Black Hills State University history

By the end of the first term in July 1884, some 40 students were in attendance.

In August 1885, Fayette L. Cook, Superintendent of Schools for Olmstead County, Minnesota, was hired to be principal (later president) of what was now known as Spearfish Normal.

After thirty-four years of service, Professor Cook retired in 1919 having created a stable and successful institution for teacher training for the citizens of South Dakota.

By 1922, State Normal began to offer four-year degrees.

By 1924, the school was authorized to adopt a four-year curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science in Education degree.

In 1941, the college was renamed Black Hills Teachers College, reflecting its mission and curriculum.

Doctor Russell E. Jonas succeeded President Woodburn in 1942 as president of Black Hills Teachers College.

In 1953 Black Hills State Teachers College began offering graduate courses in education.

Also in 1961, BHTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Air Force to offer classes at nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City.

On July 1, 1964, in recognition of the broadening educational opportunities offered by the college, the legislature officially changed the name to Black Hills State College.

BHSU had its first enrollment of 2,000 students for the 1968–69 academic year; this was partially due to draft evasion by men during the Vietnam War.

In 1970, Richard Gibb of the South Dakota higher education commission proposed that BHSU be changed from a four-year college and into a junior college under a larger university system to be established in Rapid City; he also proposed that the secondary teachers' masters program be scrapped.