Neal Rubin, '' The Detroit News'' columnist and author of comic strip Gil Thorp
* Frankie Saenz, (attended) wrestler; professional Mixed Martial Artist, UFC Bantamweight
* David N. Senty, Air Force Major General
* Kyle Sloter, NFL quarterback
* Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, Captain of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 that successfully landed in Hudson River in 2009; has a master in Public Administration from UNC
* Aaron Smith, football defensive end for Pittsburgh Steelers
* Loren Snyder, football quarterback for Dallas Cowboys
* Dave Stalls, football defensive end for Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Raiders and Denver Gold
* Tom Tancredo, R-CO, member of United States House of Representatives, presidential candidate
* Herve Tonye-Tonye, Canadian Football League linebacker, Toronto Argonauts
* Frank Wainright, former football tight end for New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens
* Tyler Ward, musician and producer
* Wellington Webb, former Mayor of Denver
* Bill Welsh, radio and television announcer
* Ed Werder, reporter for ESPN
* Connie Willis, science-fiction author
* Claire Wilson, member of Washington State Senate
* Kenneth W. Winters, member of Kentucky State Senate
* Neyla Pekarek, vocalist and instrumentalist for the band The Lumineers

Notes

References

Further reading

* Albert Frank Carter – "Forty years of Colorado State Teachers College, formerly the State Normal School of Colorado, 1890–1930"
* Larson, Robert W; Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press, (1989). ''Shaping educational change: the first century of the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley''. .
* Kurt Hinkle – "Northern Light: The Complete History of the University of Northern Colorado Football Program." (1998).

External links

*

Northern Colorado athletics website

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Education in Weld County, Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
Public universities and colleges in Colorado
Schools in Weld County, Colorado
Educational institutions established in 1889
1889 establishments in Colorado
Tourist attractions in Weld County, Colorado
Education in Aurora, Colorado