CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY

'Chicago State University' (CSU) is a state university in Chicago, Illinois. Its student body is largely African-American.

Contents

History

Sports

Jacoby Dickens Center

Library

Notable alumni

Honorary Degrees

Notable faculty

References

External links

History

The university was founded in 1867 and became permanently established in its original location as the 'Cook County Normal School' in 1870. In 1897, the school was renamed 'Chicago Normal School', which became the 'Chicago Normal College' in 1913. The school changed its name once again and became known as the 'Chicago Teachers College'. In 1965, the state of Illinois acquired the institution and once again received a name change, this time as 'Illinois Teachers College: Chicago South' (the Chicago South portion was soon dropped). In 1967, the institution became known as 'Chicago State College' and, finally, gained university status and its current name in 1971.

Sports

The school's sports teams are called the Cougars and team colors are green and white. CSU participates in the NCAA's Division I. From 1994 until June 2006, CSU was a member of the Mid-Continent Conference, but withdrew and took independent status at that time.

Jacoby Dickens Center

The 'Jacoby D. Dickens Center' (JDC) is home of the Chicago State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The building was built in 1971 and was formerly known as the CSU Athletics Building until 1995, when it was dedicated to renowned Chicago businessman Jacoby D. Dickens.
Inside the Jacoby D. Dickens Center is a 2,500-seat gymnasium, three swimming pools, a fitness center, eight locker rooms, three classrooms, a dance studio, an auxiliary and a multipurpose gymnasium. In addition, the building is home to CSU’s athletic department and also home of the university’s Health and Physical Education Department.

Library

The University's library, dedicated in October 2006, features a state of the art robotic retrieval system, which currently holds most of the library's material that was produced before 1991. The system is called ROVER (Retrieval Online Via Electronic Robot) and can retrieve five books in 2.5 minutes, on average; the average time for a student to retrieve five books is 2 hours. The system has a capacity of 800,000 volumes and its database is backed up in at least two offsite locations.^[1]

Notable alumni

★ Kanye West (briefly attended), rapper and record producer

★ Dr. Andrew Kern, socially consience lyricist, socialite, and adult movie producer

★ Edward Gardner, founder, Soft Sheen Products

★ Dr. Margaret Burroughs, noted author

★ Juba Kalamka, Black LGBT activist, emcee, curator and record producer

★ David Blackmon, restauranteur

★ Bob Janecyk, National Hockey League goalie, Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings (1983-89)

★ Wayne Molis,(attended 1962-64) forward, New York Knicks (NBA) and Houston Mavericks (ABA), 1966-68

★ Dennis DeYoung, John Panozzo, Chuck Panozzo and John Curulewski, founding members of rock band Styx

★ Godfrey Danchimah, comedian and actor

★ James "Chico" Hernandez, featured on a box of Wheaties Energy Crunch and is a FIAS World Cup Vice-Champion in Sombo Wrestling.

★ Rosalyn Bryant competed for the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympic Games.

★ Willye White competed for the United States in five Olympic Games.

★ Steven Whitehurst http://www.stevenwhitehurst.com/ - Award winning author.
Marlow H. Colvin, Illinois State Representative (2001 - present)
Constatence A. "Connie" Howard, Illinois State Representative (1995 - present)
Donne E. Trotter 1988-93 (House); 1993-Present (Senate)

Honorary Degrees

★ Congressman Danny K. Davis received an honorary Ph.D. from the university.

Notable faculty

★ Haki R. Madhubuti, director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program

References

1. Biblio Tech, Erin Biba, , , Wired,

External links

★ Official website

★ Official athletics website

★ Official advancement website