Bismarck State College - Markota Yearbook (Bismarck, ND)

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What do you feel about the student body as a whole at BJC? I would rate them very highly. There is no better age bracket to work with. BJC has the best student body in North Dakota. It is not so large that a student becomes a number rather than an individual. It is considerably easier to get to know faculty members, and classes are smaller, enabling teachers to give more attention to each student. Reading over the day’s correspondence is only a minute part of the President’s busy schedule. How do junior colleges stand in comparison to four-year colleges? There are 1200 junior colleges in the United States. In 1974 there was a 12 percent increase in junior college enrollment, whereas the four-year colleges showed no increase. BJC now has 1200-1300 full-time students, 48.5 percent being from Bismarck, the other 51.5 percent from Mandan and other communities. The junior college is a transition between high school and the complex four-year college. It is more closely associated with the community and supported by it. There is an even flow of students between the academic and vocational programs, such that students can change programs without changing schools. There are other advantages to attendinga smaller junior college. What is your outlook for the future of Bismarck Junior College? The growth of BJC is directly proportioned to the growth of Bismarck, which is expanding at an unbelievable rate. We can look forward to a larger student body in the coming years. Concerning building expansion, I would like to extend the northeast end of the auditorium to make more room backstage and also to give the enlarging performing arts better facilities. Last year I had the rock hauled on campus to the south of the administration building with hopes of planting trees, shrubs, and flowers around it and setting benches among them to form a mall. The boy’s motto lives on: “Climb, Though the Rocks be Rugged.” I would also like to see the development of the bowl west of the men’s dormitory into a football and track field with a physical education complex nearby. This would be an excellent community project. BJC is indeed “the College with a Future” and President Ralph Werner has helped to make it so.

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PRESIDENT WERNER HELPS MAKE BJC THE COLLEGE WITH A FUTURE” A REALITY How was the college established? j'l1 m (. In 1939 Bismarck businessmen held a meeting that sparked the beginning of a community college. They felt that students couldn't afford to leave the Bismarck area to attend college and that secondary classes should be offered in the city. As a result, Bismarck Junior College was organized and classes were held on the third floor of the Bismarck High School, with an enrollment of 40 students. The school began to grow and in 1955, a junior college building was constructed near the State Capitol. Then, in 1959, Harold Schafer donated land overlooking the Missouri River west of Bismarck on which to build a larger and more modern campus. It was completed in 1962. In the following years, the dormitories and the library were added. The new Student Union and Vo-Tech buildings were opened in 1974. Having been accredited by UND until 1966, BJC is now fully accredited by the North Central Association of Junior Colleges. The only member in his high school graduating class, Mr. Ralph Werner is now the President of one of North Dakota’s most rapidly growing colleges .. BJC. Being the sole Senior, the then sixteen-year-old Werner delivered the Valedictory at the 1929 Commencement Exercises in Burlington, North Dakota. His graduation motto was “Climb Though the Rocks Be Rugged.” And “climb” he did. The small-town boy entered nearby Minot State College, which at thattime had an enrollment of approximately 500 students. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to the University of North Dakota where he majored in education and earned a Master of Science degree. But Mr. Werner did not stop there. He did post graduate work at the University of Washington, the University of Colorado, and the University of Minnesota. Velva High School provided the surroundings for Mr. Werner’s first classroom teaching experience, in which he instructed students in Office Education. After several years there, he accepted the position as Principal in the Harvey school system. He remained there until 1941, when he and his wife, Ina, moved to Bismarck. He began teaching part-time in the newly organized junior college, which then was located on the third floor of the Bismarck High School. In time, Mr. Werner began to ascend the BJC administrative ladder. He went from classroom instructor to Business Manager to Registrar to the Assistant to the President. When in 1963, College President Sidney J. Lee died, Mr. Werner assumed the duties of the chief administrative post. In my visit with him, I also asked him some questions about the college itself. President Werner presented the North Dakota College Athlete of the Year Award to Gary Hoffman at a ceremony during the BJC-Jamestown dual meet. 4

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STUDENT UNION In the 1968-1969 school year the BJC Students voted an assessment of ten dollars per student per year to be used in the eventual building of a Student Union Buildingand to date has accumulated a fund of approximately $70,000. President Ralph Werner appointed a committee made up of students, faculty, and administration to help architect Al Kosir in designinga building that would meet the needs of future students. After visiting other college Student Unions and talking with their personnel, the present facility was designed. Plans were approved in March 1973, the building being completed in the late summer 1974. Students who live on campus and are on board contract eat in the main cafeteria in the Student Union. A Student Union at BJC finally became a reality with the opening of the $900,000 structure in the summer of 1974. As of May 1, 1974, a payment of $47,265 had been made toward the bonds totaling $800,000. BJC Students will be paying toward the union fund until the year 2008. The first floor of the Student Union Building contains several offices, a bookstore, a cafeteria, a snack bar, a dining room, an auxiliary dining-conference room, and a student lounge. The lower floor features a game room containing pool tables, foosball, ping pong, air hockey, and pinball machines. A Student Government room, Student Newspaper and Yearbook offices, and a darkroom are also located in the lower level. A large unfurnished space for future utilization and the mechanical and air conditioning equipment cover the remaining area of the lower level. The Student Union, designed by Al Kosir, was built by Harley Miller Construction, H.A. Thompson and Sons, Hulm Electric, and Dakota Food equipment at a cost of $866,919.02. The Union contains Coordinator of all activities connected with the Student Union is Suezette Bieri Jacobs. The sign is an indication of the pace of activities at times. The Snack Bar is a meeting place for students. It provides a place to grab a late breakfast, a cup of coffee between classes, or a meal. 6