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The Senior Model Debating Society was formed by members of the Senior Model School in January 1898. The purpose of the Senior Model Debating Society was the mutual improvement of its members through debate. Some of the debates were, "Women are more successful as teachers than men," "The habit of tardiness at school is more injurous to the character of a student than that of absence," and, "Manufacturing is more beneficial to a country than agriculture." The last record of the society is from March 23, 1900.

The SCSU Survey began in 1980 by faculty member Steve Frank. He conducted surveys in conjunction with the Political Science classes he was teaching. The center grew and included other St. Cloud State faculty. The primary mission of SCSU Survey is to serve the academic community and various clients through its commitment to high quality survey research and to provide education and experientl opportunities to researchers and students.

The center conducts statewide surveys that focus on issues such as election races, currents events, and other important topics. It also conducts a yearly survey of St. Cloud State students as well as contract with entities outside of the university.

Marvin C. Schumann was born on May 19, 1906 in Rice, Minnesota. He was raised in a family of eight on a rural farm. His father was a German immigrant, who came to the United States at age seven. After the completion of eighth grade, Marvin attended the School of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota. In 1944, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board of county commissioners where he served for ten years. Then in 1954, he decided to file for the office of Minnesota State Representative to which he was elected and served seven terms. He served in the Minnesota House from 1955 to 1962 for District 45, 1963 to 1966 for District 27, and 1967 to 1968 for District 51B. In 1939, he married Mildred E. Nelson, from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. They had three children: Julie Fay, Nancy Louise, and Ivan Charles.

Don Samuelson was born on August 23, 1932 in Brainerd, Minnesota. He attended the Brainerd High School and became a bricklayer. Mr. Samuelson served as the DFL Crow Wing County Chairman from 1962 to 1968, when he ran for State Representative. He has since been re-elected every term to serve in District 13A. Other positions have included the Vice-President for the Minnesota AFL-CIO for four years, Bricklayers Union, Elks Club Member, and St. Joseph Hospital Director. He has served on the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committee in the State House.

Retired SCSU faculty member

Communication Studies faculty member

Established in 1968.

“The purpose of the Society shall be to gather from all relevant fields of study, and to disseminate among its members, current knowledge of rhetoric, broadly construed; to identify new areas within the subject of rhetoric in which research is especially needed, and to stimulate such research; to encourage experimentation in the teaching of rhetoric; to facilitate professional cooperation among its members; to organize meetings at which members may exchange findings and ideas; and to sponsor the publication of newsletters and reports concerning all aspects of rhetoric.” Article IV, Constitution Rhetoric Society of America

Retired Vice President for Administrative Affairs

Born on April 12, 1921 in New Jersey, Marcella Powers passed away on March 10, 1985 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of 63. Marcella was survived by children Emily Pigeon and Alexander Pigeon. A son, Michael Edward Amrine, passed away in a 1971 Paris car accident.

St. Cloud State president from 2007 to 2016. He died in car crash in June 2016.

The Alpha Omicron chapter of the honorary business education fraternity Pi Omega Pi was established at St. Cloud State University on December 19, 1939. The chapter has been inactive since 1993. [See the records of the Center for Student Organizations and Leadership Development. Pi Omega Pi]

The SCSU Photo Club was a student social organization active from sometime in the 1970s into the 1990s. The organization's purpose was to further interest in photography among the students, faculty and alumni of the University. In addition, the organization provided educational opportunities to improve and support the photographic abilities of its members.

The Philomathian Society was an organization for young men whose purpose was the promotion of good fellowship, to develop individual thinking and expression, and to encourage debate and discussion. The first record of the society is January 1915 and the last record is May 20, 1921.

St. Cloud State's Phi Kappa Phi honorary fraternity was established on April 29, 1974. The chapter became inactive sometime after 1999. It was the first chapter established in Minnesota.

Phi Kappa Phi is a national scholastic honor society which recognizes academic achievement in all scholastic disciplines. Juniors, seniors, and graduate students are eligible to join on the basis of academic standing and character. Faculty who have outstanding accomplishments are also invited to join.

The Epsilon Theta Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa was established at St. Cloud State in February 1961. Phi Delta Kappa is an international professional honorary society to support teachers and school leaders in the teaching profession. The chapter was, per se, not a student organization but for teachers already employed in the profession in central Minnesota. It is unknown whether or not the chapter is still active.

Another chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, Beta Mu, existed before the Epsilon Theta chapter. The earliest mention of this chapter was in the January 13, 1953 issue of the Chronicle.

Hjalmar Petersen, former Minnesta governor, Minnesota lieutenant-governor, Minnesota state Representative, Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner, and Publisher, was born in Denmark, January 2, 1890. The family came to Chicago in 1891, then moved to Tyler, Minnesota. There at the age of 14, Hjalmar started his career in the newspaper and publishing business. He was employed in several places, including: Milwaukee and Wisconsin (where he was married in August 1914). That same year the Petersens moved to Askov, Minnesota, and that September Hjalmar started publishing his own newspaper, the Askov American, which he was to own and publish for the next fifty years.

Five children were born to the Petersens, four dying in infancy. His first wife died in 1930, just a few months before he was elected Minnesota state representative for the 56th district. He was re-elected in 1932. On June 28, 1934, Hjalmar married Medora B. Grandprey at Owatonna. They had one daughter. In 1934 he was elected lieutenant-governor, and at the death of Governor Floyd B. 0lson in 1936, Hjalmar Petersen became the 23rd governor of the state of Minnesota.

As chairman of the House Tax Committee in 1933, he was instrumental in drawing up Minnesota’s first income tax law, the funds dedicated to education. While serving as governor, he called a special session to enact the unemployment insurance law. In 1938 Hjalmar Petersen was elected to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission where he served until 1943. He was elected again to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission on the DFL ticket in 1954 and 1960. His term ended in 1966 and he then retired from public life.

He and Mrs. Petersen were returning from a vacation trip when he was stricken with a heart attack and died at the home of friends in Columbus, Ohio on March 29, 1968, at the age of 78. Surviving him were his wife, two daughters, and five grandchildren.

1942 St. Cloud State graduate

James Pehler was born on February 23, 1942 and is a graduate of St. Cloud State College (B.S. and M.A.). He was elected to the Minnesota State Legislature from 1973-1990. He served as a Representative from District 17B from 1973-1980 and served as Senator for District 17 from 1981-1990. Pehler also served on the faculty at St. Cloud State University as coordinator of television services. Although concerned with all areas of legislature, he was part of various committees concerned with: crime prevention and corrections, city government, education, labor-management relations, and taxes. He lived in the St. Cloud, Minnesota, area.

Alvin Patton was born September 18, 1937 in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. He attended the Northwest Technical Institute and served in the U.S. Army. Patton is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Union Party. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 17A in 1972 and served until 1980. Patton served on various committees: Environmental/Natural Resources, Committee for Higher Education, and was Vice-chairman of the Governmental Operations.

Max Partch was a biology faculty member at St. Cloud State from 1949 to 1979 where he taught classes in biology and ecology.

Partch was born to Reverend and Mrs. L.C. Partch on November 26, 1916 in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. He was one of five children.

Partch graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1939 with a bachelor of arts degree. After World War II, where he served in the Panama Canal Zone, Partch began his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. In 1949, Partch was awarded a Ph.D. in ecology and moved to St. Cloud to teach at the then St. Cloud State Teachers College.

While at St. Cloud State, Partch was widely known for his research studying the population and vegetation changes at the great blue heron preserve near Cold Spring, Minnesota, just west of St. Cloud. Partch also purchased and donated 80 acres of land, known as Partch Woods, to the Nature Conservatory.

Partch retired in 1979 and would later settle in Payson, Arizona. He passed away on October 1, 2003 in Payson.

On February 14, 1947, Partch married Betty Mitchell. They had four children.

Retired SCSU faculty member

Nuance was a student produced publication that was published in 1953 and 1954. In the notes from the editor in the first issue, it stated that "we hope to to establish a place for the publication of student writing that is free from censorship of convention."

According to an article from the Minneapolis Tribune, July 24, 1954, further publication of Nuance was suspended due to a story that was published in the May 1954 issue. Entitled "Said Driver to Rider," the story caused a furor around the state of Minnesota, due to its depiction of "racial prejudice" and use of "obscene language." Minnesota governor Elmer Anderson denounced the story, calling it "repulsive."

The purpose of the Normal Athletic Club was to train its members, who were men, in athletics such as tennis, baseball, football, and rugby. The earliest record of the club is September 1890 and the last record is from an April 1897 issue of the Normalia regardarding selecting players for a new baseball team.

Gladys Tirrell Nelson was born on March 2, 1917. Nelson, who hailed from Melrose, Minnesota, graduated from St. Cloud State in 1940. Before World War II, she taught in the Menahga and Crookston school systems in Minnesota. After training as a physical therapist, Nelson was commissioned into the Medical Corps for the duration of the war. She returned to St. Cloud State in 1961 to teach biology and work with children through special education. Nelson left St. Cloud State in the early 1980s.

She married dentist Norman B. Nelson in 1948 and had a son and two daughters. Her husband Norman passed away on November 26, 1995, while Gladys passed away on June 5, 2003. Both are buried at the North Star Cemetery in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Bruce Gerald Nelsen was born on March 22, 1935 near Hutchinson, Minnesota. He was raised in the area on a dairy farm. After graduation from high school at Hutchinson, Nelsen studied agriculture at the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland. After serving in the U.S. Army from August 1954 to August 1956, Nelsen returned to Minnesota and attended the Staples Area Vocational School, where he studied machine shop. He was then employed by the 3M Company from 1967 to 1968.

In 1968, Nelsen became a machine shop instructor at the Staples Area Vocational School. After becoming a Minnesota state Representative, he served as the North Campus Supervisor, when the legislature was not in session.

Nelsen was elected to the Minnestoa state House of Representatives in 1974, 1978, 1980. He served as the Assistant Minority Leader of the Independent Republican House Caucus. The committees he has served on include: Agriculture, Appropriations, Rules and Legislative Administration, and Transportation. He was a Minnesota Representative to the Midwest Council of State Governments. In July 1980, he began a three year term on the Minnesota State Advisory Council for Vocational Education.

During his years as a State Representative, Nelsen paid special attention to the importance of education in Minnesota. During his last two terms, he felt that the state’s weakening economy was a major issue and worked for decreased spending and was for a balanced national budget.

In February 1982, Nelsen announced his intention to not seek reelection this year. His decision was based on a desire to spend more time with his family in Staples. He was then employed at McCourtney Plastics in Staples, Minnesota.

He and his wife Beverly have five children and reside in Staples, Minnesota.

Though Music existed before 1963, this history only covers the period between 1963 and 2010.

Below are listed the chairs by academic year.

1963/64-1965/66: Harvey Waugh

1966/67: Not Available

1967/68-1969/70: Roger Barrett

1970/71-1978/79: David Ernest

1979/80-1983/84: Kenton Frohrip

1984/85: James Flom

1985/86: Shirley Schrader, acting

1986/87-1993/94: Kenton Frohrip

1994/95-1995/96: Marcelyn Smale

1996/97-1999/2000: Bruce Wood

2000/01: Margaret Schmidt

2001/02-2002/03: Bruce Wood

2002/03-2006/07: Mark Springer

2007/08-2009/10: Terry Vermillion

Henry Z. and Elizabeth Mitchell came to St. Cloud in 1857. They had eight children including: William B., Mary (Burbank), James S., Jennie (Walton), and Charles.

William B and his wife Emily had nine children: Caroline (Bacon), Mildred (Smith), Eleanor, Leslie (Poirier), Jane (Herbert), Frederick (died as an infant), Henry, Ruth, and Dorothy (Anderson).

The Minnesota Chair in Real Estate was originally established in 1981, serving as the only four-year real estate program offered at a public university within Minnesota at its inception. Its creation was sponsored and funded by a variety of benefactors, including the Minnesota Department of Commerce, St. Cloud State University, and private donations from prominent businessmen throughout the St. Cloud area and greater Minnesota. The Minnesota Chair in Real Estate program offered enrolled students the opportunity to acquire a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate, a Master of Business Administration degree, and also enabled its students to work directly with various private businesses and governmental agencies as part of its Real Estate Research Center initiative. The program has had four heads over the course of its existence, including George Karvel (1981-1996), Steven Mooney (1996-2019), Kelly Jameson (2020-2022), and Seongsu David Kim (July 2023-present).

The David Frank Grether Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair was an annual event hosted by St. Cloud State University. Middle and high school students from an assortment of central Minnesotan schools presented demonstrations and papers pertaining to a scientific study of their choice. This event originated in 1951 (under the name of “The Science Congress”) and was sponsored by today’s Minnesota Academy of Science. The competition was originally envisioned as a program to help jump-start the professional careers of high school students with an interest in science, especially with the Cold War raging and the launch of the Sputnik satellite had firmly gripped public.

Over time, the program expanded in size and scope, incorporating projects from junior high school students in grades 6-8, in addition to offering prizes and scholarships for projects deemed exceptional by a panel of judges. The last event of this kind was held in 2019 and discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the fair’s former sponsor, the Minnesota Academy of Science, continues to host similar programs at the regional and statewide level to this day, such as the annual Minnesota State Science Fair held annually in St. Paul.

David Frank Grether was a former faculty member in the Department of Biology at St. Cloud State University. Throughout his time at the university, he served as one of the key organizers of the Central Minnesota Regional Science Fair, which was renamed in his honor to mark the event’s fiftieth anniversary.

Melvin J. Miller was born May 19, 1919. He served in the United States Army Air force from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. In 1950, Miller married his wife Anne and in 1953, they moved from North Dakota to Minnesota. The Millers had six sons and seven daughters. Melvin Miller was active in various committees: Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Knights of Columbus, and Farmers Union. Miller was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1972 to 1974. He was elected to serve a second term, from 1974 to 1976. At age 55, only days after election to his second term, Miller died from a heart attack on November 15, 1974.

Emeritus SCSU faculty member.

After its move to Eastman Hall in the summer of 2019, Student Health Services changed its name to Medical Clinic.