The investiture of Chadron State College’s twelfth president, Dr. Ron K. Patterson on April 5 was a major college highlight in 2024. The celebration included original music composed by Music Professor Dr. Michael Stephens that was performed by CSC students, as well as an inaugural poem written and performed by Distinguished Young Alumni Jovan Mays.
Dr. Paul Turman, Chancellor of the Nebraska State College System (NSCS), said Patterson is deeply committed to academic excellence and community engagement and understands the challenges facing colleges by demonstrating an exceptional blend of vision, passion, and dedication.
The day before Patterson’s investiture, dozens of CSC employees, alumni, students, and friends hiked to C-Hill for a photo commemorating the 100th year of the structure. A presentation in Beebe Stadium honored volunteer firefighters and highlighted the history of C-Hill including its survival of a 2006 wildfire.
Academic program highlights included official confirmation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) that the CSC master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling meets the rigorous standards set by the counseling profession.
In related news, the Social Work program received reaffirmed accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSC hosts one of six accredited Social Work programs in the state.
Following two years of advocacy by elected officials and CSC administrators, the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program will be reinstated at CSC. In the program, students train to become officers in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserves.
CSC students and faculty will benefit from a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) funded by Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and awarded to Nebraska State College System from the State of Nebraska for specialized equipment.
The Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education approved the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree to be offered by all three Nebraska State College System campuses. The MAT will allow an individual who holds a bachelor’s degree in a field other than education to complete the requirements for initial teacher certification without pursuing an additional bachelor’s degree to complete certification requirements.
With CSC’s continued emphasis on rural leadership, Rural Business Leadership Initiative (RBLI) and Rural Law Opportunities Program (RLOP) students met with regional business and legal leaders at the Rural Roundtable.
Travel experiences for students included an Art Guild trip to Utah. The students visited the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Spiral Jetty, and architectural and historical sites in Salt Lake City.
Partnerships and collaborations included the announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding with Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM). Dean of CSC’s School of Business, Mathematics, and Science, Dr. Ryan Morgan, worked with ICOM’s Assistant Director of Admissions, Ellie Mathews, to establish several routes for CSC pre-medicine undergraduates.
The NSCS launched a rural tutoring program with teacher education candidates from Chadron, Peru, and Wayne Colleges, tutoring K-12 students in Educational Service Units 1, 4, and 13. Nebraska Success Made Accessible through Rural Tutoring (SMART) is a free, online tutoring program funded by a Nebraska Department of Education grant awarded to the NSCS. Later in the year, the NSCS announced that an expansion of Nebraska SMART will triple the student population it serves.
In an effort to address the teacher shortage crisis in the state, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) announced the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program that seeks to bolster recruitment and training of educators across Nebraska through an apprenticeship model. Several months later, an expansion of the apprentice program was revealed with an additional $6 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. This investment will allow the NDE to distribute more than $2 million this year to eight different colleges, which will be funneled down to apprentices at more than 19 school districts. President Dr. Ron K. Patterson said CSC is honored to partner with the NDE and regional schools like Scottsbluff.
CSC and the Saigon Business School (SBS) signed an affiliation agreement that will benefit students seeking to earn a bachelor’s degree at CSC. Students pursuing a 1+3 degree pathway will complete one year of studies at SBS and then transfer to CSC for three years of study on campus. Students who choose the 2+2 pathway will complete two years of study at SBS and then complete two years at CSC.
President Patterson and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Kimberly Paddock-O’Reilly visited the University of Nebraska’s Medical Center (UNMC)-Omaha campus in November, meeting with UNMC leadership and touring two of the center’s newest facilities. Patterson talked with H. Dele Davies, MD, now UNMC interim chancellor, about the health sciences and health careers in rural Nebraska.
Among student awards and achievements, CSC celebrated a student team’s second-place finish at the Society for Range Management’s (SRM) annual international conference in Sparks, Nevada. Mekenna Fisher of Hershey, Nebraska, won the Extemporaneous Speaking competition.
Governor Jim Pillen appointed Christopher Jennings to serve as the CSC student trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State College System. Jennings will serve the remainder of the 2024-25 academic year following a resignation.
Creighton Harrington of Loup City, Neb., received a prestigious Scott Scholars award at UNMC. The award provides in-state tuition, room, board, and a stipend to fund professional and research opportunities for four years.
Senior Sutton Pohlman of Stanton, Neb., presented a poster about his capstone course research at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) conference in Omaha. Pohlman’s research is about insulin uptake in the system of a person with type II diabetes.
Three student percussionists, Josh Fernau of Chadron, and Cayden Carrasco and Lucas Booe of Sidney, Neb., attended the Percussive Arts Society International Conference in Indianapolis.
Students and volunteers with the Theatre Department performed The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged) at Chadron High School when technical problems with the fire alarm system in Memorial Hall caused a change in location. The cast included Reidun Hammer, a senior from Dubois, Wyo., Olivia Freeze, a senior from Bridgeport, Neb., and Isabella Ashley, a senior from Rapid City, S.D. Chloe Shatswell, a junior from Box Elder, S.D., was the stage manager. CSC alum Halle Smith of Wheatland, Wyo., and junior Riley Perry of Box Elder, S.D., were the driving force behind the production. They partnered as co-producers and directors of the performance, which featured audience participation.
Local high school students, CSC students, faculty, staff, administrators, and regional mental health professionals gathered for a Social Work conference about mental health with an emphasis on recovery. Seniors Emily Beye of Chadron and Sandra Arlt of Scottsbluff, Neb., organized the conference with Assistant Professor Becky Fernau.
Students Riley Billings of Sheridan, Wyo., and Alyssa Springer of Indianola, Neb., were judges at the Nebraska Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) State Leadership Conference in Lincoln.
Alumni awards and accomplishments were highlighted by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz being selected by Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, as her vice-presidential running mate. Walz, in his second term as Minnesota’s Governor, became the first CSC graduate ever elected governor of one of the 50 states in 2018.
Edward Welsh, a 2004 graduate, was a guest speaker at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Welsh, a park ranger at Badlands National Park in western South Dakota since 2012, presented his research about a recently discovered genus of a small, hornless deer.
Shasta Rosales of Laramie, Wyo., was named the Wyoming Education Association’s (WEA) Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year.
Other award winners included Andrea Westlake of Belle Fourche, S.D., who received the Early Career National Award during the Society for Range Management’s 77th Annual Meeting in Sparks, Nevada.
Seth Ryker, Principal of Gothenburg Public Schools, was named the Nebraska High School Principal of the Year. He is a 1994 graduate of Chadron High School and his mother, Kathy, and stepfather, Roger Suhr, live in Chadron.
Carissa Hill received the Frances Thurber Pre-Service Student of the Year award at the Nebraska Art Teachers Association (NATA) Fall Conference in McCook, Nebraska. A May 2024 graduate, Hill teaches grades 6–12 at Southwest Public Schools in Bartley, Neb.
Paul Turman, Chancellor of the Nebraska State College System, appointed Dr. Wendy Waugh as Interim President of Peru State College. Waugh has 33 years of experience in higher education, including five years in administrative leadership. She has a doctorate in Organization and Management, Information Technology Management Specialization from Capella University, and an MBA from Chadron State College. Waugh has Emeritus Faculty status at Chadron State College.
The Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals (NSASSP) selected Chadron High School Principal Jerry Mack as the 2025-26 High School Principal of the Year.
Faculty accomplishments included a scarab beetle being named after Professor Dr. Mathew Brust, who discovered and collected the unusual-looking insect in sand dunes in south-central Wyoming. An avid collector and naturalist, Brust first noticed the beetles, now known as Lichnanthe brusti, on a trip near Rawlins, Wyoming, in 2022.
Assistant Professor Dr. Gabriella Pruitt Santos and three students participated in the International Studies Association Midwest Annual Conference in St. Louis. The students were Ruhama Molla and Wongel Molla of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Kosiso Daniella Akwanamnye of Awka, Nigeria.
Assistant Professor Dr. Khadimul Islam presented two papers at the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention in New Orleans.
During Black History Month, the Chadron State College Art Department hosted a show in Memorial Hall’s Main Gallery featuring the work of the late William Artis who taught at CSC from 1954 to 1965. His 92-year-old niece, Dr. Shirley Jones, has written a short book titled Uncovering Uncle William. Pieces for the exhibit were selected from collections in the Sandoz Center, the Chadron State Foundation, and Memorial Hall.
New appointments included Dr. Kimberly Paddock-O’Reilly, who was named Vice President for Academic Affairs. She replaced Dr. Jim Powell, who retired in June.
Associate Professor Dr. Brittany Helmbrecht, a member of CSC’s faculty since 2015, was named the Interim Dean of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences in August.
Mannie Reinsch, an experienced athletic administrator, was named CSC’s Athletic Director. Reinsch is a Kearney native and graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Nicholas Fisher, JD/MBA, LL.M., was named the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Director for the north panhandle region.