3/31/2012:
The results of a student vote to change the name of the North Dakota Agricultural College were announced on this date in 1922. The student newspaper had printed ballots, and an “overwhelming majority” of 437 students chose to unofficially change the name to North Dakota State College. Founded in 1890, the school had been created by legislation passed by Dakota Territory in 1883. The bill called for the establishment of an agricultural school to advance and study the state’s agricultural economy. The first faculty member, Clare Waldron, was a botanist, and for several years, the school catered to agricultural studies. By the 1920s, however, the course offerings had diversified, and the students sought a new name to highlight the change, but the name would not change officially until 1960, becoming North Dakota State University.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
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