For over 120 years, NDSCS has provided responsive educational programs and experiences for thousands of students who, upon graduation, fulfill workforce demands. Today, we continue our mission as a comprehensive college encompassing liberal arts transfer programs, career and technical education, and workforce training.
2022 – The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education hires the 10th President, Rod Flanigan, Ph.D.
2021 – NDSCS Alumni Foundation, along with numerous partners and donors, broke ground for the Career Innovation Center (CIC) in South Fargo. This facility will provide Career and Technical Education and Exposure to Cass County K-12 students and encompass NDSCS-Fargo operations. The CIC will help meet workforce demands for the state and provide robust educational opportunities and pathways for students. NDSCS President Dr. John Richman also retired after nearly 50 years associated with the College.
2020 – NDSCS successfully navigated the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. To minimize the risk and spread of COVID-19, NDSCS shifted all courses to remote delivery following Spring Break through the end of the Spring 2020 semester. The 2020 Commencement Ceremony was postponed to August and shifted outdoors. NDSCS resumed modified in-person courses June 2020 through Spring 2021. Physical modifications were made to 95 classrooms to allow for effective hybrid instruction; procedural modifications, including pass/fail grading and remote work, were implemented to foster students’ success and employee flexibility. Men’s baseball returned to Athletics for the first time since 1963.
2019 – NDSCS added Clay Target and Esports as club competition team options for students.
2018 – The William F. Rothwell Center for Science was dedicated and a $250,000 endowment was established to support NDSCS Science Curriculum.
2017 – In May, NDSCS acquired nearly 95 acres of farmland north of Wahpeton from the Kosel and Patterson families. Owners Linda Patterson and her mother, Mary Kosel, worked with NDSCS Alumni/Foundation and other College staff to arrange the land usage which will be used for an agricultural land lab. In October, the College completed a $13 million water and sewer infrastructure project. As part of the project, a new arch erected at the south entrance of campus, will be an icon for NDSCS for years to come.
2016 – The Hektner Student Center was dedicated in May. Named after long-time instructor and dean, Vernon Hektner, the Hektner Student Center houses the NDSCS bookstore, mail center, student life offices, information technology services, NDSCS police, and the Wildcat Dining Room.
2015 – In August, the extensive $6.7 million renovation of Old Main was completed and old architectural elements were combined with new technology.
2013 – In July, the $9 million renovation of both Forkner and Riley Halls was completed, and in September, the $10.5 million Bisek Hall diesel expansion project was finalized. We also said goodbye to two historical buildings on campus – Hektner and Birch Halls. In November, the $6.7 million renovation of Old Main began. The NDSCS Ambassadors were developed, a new student group that serves as a resource for NDSCS and the Wahpeton community.
2012 – In April, a $10.5 million Bisek Hall diesel building expansion project broke ground, and in May, a $9 million renovation began on Forkner and Riley Halls.
2010 – In July, a $5.7 million renovation of Horton Hall was completed. The building, originally constructed in 1927 for $65,000, is LEED certified.
2009 – Wilbur A. Lunday, an NDSCS alumnus, and his wife Betty, both deceased, donated more than $10 million to the college. NDSCS launched the first Give Kids a Smile Day and, along with several area dentists, provided $11,000 in free dental services to 50 qualifying area children. In January, NDSCS announced the journey worker track program that offers college credit for completed federally-approved apprenticeship training.
2008 – NDSCS and West Fargo Public Schools join together to offer the Early College program, which allows 11th and 12th grade students to take college classes and earn credit toward an associate’s degree while in high school.
2007 – A $1.5 million renovation began on the Earl “Skip” Bute Alumni Stadium and Frank Vertin Field.
2005 – NDSCS expanded the Welding Technology program to NDSCS-Fargo.
2002 – The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education officially recognized NDSCS as a Centennial College.
1997 – NDSCS established the Skills and Technology Training Center (STTC) as a regional workforce training center located in Fargo. 1987 – North Dakota State School of Science changed its name to North Dakota State College of Science, and converted from the quarter system to the semester system in 1992 as part of a North Dakota University System initiative.
1922 – The first trade and technical programs were offered, and since that time, NDSCS has become widely accepted by employers from across the United States.
Since 1922, NDSCS has followed the basic principles of the Babcock Plan and the North Dakota Plan. The original plan of four interacting curriculum divisions was the result of a survey conducted in 1921 by Dean Earl J. Babcock of the School of Mines of the University of North Dakota. In 1922, the North Dakota State College of Science was named the central trade and technical institution for the state of North Dakota. Under the North Dakota Plan, all trade-technical training in the state for many years was centralized in this institution — a method which proved very satisfactory in a state with sparse population and where agriculture continues to be the primary industry.
1905 – The Arts and Science Division was the first division to be organized, and the Business Division began operation shortly after.
1903 – NDSCS was provided for in the Constitution of the State of North Dakota and began actual operation, making it one of the oldest public two-year colleges in the United States.