| St. Cloud State University | |
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| Motto: | A Tradition of Excellence and Opportunity |
| Established: | 1869 |
| Type: | Public |
| President: | Dr. Earl H. Potter III |
| Faculty: | 730 |
| Undergraduates: | 15,614 |
| Postgraduates: | 1,559 |
| Location: | St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Colors: | Cardinal red and black |
| Mascot: | Blizzard the Husky |
| Website: | www.stcloudstate.edu |
St. Cloud State University is a four year university and part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, located in St. Cloud, Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River. Currently, there are close to 20,000 students enrolled, making it the 2nd largest university in Minnesota. St.Cloud State University is located in St.Cloud, Minnesota, with a metropolitan area of 200,000 people.
The university was created as a Normal school, then developed college level programs for teachers. It has since grown and now awards bachelors degrees in over 60 programs, including anthropology, aviation, biology, business, chemistry, computer engineering, computer science, criminal justice, education, electrical engineering, film studies, mathematics, music, physics, social science, and theatre.[1] It also awards Masters degrees in over 40 programs, including music, electrical engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering, and applied statistics[3]. The university, along with Minnesota State University-Mankato, will be the first Minnesota state university to offer PhD programs[citation needed].
The university currently sponsors 17 Division II teams and is a member of the North Central Conference. St. Cloud State's hockey team also competes in Division I for ice hockey as a member of the WCHA division. Their mascot is the Husky.
The school operates a radio station, KVSC 88.1 FM. Students also publish a newspaper, the University Chronicle. Students also run a television station known as UTVS, which recently won first place for best student news and productions from the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as honorable mention at a New York competition in 2004.
The University maintains an overseas facility at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England, and offers numerous other study-abroad program locations around the world.
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In the 1986-7 season, Herb Brooks, the 1980 USA men's Olympic hockey coach, became the coach of the Huskies and helped SCSU hockey team achieve Division I status. He also helped lead efforts to build the National Hockey Center. A small street near the National Hockey Center was named for Brooks shortly after his death.[citation needed]
In 1988, minor riots erupted over two days at the university during their homecoming week. According the university's communications director, students were throwing empty beer cans into the Sousaphones as the band marched along the parade route. Police, state patrol and neighboring law enforcement officers used tear gas to deal with a crowd estimated at 1,500, many of them students. There were 50 arrests. As a result, the university canceled homecoming parades. Several minor injuries were reported, and furniture and cars were burned. Subsequently, homecoming week was scheduled later in the year in the hope that the cold would reduce the risk of drunken misbehavior.[2][3] As a result, the city of St. Cloud instituted an ordinance requiring residents to obtain a permit to possess a beer keg.[4]
SCSU was mentioned in an episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. Penn and Teller used the school as an example of the prevalence of unnecessary political correctness and diversity in the American college system.[5]
In December 2002, two black professors mailed a series of letters to Twin Cities high schools and churches describing St. Cloud as a "community with a long and sordid record of racism" and advising minority students to not attend the university. One of the authors was a former professor who had previously sued the university for racial discrimination, harassment and reprisal when he was not given tenure. A federal court ruling noted the plaintiff had signed a contract agreeing to complete his PhD and that the university had extended his employment five years and provided two paid leaves of absence in support of that goal. The lawsuit was dismissed.[6] The same individual has written numerous articles in a Minneapolis black weekly paper, referring to St. Cloud as "White Cloud".[7] The newspaper claims he retired from SCSU but court documents indicate he was "actually terminated from his faculty position and offered a staff position, which was created especially for him."
In February 2002, a report issued by a regional office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found that faculty and staff they interviewed at St. Cloud State University believe that systemic sexism, racism, and antiSemitism exist at St. Cloud, and that the university is a difficult place for anyone who has a perspective outside of "mainstream white, Christian thinking." The regional EEOC report concluded that the university "suffers from a severe lack of credibility with regard to diversity issues."[8]
The University's Affirmative Action Officer, a black woman, replied by describing the EEOC comments as "an unwarranted attack on her office". She also questioned "the diversity of the witnesses interviewed for the report." "At no time has the AAO evaded the task of ensuring equal employment opportunity." [9]
In late 2007, St. Cloud State was one of a list of U.S. colleges where vandals drew swastikas on campus property. The symbols were found in toilet stalls in the student center and a residence hall bathroom mirror and white board. The university issued a series of "safety alerts" and described the vandalism in terms ranging from "hate crime" to "bias-motivated property damage". [10] A black freshman posted an internet video with the comment "The media has a tendency of blowing things out of proportion and saying things that aren't true and omitting things that are true, so keep that in your mind... St. Cloud State is a nice place."[11]
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| Universities of the MnSCU System | ||
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| Bemidji State • Metro State • MSU Mankato • MSU Moorhead • Southwest Minnesota State • St. Cloud State • Winona State | ||
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