Login
Login

Lewis–Clark State College

{{Short description|Public college in Lewiston, Idaho, US}}

{{About|the public college in Idaho|the private college in Oregon|Lewis & Clark College|the public community college in Illinois|Lewis and Clark Community College}}

{{Infobox university

| name = Lewis-Clark State College

| image = Lewis-Clark State College seal.svg

| image_size = 170

| established = {{Start date and age|1893}}

| type = Public college

| accreditation = NWCCU

| academic_affiliations = Space-grant

| parent = Idaho State Board of Education{{cite web|url=https://boardofed.idaho.gov/higher-education-public/institutions-roles-and-missions/|title=Institution Roles and Misson}}

| president = Cynthia Pemberton

| city = Lewiston

| state = Idaho

| country = United States

| coor = {{coord|46.411|N|117.026|W|type:edu_region:US-ID|display=inline,title}}

| enrollment = 3,706 (Fall 2023){{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Lewis&s=all&id=142328|title=Lewis Clark State Collegr}}

| campus = Small city{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Lewis+clark&s=all&id=142328|title=IPEDS-Lewis-Clark State College}}

| campus_size = {{cvt|46|acre|km2}}

| former_names = Lewis-Clark Normal School (1955–1971)
Northern Idaho College of Education (1947–1951)
North Idaho Teachers College (1943–1947)
Lewiston State Normal School (1893–1943)

| sporting_affiliations = NAIA – CCC

| sports_nickname = Warriors

| colors = Navy, white, and red{{cite news|url=http://www.lcsc.edu/Athletics/info/gen_info.htm|publisher=Lewis-Clark State Athletics|title=Quick facts|access-date=December 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909050933/http://www.lcsc.edu/Athletics/info/gen_info.htm|archive-date=September 9, 2013|url-status=dead}}
{{color box|#003865}} {{color box|white}} {{color box|#e10000}}

| website = {{url|www.lcsc.edu}}

| logo = LC State logo.png

| logo_size = 200

| free_label = Other campuses

| free = Coeur d'Alene

| free_label2 = Newspaper

| free2 = The Pathfinder

}}

Lewis-Clark State College is a public college in Lewiston, Idaho, United States. It was founded {{Time ago|1893}} in 1893 and has an approximate annual enrollment of 3,600. The college offers more than 130 degrees.

History

File:1904 with flag.jpg

In 1893, Governor William J. McConnell signed an act on January 27 authorizing the establishment of the Lewiston State Normal School in Lewiston,James H. Hawley, History of Idaho: The Gem of the Mountains, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago (1920). "provided the mayor and common council of that city on or before May 1, 1893, donate ten acres, within the city limits and known as part of the city park, and authorizing the said mayor and council to convey to the trustees of said normal school the said tract of land," etc.

The first Trustees on the school's Board were James W. Reid (who had done the most to shepherd the authorization bill through the Idaho Legislature), Norman B. Willey (who had just stepped down as Idaho governor), Benjamin Wilson (a previous gubernatorial candidate), J. Morris Howe, and C. W. Schaff. Reid was elected President of the Board,Keith C. Petersen, Educating in the American West: One Hundred Years at Lewis–Clark State College, 1893–1993, © Lewis–Clark State College, Confluence Press, Lewiston, Idaho (1993). a position he held until his death in 1902.

Lewiston residents lost no time in obtaining the required space for the school. However, the legislature acted slowly in providing construction funds, and then construction lagged. George E. Knepper had been hired as first President of the Normal School. Frustrated by the delays in getting his building, Knepper leased space in downtown Lewiston and opened for classes on January 6, 1896. The building itself was not ready until May. Over the next several years, more structures were added to the campus, including dormitories and a gymnasium.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ZVfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LDEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4966,1993498|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Great celebration greeted opening of normal school|date=August 13, 1961|page=9-centennial}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=73hfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ry8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1543,2318786|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Lewiston Normal is pioneer teacher college of Idaho|date=May 3, 1936|page=3-sec.3 }}

File:Lewis State Normal School, circa 1910 - Lewiston, Idaho (33086444765).jpg

In keeping with the normal school philosophy, Lewiston Normal focused on practical, hands-on training for new teachers. That meant the school provided a great deal of “manual training”—what is now called vocational education. Also, to insure that teachers truly knew how to handle a classroom, the school ran an on-campus training school. In it, real teachers taught real pupils, and student teachers also learned-by-doing under the supervision of experienced teacher-critics.

Until the 1920s, one-room schools served well over half of Idaho's primary students. In most, only the teacher knew anything at all about running a school. Thus, “teachers assumed responsibility for shaping a district's entire educational policy.”

The First World War certainly impacted the nation's normal schools, but not as much as it did conventional institutions. Generally, male students were in the majority at regular colleges, many of which experienced brutal enrollment losses. Normal schools attracted a predominantly female student body, so the declines were much smaller—about 15% at Lewiston Normal.

File:LC State Clock Tower.jpg

The school experienced a painful crisis on December 5, 1917, when the Administration Building suffered severe damage in a fire,

{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zM9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_jIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4488%2C5397885|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Normal school is burned|date=December 6, 1917|page=5}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1c9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_jIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2324,6370216|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Adjust loss at $84,005|date=December 15, 1917|page=9}} later determined to be arson by a student. Its cupola collapsed into the gutted interior of the main structure and the older east wing was totally destroyed.

Lewiston Normal continued to grow, as the demand for pre-college teachers increased. However, by the late 1920s, the "normal school" idea was being supplanted by a "teachers college" approach. Such colleges still focused on teacher education, but now students could earn a bachelor's degree—more and more often required for certification. Recognizing this trend, school supporters began a campaign to change Lewiston Normal's status. They also began the process of upgrading the faculty—inciting much ill will.

Supporters also fought an ongoing battle just to keep the school open; some legislators still wanted to close the Normals to save money. The advent of World War II squelched that notion. Not only did the school continue to turn out desperately needed teachers, it also expanded its nurse-training program, and produced large numbers of fliers in its Navy Air School. In 1943, the Board of Education raised the school to full four-year status and became North Idaho Teachers College (NITC).{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cbJeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wS8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1488%2C3919632 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=35 CAA cadets reach Lewiston |date=September 4, 1943 |page=10}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uS1mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zC8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1459%2C4710527|work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Church, Owens may do passing for Loggers |date=September 4, 1946 |page=8}} Now with the ability to grant a Bachelor of Education degree, school leaders took it upon themselves to use the name Northern Idaho College of Education (NICE), and the legislature approved the name change in 1947.{{Cite web |url=http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/IdahoCC.htm |title=Index of Colleges and Universities that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names |work=College History Garden |access-date=2013-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303113653/http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/IdahoCC.htm |archive-date=2015-03-03 |url-status=dead }}

File:Talkington Hall.jpg

The school got another temporary reprieve from the cost-cutters when a deluge of veterans funded by the G.I. Bill hit the campus after the war. However, that wave passed, and in 1951 budget hawks succeeded in closing the school, as well as its counterpart, the Southern Idaho College of Education (SICE), which had previously been called Albion State Normal School, in Albion in southern Idaho.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9I9fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0jAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1432,3165569|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=College closure today marks end of historic era|date=August 10, 1951|page=10 }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3-RXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5_YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2642%2C2476280 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |title=Another fight on 2 schools found likely |date=October 9, 1956 |page=3 }} The state's other colleges had assured legislators that they could supply all the teachers needed. That promise proved disastrously wrong: In just three years, the state found itself issuing nearly 40% more provisional teaching certificates than it had in 1951.

Under that pressure, the legislature re-opened the school as Lewis-Clark Normal School in 1955{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FbdeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1038,834464|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=At least 100 pupils expected at Lewis–Clark Normal School|date=August 10, 1955|page=5 }} as a two-year school under the administration of the University of Idaho, {{convert|30|mi|round=5|spell=in}} north in Moscow.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ypspAAAAIBAJ&sjid=buYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4878%2C665871 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |title=Normal course action awaited|date=June 2, 1955 |page=7 }} The first dean of the school was appointed for the third year in 1957,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fMReAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xjEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1054,3536588|newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=Full-time administrator named for Lewis–Clark Normal School|date=July 31, 1957|page=14}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ctVYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3266,157149 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review|title=Idaho school dean is named|date=August 1, 1957|page=6}} and enrollment was 319 in the fall of 1961.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gLpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4451,796701 |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=162 enroll at college |date=Feb 6, 1962 |page=9}} The arrangement with the university proved difficult and it ended abruptly in 1963 when the affiliation seemed like it might damage the university's academic accreditation.

The ongoing need for teachers, a developing shortage of nurses, and a new push for vocational education from the federal government combined to rescue the school from oblivion. The state legislature voted to elevate it to four-year status in 1963 but did not approve funding until two years later.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hI9YAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F_gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5936,4761063 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |title=Lewis-Clark college gets 4-year status |agency=Associated Press |date=March 19, 1965 |page=6}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GK9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YC8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5315,2931756 |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune |last=Hall |first=Bill |title=Can Lewis-Clark find security and strength in legislature? |date=August 18, 1967 |page=2}} Enrollment of the now-independent, four-year school grew, from 465 in 1964 to 1,033 in the fall of 1968.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hI9YAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F_gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5936,4761063 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |last=Swank |first=Gladys Rae |title=Lewis-Clark college in 75th year |date=November 30, 1968 |page=5}} It continued to grow and in July 1971 the name was officially changed to Lewis-Clark State College,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eoBfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5519,6396044 |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune|title=College name change takes effect|date=June 30, 1971 |page=2}} and was the last normal school in the country to make the change.

In April 2025 the Idaho State Board of Education approved a request to rebrand the school as Lewis-Clark State University to better reflect the institution’s offerings, which extend beyond two-year degrees. {{Cite web |last=Lutz |first=Marc |date=2025-04-18 |title=Lewis-Clark State College seeks university status |url=https://idahobusinessreview.com/2025/04/18/lewis-clark-state-college-university-name-change/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |language=en-US}}

Athletics

File:Harris Field at LC State.jpg

The Lewis-Clark State athletic teams are called the Warriors and Lady Warriors. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) since autumn 2020. The Warriors and Lady Warriors previously competed in the Frontier Conference from 1998 to 2000.

File:Lewis-clark-st bgd from NCAA.svg

LC State competes in twelve intercollegiate varsity sports: men's sports are baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. The school colors are navy blue, white, and red. The nickname "Warriors" was adopted after the school reopened in 1955;{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ycJeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qDEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1202%2C598694|work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Junior college group invites Lewis-Clark |date=May 6, 1956 |page=11}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mcpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1871%2C3190083|work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=LCNS starting assignments puzzle coach |date=November 27, 1956 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rMpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1118%2C5498863 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Crusaders beat freshman in overtime |date=December 16, 1956 |page=10}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jIJfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2404%2C857421 |title=LCNS Warriors meet frosh today |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune |date=May 6, 1958 |page=8}} earlier nicknames include "Pioneers" in the 1930s,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9lgzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FPUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6439%2C1039100m |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |title=Lewiston Normal wins |date=October 19, 1936 |page=6}} "Loggers" was adopted through a contest in October 1938,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZaxfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1727%2C522050 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Lewiston Normal meets Cheney Savages in tussle under lights at Bengal Field tonight |date=October 7, 1938 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZqxfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1537%2C607413 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Lewiston Loggers battle Cheney Savages to torrid 13-13 tie under lights at Bengal Field|date=October 8, 1938 |page=10}} and continued until the 1951 closure.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-MZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JTIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1736%2C3033976 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Loggers meet Nampa quintet tonight at 8 |date=February 11, 1941 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l3lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=euUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6074%2C1784155 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |title=NICE Loggers to meet SICE |date=November 20, 1948 |page=10}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DLZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UDAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4260%2C327518 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Loggers return from 4-game road journey |date=March 5, 1951 |page=2}}

=Baseball=

Absent for a decade (1952–1961),{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JrZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UDAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2549%2C2508336 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Loggers split final home games |date=May 31, 1951 |page=10}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KbZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UDAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3071%2C2735855 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Loggers sweep Eastern series, compile best modern day record |date=June 3, 1951 |page=8}} baseball returned as an intercollegiate sport in 1962.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3LBeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=py8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5754%2C2115675 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=LCN plans baseball nine next spring |date=December 13, 1961 |page=13}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kLpeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5079%2C3057955 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=LCN baseball schedule set |date=Feb 22, 1962 |page=12}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gcZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3077%2C1973610 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=20 Warriors answer call for baseball |date=March 13, 1962 |page=8}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k8ZeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LDIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4986%2C5031674 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |title=Warriors bow to CBC frosh |date=March 31, 1962 |page=8}} Since 1984, the team has won nineteen NAIA national championships;{{cite web |url=http://www.naia.org/fls/27900/1NAIA/SportsInfo/Championships/BSB_Championship.pdf?SPSID=640701&SPID=96228&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=27900|title=Baseball championship history |year=2012|page=1}} sixteen were under head coach Ed Cheff, who retired after 34 years in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205292479|publisher=NAIA.org|title=Legendary Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Ed Cheff to retire |date=June 30, 2010}} LC State has hosted the NAIA World Series at Harris Field since 2000, and also from 1984 through 1991.

Notable alumni

=Baseball players=

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

:{{small|Source:}}{{cite web |url=https://lcwarriors.com/sports/2016/7/5/bsb-warriors-selected-in-the-draft.aspx?id=102 |title=Warriors in the Pros: Warriors Selected in the Draft |website=lcwarriors.com}}{{cite web |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/college_history/20096/report/ |title=Lewis-Clark State College: Alumni Report |website=thebaseballcube.com}}

=Other fields=

Student Life

class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"

|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023{{cite web |title= College Scorecard: Lewis-Clark State College|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?142328-Lewis-Clark-State-College|website=College Scorecard |publisher=United States Department of Education |access-date=June 20, 2025 }}

Race and ethnicity

! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total

White

|align=right| {{bartable|76|%|2

background:cyan}}
Hispanic

|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2

background:green}}
Two or more races

|align=right| {{bartable|5|%|2

background:violet}}
Unknown

|align=right| {{bartable|3|%|2

background:grey}}
American Indian/Alaska Native

|align=right| {{bartable|2|%|2

background:yellow}}
International student

|align=right| {{bartable|2|%|2

background:#008080}}
Asian

|align=right| {{bartable|1|%|2

background:orange}}
Black

|align=right| {{bartable|1|%|2

background:purple}}
colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity
Low-income{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.}}

|align=right| {{bartable|38|%|2

background:red}}
Affluent{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.}}

|align=right| {{bartable|62|%|2

background:black}}

Notes

{{noteslist}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons cat}}

  • {{official website}}
  • [https://lcwarriors.com Official athletics website]

{{Public colleges and universities in Idaho}}

{{Idaho Sports}}

{{Cascade Collegiate Conference navbox}}

{{Authority control}}

{{portal bar|Idaho}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis-Clark State College}}

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1893

Category:Frontier Conference

Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Category:Buildings and structures in Nez Perce County, Idaho

Category:Education in Nez Perce County, Idaho

Category:Tourist attractions in Nez Perce County, Idaho

Category:1893 establishments in Idaho

Category:Public universities and colleges in Idaho