Northeastern State University

General Information

History

Northeastern State University had its beginning in 1846 when the Cherokee National Council authorized establishment of a National Male Seminary and National Female Seminary to fulfill the stipulation in the treaty of 1835 between the United States and the Cherokee Nation that public and higher education be provided for the Cherokees. Erection of the buildings for the two seminaries began in 1847 and the Cherokee National Male Seminary opened on May 6, 1851. the Cherokee National Female Seminary opened the following day. With the exception of a period between the end of the fall semester 1856 and the beginning of the fall semester 1871, these institutions were in continuous operation until 1909.

On March 6, 1909, the State Legislature of Oklahoma passed an act providing for the creation and location of Northeastern State Normal School at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and for the purchase from the Cherokee tribal government of the building, land, and equipment of the Cherokee Female Seminary. the educational program of the normal school consisted of four years of high school and two years of college level study.

As previously authorized by an act of the Legislature, the State Board of Education, then the governing board of the college, took action in 1919 to change the normal school to Northeastern State teachers College and to provide for a four-year curriculum leading to the bachelor’s degree. In 1939 the Oklahoma Legislature authorized that the name of the institution be changed to Northeastern State College.

A constitutional amendment adopted in 1941 created the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, of which Northeastern State University and all other state-supported institutions of higher education are integral parts. the system is coordinated by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

In the 1950s Northeastern emerged as a comprehensive state college, broadening its curriculum at the baccalaureate level to encompass liberal arts subjects and adding a fifth-year program designed to prepare master teachers for elementary and secondary schools. By the early 1970s the functions of the institution had been broadened to include degree options in the field of teacher education at both the Baccalaureate and Master’s degree levels as well as new programs in liberal arts, business, and selected service areas. the approval of several new certificate and degree programs in non-teaching areas added a significant dimension to the role of Northeastern. In 1974, the Oklahoma Legislature authorized that the name of the institution be changed to Northeastern Oklahoma State University. The Northeastern State University College of Optometry opened in 1979 and made history when its first doctoral graduates received their degree in the spring of 1983.

The official name of the University was changed by act of the Oklahoma Legislature in 1985 to Northeastern State University.