Beginnings of NDSU
More than a century ago, March 8, 1890, to be exact, the first governor of North Dakota signed the bill creating North Dakota State University. Since John Miller's time the university has seen a few things come and go. Such as more than 308 quarters (and about a dozen semesters), More than 800 football games, some 65 homecoming queens, more than a century of Spectrum editors, and some 50,000 diplomas.

Those first professors formed a lean young team: Dr. Horace Stockbridge, president, 33, had gained a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Agricultural College, a master's from Boston University, and a doctorate from the University of Goettingen, Germany. He had served as a chemistry and geology professor at the Japanese Imperial College of Agriculture and Engineering before joining professors of botany/zoology, chemistry, arborculture and veterinary science at NDSU. Stockbridge was oldest of the group.

Beginnings of communication on campus
More directly related to communication, the Spectrum launched its first edition in 1896, with the somewhat cryptic intent of "acquainting the people of our state with what we have been doing along different lines of work." When the publication moved from monthly to weekly its mission was clarified somewhat: "increasing college spirit and patriotism among the students and increasing the interest of North Dakota farmers and tradesmen in experimental work." This may have been the university's earliest public relations course....

But as reflected in the Spectrum,the university's intent was clear: agriculture and applied studies. In fact the old A.C., as North Dakota Agricultural College was then called, was part of the federal Morrill Act's land-grant program designed to create institutions of higher education to serve first the practical needs of area residents. Becoming NDSU in 1960, the university still takes that role seriously, emphasizing the importance of service and commitment to the state.

Today the university has grown into a complex of eight colleges and the School of Education, offering 82 undergraduate majors, 48 master's degree programs, and 21 doctoral programs. At nearly 10,000, enrollment is near a historic high.

Communication study on campus
Communication study opportunities appeared on campus soon after the university's founding. A.G. Arvold arrived in 1907 to offer speech, and a Department of Public Discussion was formed in 1921 as part of the School of Science and Literature. While a mass communication minor had been offered at NDSU since the 1950s, the first extensive program was established by Don Schwartz in 1969. The "professional minor," as it was called, required nearly as many credits as a major, so students effectively double-majored in communication and another field, melding two fields of study into a job-enhancing specialized degree. In the 1970s the mass communication program established majors jointly administered with the colleges of agriculture and home economics. By the end of that decade the professional minor was given major status. The departments of speech and mass communication merged a few years later, while theatre was separated from speech to form a separate department.

The department has grown to be one of the university's largest. Today students may choose from a major or minor in speech communication or mass communication at the undergraduate level, and graduate-level study at both the master's and doctoral levels. All undergraduate majors in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences also are asked to combine their work with at least a minor in another field for a B.S. degree, or two years of foreign language study for a B.A. degree.

New! History and growth of the department's web site (1994-2002).

Top 10 little-known things about NDSU comm study.