# California State University, Chico

California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. It is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had a total enrollment of 16,630 students. The university offers 126 bachelor's degree programs, 35 master's degree programs, and four types of teaching credentials. Chico is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).

## History

On March 12, 1887, a legislative act was enacted to create the Northern Branch of the California State Normal School. Less than a month later, Chico was chosen as the location. In 1887, General John Bidwell donated 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land from his cherry orchard. On July 4, 1888, the first cornerstone was laid. On September 3, 1889, doors opened for the 90 enrolled students. The library opened on January 11, 1890, with 350 books. On June 20, 1891, the first graduation took place, a class of 15.
In 1910, Annie Kennedy Bidwell donated an additional 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land to be used for work with elementary agriculture. The next year Mrs. Bidwell donated an orange orchard lot 55 × 440 feet (130 m) as the children's playground, which is connected to the Training School. Twenty years later in 1921, legislation was enacted to change the school's name to Chico State Teacher's College. In 1922, Chico State Teacher's College added a junior college curriculum and awarded a certificate after two years. Also in 1922, Bidwell Mansion was turned into a women's dormitory. In 1923 the first college paper, The Collegian, was published. In 1924, the state Board of Education allowed the school to grant baccalaureate degrees. Also in 1924, the wildcat was chosen as the mascot. In 1927 a gym was built on the grounds of Bidwell Mansion. In 1929, the cornerstone for the new administration building was laid on top of Normal Building's original cornerstone.
In 1935, Bidwell Hall was turned into a recreation and student center—the first student union. Also in 1935 a legislative act changed the college name from Chico State Teachers College to Chico State College. In 1937 evening classes started on campus and athletic fields were purchased from the Chico Board of Education.
In 1948, dorms for 500 male students were set up on west side of Warner Street. The buildings were built during World War II and were used as bachelor quarters for a Marine Hospital in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
In 1950, California's governor allowed state colleges to grant Master of Arts degrees. In 1951 the college reorganized from 18 departments into seven divisions with chairmen. Then in 1956 a new flagpost and sign in front of Kendall Hall was donated by the class of 1956. In the following year, 1957, a new cafeteria was built and the rose gardens were planted. In 1958 the first "telecourse" was taught, Psychology 51.
In 1972, Chico State College became California State University, Chico.
In 1975, broadcasts of classes through closed-circuit television were used for the first time by residents in Oroville, Marysville and Colusa. Also in 1975, The Orion, the campus student newspaper, published its first issue. In 1977, the other campus paper, The Wildcat, changed its name to Chico News and Review and moved off campus to become an independent publication. In 1978 bike riding was restricted on campus.
In 1987, Chico State was ranked as the top party school in the nation by Playboy.
CSU Chico opened its first sub-campus in Redding, affiliated with Shasta College, in 2007.
In 2005, student Matt Carrington was hazed to death at the Chi Tau (local) house, which had previously been expelled from the university in 2001 due to violations. Carrington died as a result of water intoxication during a hazing session involving the victim being forced to exercise and drink large quantities of water.
In 2010, the President of the Associated Student body, Joseph Igbineweka, was stabbed in a racially motivated attack.
In 2011, CSU, Chico received a Civic Learning Initiative Grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to extend its efforts to establish civic engagement as a key component of students' academic success.

## Academics

The university has more than 75 departments and offers more than 150 undergraduate degrees. It is organized into seven colleges and four schools:
* College of Agriculture
* College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
** School of Social Work
* College of Business
* College of Communication & Education
** School of Education
* College of Engineering, Computer Science, & Construction Management
* College of Humanities & Fine Arts
** School of the Arts
* College of Natural Sciences
** School of Nursing
The university's library, the Meriam Library, has several special collections of Native American and Californian history.

### Rankings

2023 USNWR Graduate School Rankings :
| Program | Ranking |
| Fine Arts | 110 |
| Social Work | 172 |
| Speech–Language Pathology | 173 |
| Public Affairs | 214 |
According to the U.S. News & World Report 2023 college rankings, Chico State was ranked at 13th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied 10 in Top Public Schools, 22 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, 70 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs teeing 12 in Civil Engineering and 206 in Nursing.
According to the U.S. News & World Report 2022 college rankings, Chico State was ranked tied at 17th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied 18 in Top Public Schools, tied 24 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, tied 75 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and tied for 251 in Nursing.
According to the U.S. News & World Report 2021 college rankings, Chico State was ranked tied for 9th among 66 western regional public universities, tied at 16th for "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied at 22nd for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", tied at 41st for "Social Mobility", and tied for 26th overall among 127 regional universities in the western United States. Lastly it tied at 91 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Program at a schools where doctorate not offered.
Chico State was ranked 204th out of 500 colleges, universities, and service academies in the U.S. Chico State was ranked 46th in the West and 94th among all public universities. In 2019, Forbes ranked Chico State 73rd on its "America's Best Value Colleges" list.

## Campus

The California State University, Chico campus consists of a 119-acre main campus, the 800-acre Paul L. Byrne Memorial University Farm, and 2,330-acres of ecological reserves. These reserves include the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) and the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve (BCEP).

### Early construction

The construction of the normal school building was begun in September 1887. It was a large brick building, consisting of three stories and full basement. It was of Romanesque design with Elizabethan gables and artificial stone trimmings. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1927. The current administration building Kendall Hall was built on the site of the normal school in 1929.
Colusa Hall, completed in 1921 is the oldest building on campus. Today it is used as a conference and public events facility.
Alfred E. Warren House, built by noted Californian architect Julia Morgan in 1922-23, serves as the university president's residence.

### Arboretum

The Campus Arboretum is located along Big Chico Creek.
Nearby Bidwell Park includes 29 acres (12 ha) of a former arboretum, now run somewhat wild, which contains trees such as English oaks, hawthorn, cherry plum, bay laurel, cork oak, ponderosa, aleppo, and Monterey pines, willow, mulberry, linden, maple, catalpa, pine, and eucalyptus, collected from around the world.

### Residence halls

Currently, the university can accommodate 2,150 or approximately 13% of the student body in seven on-campus residential halls. Most buildings on campus are named after California counties.

### Meriam library

In 1959, Chico State College Library was built. The library was expanded and renamed to the "Learning Activities Resource Center" (LARC) in 1975. It was in 1985 when the library gained another expansion and its current name, Meriam Library. A fourth floor of the library was constructed in 1985.

## Student life
### Associated Students, Chico

Associated Students, Chico is the student government at California State University, Chico.

### Office of Student Life and Leadership

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023 :
| Race and ethnicity | Total | Total |
| White | 67.9% | 67.9 |
| Hispanic | 19.2% | 19.2 |
| Two or more races | 10.1% | 10.1 |
| Asian | 5% | 5 |
| Black | 2.1% | 2.1 |
| American Indian/Alaskan Native | 0.8% | 0.8 |
| Pacific Islander | 0.5% | 0.5 |
| Economic diversity |||
| Low-income | 42% | 42 |
| Affluent | 58% | 58 |
Student Life and Leadership, formally the Student Activities Office, incorporates four programs: Student Organizations and Leadership Education (SOLE), Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (FSA), Rec Sports, and the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (CCLC).

### Town Hall Meeting

Chico State has an annual event where Chico State students gather in a public area and discuss most current policy issues with their peers. Faculty members are also involved.

### The Great Debate

The Great Debate was created to drive members of both the campus and the community to take part in a conversation about important issues. A different topic is chosen every semester.

### Greek life

As of May 2017 Chico State has 26 fraternities and sororities, making up approximately 12 percent of the student population.

### Demographics

Fall First-Time Freshmen Statistics :
| | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Applicants | 22,910 | 22,137 | 19,990 | 19,999 | 25,908 |
| Admits | 20,864 | 20,324 | 17,056 | 18,034 | 18,740 |
| Admit rate | 91.07% | 91.81% | 85.32% | 90.17% | 72.33% |
| Enrolled | 2,171 | 2,021 | 1,926 | 2,316 | 2,561 |
| Yield Rate | 10.41% | 9.94% | 11.29% | 12.84% | 13.67% |
| Average GPA | 3.40 | 3.42 | 3.37 | 3.34 | 3.41 |
Male to Female Percentage: 44:56%
CSU Chico along with CSU Bakersfield has the second largest enrollment percentage of Native Americans in the Cal State system.

### Student media

KCSC Radio was founded in 1951. The university's student-run weekly newspaper, The Orion first began publishing in 1975. In 1989, The Orion won the National Pacemaker Award, the first of nine times the paper has won the top prize in college journalism. In 2009, The Orion won the National Pacemaker Award for the 11th time at the College Media Convention.
In 1997 Wild Oak Music Group, an independent record company, was founded and is run by the Music Industry students within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

## Athletics

The university's athletic teams are known as the Chico State Wildcats. The school sponsors soccer, basketball, golf, cross country, and track and field for both men and women. The school sponsors softball and volleyball for women, and baseball for men. The school's athletic director is Anita Barker. The school competes in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Since 1998, Chico State's athletic teams have won 99 NCAA Championship berths, 40 CCAA titles, 24 West Region titles, and 15 NCAA national titles. The Wildcats softball team won the first AIAW Division III national championship in 1980, led by pitcher Kathy Arendsen. Chico excels in cross country and track and field in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
The Wildcats of Chico State earned six team NCAA championships at the Division II level. NCAA Division II individual championships by Scott Bauhs (2008) Men's cross country and J. J. Jakovac (2002, 2004) and Kyle Souza (2011) Men's Golf Championships.
* Men's Team (6)
** Baseball (2): 1997, 1999
** Golf (1): 1966
** Swimming and diving (3): 1973, 1974, 1976

## Sustainability

Chico State made The Princeton Review's 2011 "Guide to Green Colleges", honoring campuses that "demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities, and career preparation."

## Noted people
### Notable alumni

| Name | Known for | Relationship to Chico |
| Annette Abbott Adams | First female Assistant Attorney General of the United States | |
| Nelson Briles | Former Major League Baseball player | |
| Donald J. Butz | United States Air Force major general | |
| John Canzano | Sports Writer | BA in English, 1995 |
| Richard Campbell | Musician | |
| Don Carlsen | Former NFL referee retired 2012 | |
| Doug Chapman | Actor | BA, 1994 |
| Rocky Chávez | served in the California State Assembly | BA in English, 1973 |
| Raymond Carver | Author | |
| Clay Dalrymple | Former Major League Baseball player | |
| Mark Davis | Owner Las Vegas Raiders | |
| Amanda Detmer | Actress | |
| Big Poppa E | Professional slam poet | Attended 1994–2000 (Journalism) |
| Clair Engle | United States Senator | BA, 1930 |
| Horace Dove-Edwin | Olympian | MA in exercise science, 1999 |
| Joddie Gleason | College basketball coach | |
| Megan Gormley | Director, Events and Corporate Merchandise, Western Golf Association | |
| Ken Grossman | Co-founder Sierra Nevada Brewing Company | |
| Brandon Harkins | Professional golfer | |
| Joseph Hilbe | Statistician and philosopher | BA in Philosophy |
| Dominik Jakubek | Goalkeeper for Major League Soccer | BA Liberal Studies 2009 |
| Troy Johnson | Food critic, TV judge of Food Network shows | BA Speech Communications and Poetry 1997 |
| Mat Kearney | Columbia recording artist | Attended Chico State for 2 years |
| Adnan Khashoggi | Saudi businessman | |
| Sandra Lerner | Co-founder of Cisco Systems | BA Political Science 1975 |
| Michael Messner | Sociologist, Professor at the University of Southern California | BA, 1974; MA, 1976 |
| Tirin Moore | Neuroscientist and Professor at Stanford University / HHMI | BA, 1990 |
| Bob Mulholland | Political strategist | |
| Troy Neiman | Baseball player | |
| Matt Olmstead | Writer and television producer | |
| Kathleen O'Neal Gear | Historian and archaeologist | BA and MA |
| Maureen O'Toole | Olympic silver medalist | |
| Michael Polenske | Entrepreneur & vintner | Bachelors in Finance |
| Lubna al Qasimi | Minister for Economy and Planning of the United Arab Emirates | BS in Computer Science |
| Ed Rollins | Political strategist | BA, 1968 |
| Thom Ross | Artist | degree in fine arts, 1974 |
| Gene Scott | Ordained minister and religious broadcaster | BA and MA |
| Carolyn Shoemaker | Astronomer | |
| Joshua Singleton | Television installer & video game designer (animated series Close Enough character) | |
| Glynnis Talken | Author | BA |
| Dale Thayer | Major League Baseball player | |
| Mark Thoma | Economist | BA, 1980 |
| Mike Thompson | Member of the United States Congress | |
| Mark Ulriksen | Painter | |
| Johannes van Overbeek | Race car driver | |
| Patrick Vaughan | Historian | |
| Tamilee Webb | Actress and fitness pioneer | BA, MA 1996 |
| Bill Wattenburg | Radio host, author, inventor | |
| Chris Wondolowski | Forward for Major League Soccer | |
| Don Young | Former member of the United States Congress | BA, 1958 |

### Faculty

| Name | Known for | Relationship to Chico |
| John Gardner | Author | Professor of English |
| Michael Gillis | Historian | Lecturer in history |
| Carolivia Herron | Author and scholar | Professor of English |
| Troy Jollimore | Poet | Professor of Philosophy |
| Janja Lalich | Sociologist | Professor of Sociology |
| Carolyn Ringer Lepre | academic administrator | assistant professor of journalism |
| Harold Lang | Dancer and actor | Professor of dance, 1970–1985 |
| Peveril Meigs | Geographer | Professor of geography, 1929–1942 |
| Nicholas Nagy-Talavera | Historian | Professor of History, 1967–1991 |
| Michael Perelman | Author | Professor of Economics |
| Sarah M. Pike | Author | Professor of Comparative Religion and Humanities |
| Valene L. Smith | Tourism studies | Professor of Anthropology, 1967–1998 |
| Jane Wells Shurmer | Women's sports | Professor of Physical Education |
| Ivan Sviták | Philosopher, Critic, Poet | Professor of Philosophy, 1970–1990 |

## University presidents

* Edward Timothy Pierce, 1889–1893
* Robert F. Pennell, 1893–1897
* Carleton M. Ritter, 1897–1899
* Charles C. Van Liew, 1899–1910
* Allison Ware, 1910–1917
* Elmer Isaiah Miller, 1910, 1917–1918
* Charles Osenbaugh, 1918–1930
* Clarence Knight Studley, 1930–1931
* Rudolph D. Lindquist, 1931
* Aymer Jay Hamilton, 1931–1950
* George Glenn Kendall, 1950–1966
* Robert Eugene Hill, 1966–1970
* Lew Dwight Oliver, 1970–1971
* Stanford Cazier, 1971–1979
* Robert L. Fredenburg, 1979–1980
* Robin Wilson, 1980–1993
* Manuel A. Esteban, 1993–2003
* Scott McNall, 2003–2004
* Paul Zingg, 2004–2016
* Gayle E. Hutchinson, 2016–2023
* Stephen Perez, 2023–present