Valley City State University (VCSU) 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 ...

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

. It is part of the

North Dakota University System The North Dakota University System (NDUS) is the public system of higher education and policy coordination entity in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The system includes all public institutions in the state including two research universities, four ...

. Founded in 1890 as Valley City State Normal School, a two-year teachers' college, it was authorized to confer bachelor's degrees in 1921 and changed its name to Valley City State Teachers College. With an expansion in programs outside teacher education after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it became Valley City State College in 1963. In 1986, it was renamed State University of North Dakota-Valley City and a year later received its current name. VCSU offers over 80 undergraduate programs and an online Master of Education degree program. In 2015, VCSU graduated 302 students, the largest class in its 125-year history. Since 1996, VCSU has been a "laptop" campus by issuing laptop computers to full-time students. The cost of the laptops are part of the university's technology fee which also covers other

educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

enhancements such as campus-wide wireless network access and smart classrooms. VCSU is listed as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Athletics

The Valley City State athletic teams are called the Vikings. The university is a member 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), primarily competing as a member of the

North Star Athletic Association The North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that began play in the 2013–14 school year. The conference currently has eight full member ...

(NSAA) as a founding member since the 2013–14 academic year. The Vikings previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2011–12 to 2012–13; and in these defunct conferences: the

Dakota Athletic Conference The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As the name implies, member teams were located in the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. T ...

(DAC) from 2000–01 to 2010–11; and the

North Dakota College Athletic Conference The North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) was a collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–00 academic school year when it merged with the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to form the Dakota Athletic ...

(NDCAC) from 1922–23 to 1999–2000. Valley City State competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, softball, track & field and volleyball.

Notable alumni

Paul Fjelde Paul Fjelde (August 12, 1892 – May 3, 1984) was a noted American sculptor and educator. Background Paul Fjelde was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the son of Jacob Fjelde, who was a well-known sculptor in Norway when he emigrated to ...

, noted sculptor and professor *

Todd Hoffner Todd Hoffner (born June 17, 1966) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at the Minnesota State University, Mankato, a position he held from 2008 to 2011 and resumed in 2014. Hoffner was the ...

, head football coach at

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

Thomas Kleppe Thomas Savig Kleppe (July 1, 1919 – March 2, 2007) was an American politician who served as the Representative from North Dakota. He was also the Administrator of the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Early l ...

(1919–2007), former U.S. Representative from North Dakota and

U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

* Carleton Opgaard, noted educator * James D. Ployhar, noted composer and music educator *

Earl Pomeroy Earl Ralph Pomeroy III (born September 2, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party. He currently serves as Senior Counsel for ...

, U.S. Representative from North Dakota *

Gary Tharaldson Gary Tharaldson (born 1945) is an American entrepreneur and founder of the Tharaldson Companies. As of 2019, Tharaldson is the wealthiest individual in North Dakota, and the state's only billionaire. Gary Tharaldson was born in and grew up in Da ...

, founder of the Tharaldson Companies *

Jason Perkins Jason Andre Perkins (born September 20, 1992) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Personal life Perkins is the youngest of three siblings. ...

, basketball player

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 46, 55, 08, N, 98, 00, 10, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-ND Public universities and colleges in North Dakota Educational institutions established in 1889 Buildings and structures in Barnes County, North Dakota Education in Barnes County, North Dakota 1889 establishments in Dakota Territory