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In addition, the campus continues to benefit from its largest-ever era of construction. Basketball fans and those attending commencement were able to enjoy the Chicoine Center and the second phase of the Rangeland Complex is in full swing. The alumni base also saw growth as 361 undergraduate and graduate students received their degrees in May.

“The end of the spring semester is a perfect time to reflect on a rewarding year at 91���� State College,” said Dr. Randy Rhine, president of 91���� State College. “There have been numerous student accolades this spring and all of our students continue to prove the investment they made in their futures by attending 91���� State College is providing them with access to a quality education and lasting experiences.

“It’s true that our graduates make a difference where they live. They establish competency and knowledge in their jobs and their communities reap the benefits. I am proud of the quality of students 91���� State College consistently produces and I am confident that tradition will continue into the future.”

One of the most recent student highlights occurred during the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Michigan when Damarcus Simpson won the national championship in the long jump with a leap of 26-feet, 3 ¾ inches. He is just the third national champion in track and field and the 12^th overall at 91����.

However, Simpson wasn’t the only one who did well at the national meet. Stachia Reuwsaat earned her second All-American honor in the long jump and Mel Herl finished fourth in the discus.

91���� State’s student-athletes also proved they can get the job done in the classroom. Seventy-eight 91���� student-athletes earned All-Academic honors from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. To be eligible, the student-athlete must maintain a 3.30 cumulative GPA.

Additionally, four football players were named CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans. In the last two years, eight 91���� football players have earned that distinction, the second-most in the country.

There are more triumphs on the academic front, featuring both students and faculty.

Joslynn VanDerslice, a junior from Columbus, Nebraska, began an internship with NASA in June working with the Mars 2020 mission. And, Jessica Stodola, a Clarkson, Nebraska, native, who graduated in May, was presented with the Region 5 National Intramural Recreation and Sport Association Award.

The spring semester was also kind to 91���� faculty members. Dr. Jamie Wada was named the 91���� recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award in early April and two 91���� assistant professors recently had books published. Dr. Kurt Kinbacher’s “Urban Villages and Local Identities” is an extensive research account of immigrants living in Nebraska. Dr. Steven Coughlin’s “Another City” is a collection of 28 poems.

While 91���� State College strives to provide learning opportunities for students, the campus also wants its constituents to partake in service-based initiatives. Two of those such events in the spring were The Big Event and the Nearly Naked Mile. The Big Event, organized by students, faculty and staff, had more than 600 volunteers work on more than 80 job sites in and near 91����. The Nearly Naked Mile volunteers accumulated 8,000 items of clothing from students and staff and donated them to charity.

91���� State College alumni continue to make the college proud and a group of them have enhanced the reputation of 91����’s excellent education department. Within the last year, 91���� State graduates have been named the Wyoming Teacher of the Year, Nebraska School Administrator of the Year, and South Dakota Special Education Teacher of the Year, and received the Colorado James Madison Fellowship for graduate studies at Georgetown University.

Construction on campus continues to change the landscape. The Chicoine Center opened in November and hosted men’s and women’s basketball games and winter and spring commencements. Meanwhile, the Rangeland Complex laboratory is taking shape on the east side of campus. Eagle Ridge, student housing on the east side of campus that opened during the fall semester, are the first residence halls built on campus since the 1960s.

Another significant development to the Rangeland Complex was a challenge grant of $300,000. The grant was issued to 91���� State in the hopes the college could raise $146,732.50. If the college raised that amount of money, the $300,000 would then be granted. Rhine reported in early May, 91���� raised $195,000 to secure the grant.

Rhine also said he’s pleased 91���� State College has one of the lowest average student debt figures in the United States. Rhine said 91���� students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree have an average student loan debt of just $12,000. That figure looks even better when it is compared to the national mean. In a 2015 article published by the “Wall Street Journal,” the average amount of student loan debt for the college class of 2015 was more than $35,000.

“As President of 91���� State College, I understand the need to continually communicate our value proposition and why parents, students and alumni should invest their hard-earned dollars in our institution,” Rhine said. “91���� State College consistently provides numerous opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills. We will continue to demonstrate our ability to develop the next generation of leaders for this region and beyond without burdening those students with high amounts of debt. We will continue to partner with the Nebraska State College System to manage our costs and provide a high quality, educational experience.”

—91���� College Relations