Lewis-Clark State College is a public college in Lewiston, Idaho, United States. It was founded in 1893 and has an approximate annual enrollment of 3,600. The college offers more than 130 degrees.

History

left|thumb|Lewis State Normal School c. 1904

In 1893, Governor William J. McConnell signed an act on January 27 authorizing the establishment of the Lewiston State Normal School in Lewiston, "provided the mayor and common council of that city on or before May 1, 1893, donate ten acres, within the city limits and known as part of the city park, and authorizing the said mayor and council to convey to the trustees of said normal school the said tract of land," etc.

The first Trustees on the school's Board were James W. Reid (who had done the most to shepherd the authorization bill through the Idaho Legislature), Norman B. Willey (who had just stepped down as Idaho governor), Benjamin Wilson (a previous gubernatorial candidate), J. Morris Howe, and C. W. Schaff. Reid was elected President of the Board, a position he held until his death in 1902.

Lewiston residents lost no time in obtaining the required space for the school. However, the legislature acted slowly in providing construction funds, and then construction lagged. George E. Knepper

thumb|left|Administration building, ca. 1910

In keeping with the normal school philosophy, Lewiston Normal focused on practical, hands-on training for new teachers. That meant the school provided a great deal of “manual training”—what is now called vocational education. Also, to insure that teachers truly knew how to handle a classroom, the school ran an on-campus training school. In it, real teachers taught real pupils, and student teachers also learned-by-doing under the supervision of experienced teacher-critics.

Until the 1920s, one-room schools served well over half of Idaho's primary students. In most, only the teacher knew anything at all about running a school. Thus, “teachers assumed responsibility for shaping a district's entire educational policy.” later determined to be arson by a student. Now with the ability to grant a Bachelor of Education degree, school leaders took it upon themselves to use the name Northern Idaho College of Education (NICE), and the legislature approved the name change in 1947.

left|thumb|Talkington Hall

The school got another temporary reprieve from the cost-cutters when a deluge of veterans funded by the G.I. Bill hit the campus after the war. However, that wave passed, and in 1951 budget hawks succeeded in closing the school, as well as its counterpart, the Southern Idaho College of Education (SICE), which had previously been called Albion State Normal School, in Albion in southern Idaho. The state's other colleges had assured legislators that they could supply all the teachers needed. That promise proved disastrously wrong: In just three years, the state found itself issuing nearly 40% more provisional teaching certificates than it had in 1951. as a two-year school under the administration of the University of Idaho, north in Moscow. The first dean of the school was appointed for the third year in 1957, and enrollment was 319 in the fall of 1961. The arrangement with the university proved difficult and it ended abruptly in 1963 when the affiliation seemed like it might damage the university's academic accreditation.

The ongoing need for teachers, a developing shortage of nurses, and a new push for vocational education from the federal government combined to rescue the school from oblivion. The state legislature voted to elevate it to four-year status in 1963 but did not approve funding until two years later. Enrollment of the now-independent, four-year school grew, from 465 in 1964 to 1,033 in the fall of 1968. It continued to grow and in July 1971 the name was officially changed to Lewis-Clark State College, and was the last normal school in the country to make the change.

Athletics

left|thumb|Historic Harris Field at Lewis-Clark State College

The Lewis-Clark State athletic teams are called the Warriors and Lady Warriors. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) since autumn 2020<!-- the 2020–21 academic year-->. The Warriors and Lady Warriors previously competed in the Frontier Conference from 1998<!--1998–99--> to&nbsp;2000<!--2019–20-->.

thumb|Logo of LC State Warrior athletics

LC State competes in twelve intercollegiate varsity sports: men's sports are baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. The school colors are navy blue, white, and red. earlier nicknames include "Pioneers" in the 1930s, "Loggers" was adopted through a contest in October 1938, and continued until the 1951 closure.

Baseball

Absent for a decade (1952–1961), baseball returned as an intercollegiate sport in 1962. Since 1984, the team has won nineteen<!-- 19 thru 2017--> NAIA national championships; sixteen were under head coach Ed Cheff, who retired after 34 years in 2010. LC State has hosted the NAIA World Series at Harris Field since 2000, and also from 1984 through 1991.

Other fields

  • Kim Barnes (born 1958), author
  • Ed Cheff (1943–2022), college baseball coach
  • Bryan Fuller (born 1969), television writer and producer
  • Alex Mallari (born 1987), basketball player
  • George Pfeifer (born 1955), basketball coach
  • Aprilynne Pike (born 1980), New York Times best-selling author of young adult fiction
  • Victor Rojas (born 1968), baseball executive and former Los Angeles Angels play-by-play announcer
  • Jacob Wiley (born 1994), basketball player
  • Sam Atkin (born 1993), Track & Field, Olympian, World Championship Qualifier, Professional Runner (Puma Running)

Student Life

{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"

|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023

|-

! Race and ethnicity

! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total

|-

| White

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|-

| Hispanic

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| Two or more races

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|-

| Unknown

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|-

| American Indian/Alaska Native

|align=right|

|-

| International student

|align=right|

|-

| Asian

|align=right|

|-

| Black

|align=right|

|-

! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity

|-

| Low-income

|align=right|

|-

| Affluent

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|}

Notes

References

  • Official athletics website