Northeastern State University (NSU) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

with its main campus in

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century ...

. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Oklahoma as well as one of the oldest institutions of higher learning west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Tahlequah is home to the capital of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Nation of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and about 25 percent of the students at NSU identify themselves as American Indian.Agnew, Brad. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Northeastern State University

The university has many courses focused on Native American linguistics, and offers

Cherokee language 200px, Number of speakers Cherokee or Tsalagi ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ) is an endangered-to-moribund Iroquoian language and the native language of the Cherokee people. ''Ethnologue'' states that there were 1,520 Cherokee speaker ...

Education as a major. Cherokee can be studied as a

second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a fo ...

, and some classes are taught in Cherokee for

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

speakers as well.

History

On May 7, 1851, the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

founded the Cherokee National Female Seminary at Tahlequah, the same year that it opened a male seminary in its territory. This was after its removal to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

and part of its building institutions to support its future. On March 6, 1909, after statehood, the State Legislature of

passed an act providing for the creation and location of Northeastern State Normal School at

for the training of teachers. For this purpose, it purchased from the Cherokee Tribal Government the building, land, and equipment of the Cherokee Female Seminary. In 1921, the name was changed to Northeastern State Teachers College as it had expanded to a full four-year curriculum. In the 1950s Northeastern emerged as a comprehensive state college, broadening its curriculum at the baccalaureate level to encompass liberal arts subjects and adding a fifth-year program designed to prepare master teachers for elementary and secondary schools. With addition of graduate-degree programs, in 1974, the Oklahoma Legislature authorized changing the name of the institution from Northeastern State College to Northeastern Oklahoma State University; in 1985 it authorized a change in name to Northeastern State University. In 1979, NSU opened its College of Optometry, making it one of 14 schools in the United States to offer a doctorate degree in that field. In the early 21st century, NSU is the fourth-largest university in Oklahoma. On March 6, 2009, NSU celebrated its centennial with Founders Day celebrations.

Presidents

*Albert Sydney Wyly, 1909 *Frank Redd, 1909–1911 *Frank E. Buck, 1911–1912 *W.E. Gill, 1912–1914 *George W. Gable, 1914–1919 *William T. Ford, 1919–1923 *Monroe P. Hammond, 1923–1935 *J.M. Hackler (Acting), 1935–1936 *John Samuel Vaughan, 1936–1951 *Louis H. Bally (Acting), 1951 *Harrell E. Garrison, 1951–1970 *Robert E. Collier, 1970–1977 *Elwin Fite (Acting), 1977–1978 *

W. Roger Webb William Roger Webb was born in Bristow, Oklahoma on April 28, 1941. He was the president of the University of Central Oklahoma, in Edmond, Oklahoma, until 2011 and the president and the chairman of the board of directors of the American Associ ...

, 1978–1997 *Larry B. Williams, 1997–2007 *Kim Cherry (Interim), 2007–2008 *

Don Betz Don Betz is an American retired academic administrator, serving as both the University of Central Oklahoma (2011–2019) and Northeastern State University's presidents (2008–2011). Background and career Before becoming President of Northeastern ...

, 2008–2011 *Martin Tadlock (Interim), 2011 *Steve Turner, 2012–present

Tahlequah Campus

The Tahlequah campus, which spans over , was developed on the grounds of the

Cherokee Female Seminary The Cherokee Female Seminary, (not to be confused with the first Cherokee Female Seminary), was built by the Cherokee Nation in 1889 near Tahlequah, Indian Territory. It replaced their original girls' seminary that had burned down on Easter Sunda ...

. The original building for the seminary is now used as Seminary Hall, an academic building. The campus has numerous classroom, laboratory, residential, and athletic facilities. In recent years the university constructed a $10 million Science Center, funded by a bond issued by the university. NSU offers 69 undergraduate degrees, 18 graduate degrees and 13 pre-professional programs in five colleges (Business & Technology,

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

, Education, Optometry, and Health & Science Professions). The student-to-faculty ratio is 26 to 1, and in the Spring of 2008 the total enrollment for the Tahlequah Campus was 6,216. There is also a distance-learning program, by which students who cannot attend the university due to work or family obligations can complete courses via the Internet or videoconferencing.

Academic buildings

The academic buildings are located throughout the campus. The buildings are: *

Seminary Hall The Cherokee Female Seminary, (not to be confused with the first Cherokee Female Seminary), was built by the Cherokee Nation in 1889 near Tahlequah, Indian Territory. It replaced their original girls' seminary that had burned down on Easter Sunda ...

*The Science Center *The Business and Technology Building (formerly Practical Arts Building) *The Fine Arts Building *The W. Roger Webb Educational Technology Center (formerly NET Lab) *Bagley Hall (Education Building) *John Vaughan Library *The CASE Building (Center for Admissions and Student Enrollment)

Residential buildings

Northeastern has nine residence halls. They are the following: *Haskell Hall (Closed; Repurposed) *Hastings Hall (closed) *

Isabel Cobb Isabel "Belle" Cobb (October 25, 1858 – August 11, 1947) was a Cherokee woman, physician and educator. Cobb is best known for being the first woman physician in Indian Territory. Early life and education Cobb was born near Morgantown, Tennesse ...

Hall *Logan Hall (closed) *North Leoser complex :*North wing :*Northeast wing :*Northwest wing *South Leoser complex :*South wing :*Southeast wing :*Southwest wing *Ross Hall (closed) *Seminary Suites *Wyly Hall

Athletics

The Northeastern State (NSU) athletic teams are called the RiverHawks. The university is a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, headquartered ...

(MIAA) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year; while its men's soccer team competes in the

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvill ...

(GAC). The RiverHawks previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2011–12 school year; in the D-II Lone Star Conference (LSC) from 1997–98 to 2010–11; and in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 1974–75 to 1996–97. NSU competes in 11 intercollegiate sports sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, golf, soccer, softball, spirit squads and tennis.

Accomplishments

In 2003, the men's basketball team won the NCAA Division II National Championship, beating

Kentucky Wesleyan Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

75–64.

Name change

Northeastern State University announced on May 23, 2006, that they would be dropping "Redmen" and selecting a new mascot. The change was made proactively in response to the 2005

NCAA Native American mascot decision In 2005 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) distributed a "self evaluation" to its member institutions for teams to examine the use of potentially offensive imagery with their mascot choice. This examination was done in accordance ...

. The university announced its new athletic name as the RiverHawks on November 14, 2006.

Campus life

Campus organizations

There are several campus organizations such as NAB (Northeastern Activities Board), NSUSF (Northeastern State University Student Foundation), and NSGA (Northeastern Student Government Association) that provide alternate activities, usually free of charge for students to enjoy on campus. The NSGA is the official organization to represent the students of NSU. The purpose of the NSGA is to establish a representative student government and to provide a forum for student's views and ideas for the purpose of promoting and representing the students of NSU. RHA caters to on-campus residents and hosts such annual events as "Welcome Week Luau," Freshman Move-in Day, Mardi Gras, and "Resident Round-up". Northeastern State University also has several fraternities and sororities located on the Tahlequah campus.

Greek life

* Honor Society Rho Theta Sigma est. 1920's

=Fraternities

= ;Interfraternity *

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...

est. 1910 * Phi Lambda Chi est. 1939 *

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

est. 1975 *

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...

est. 1989 * Kappa Sigma est. 1993 * Sigma Tau Gamma Original charter October 5, 1924, Reestablished 11/2018 ;Multicultural *

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

Phi Sigma Nu Phi Sigma Nu () is the oldest and largest Native American fraternity in the United States. It was founded in 1996 in North Carolina. History Phi Sigma Nu is a Native American fraternity founded on February 13, 1996 at the University of North ...

=Sororities

= ;Panhellenic * Delta Zeta 1923, recolonized 1956 * Sigma Sigma Sigma 1929 *

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

1997 ;Multicultural *

Alpha Pi Omega Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc. () is the oldest historically Indigenous national sorority in the United States. It is the largest Indigenous Greek letter organization, with 24 chartered chapters across nine states and the District of Columbia. Hi ...

2006 *

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

, recolonized 2009 ;Christian *

Kappa Phi Kappa Phi () is a national Christian sisterhood, which "focuses on four areas: Service, Worship, Fellowship, and Study." The student organization is interdenominational Christian, although it was formed under the auspices of the United Methodist C ...

Chi Alpha Chi Alpha , (sometimes XA, χα, xa, or SfC - Students for Christ, officially known as Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship), is an international and interdenominational coeducational Christian fellowship, social club, student society, and servic ...

Jazz Lab

Created in 1993, the Jazz Lab building serves as a place where

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians can practice performing and listeners can enjoy live music. In addition to a performance venue, the Jazz Lab is also the site of the jazz program offices and classes. The university offers a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a major in Jazz Studies and has two student jazz ensembles, as well as several different combo groups ranging in style from fusion to

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

to straight ahead. The NSU Jazz Ensemble performs with regional, national, and international guest artists at the Jazz Lab every year. Many famous musicians have performed at the Jazz Lab since its creation, including T.S. Monk, Henry Johnson, Diana Krall,

Mulgrew Miller Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in ...

, Bobby Watson,

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inter ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

, Wynton Marsalis, and

Bobby Shew Bobby Shew (born March 4, 1941) is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. Biography He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet and toured ...

Branch campuses

Muskogee

NSU's Muskogee campus was opened in 1993 as a facility located on . The campus offers upper-level and graduate courses in education, business, general studies, nursing, and industrial management. In 2001 the NSU Muskogee opened the Mike Synar Center in honor of

Mike Synar Michael Lynn Synar (October 17, 1950 – January 9, 1996) was an American Democratic politician who represented Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district in Congress for eight terms. Early life and career Synar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, His ...

, former U.S. Congressman from the 2nd District of Oklahoma from 1979 to 1995. The Mike Synar Center is a facility that is used for offices and classrooms. The center also houses the Master of Business Administration and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for the campus.

Broken Arrow

NSU's Broken Arrow campus was opened in 2002 with a little over 1,000 students. Funding for the campus came from a one-half percent sales tax which was approved by Broken Arrow voters. The first phase of the campus included an administration building, a maintenance facility, and two classroom buildings. In 2004 the campus began a $26 million expansion made possible by Tulsa County's

Vision 2025 Vision 2025 was a series of four propositions to increase Tulsa County's sales tax rate by $0.01 in order to fund capital improvements and provide economic development incentives. Two prior proposals, in 1997 and 2000, were rejected by Tulsa Count ...

, which also funded Tulsa's new

BOK Center The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar even ...

. The expansion doubled the size of the campus and also allowed room for up to another 5,000 students. It also added a library along with science and classroom buildings. Construction was completed in the fall of 2007.

Notable alumni

References

External links

*
Northeastern State athletics website
* {{authority control Public universities and colleges in Oklahoma Educational institutions established in 1851 Education in Cherokee County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Tahlequah, Oklahoma Education in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Education in Tulsa County, Oklahoma Optometry schools in the United States Cherokee language 1909 establishments in Oklahoma 1851 establishments in Indian Territory