Saginaw Valley State University
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Former names
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Saginaw Valley College Saginaw Valley State College |
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| Motto | Something More. Something Better. |
| Type | Public |
| Established | November 13, 1963 |
| Endowment | $71.92 million |
| Chairman | Jenee Velasquez |
| President | Donald Bachand |
| Provost | Deborah R. Huntley |
| Students | 9,766 |
| Undergraduates | 8,763 |
| Location |
University Center, Michigan, U.S. 43°30′51″N 83°57′42″W / 43.5141°N 83.96156°WCoordinates: 43°30′51″N 83°57′42″W / 43.5141°N 83.96156°W |
| Campus | Suburban/Rural |
| Colors | Blue and Red |
| Athletics | NCAA Division II – GLIAC (North Division) |
| Nickname | Cardinals |
| Website | www |
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Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) (commonly referred to as SVSU, SV, or Saginaw Valley) is a public university located in University Center, Michigan. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on 748 acres approximately 6 miles from downtown Saginaw in Kochville Township, Saginaw County. It is also only 8.5 miles from Bay City and 20 miles from Midland.
It is the youngest of Michigan's 15 public colleges and universities. SVSU offers over 100 academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels with approximately 10,000 students at its main campus in University Center. SVSU offers strong programs of study in its five colleges. Among the more popular are teaching, nursing, engineering, business, the health professions, and traditional liberal arts programs like the performing and visual arts, as well as degree programs like criminal justice, psychology and professional technical writing.
Higher education in the Saginaw Valley region dates back to the founding of Bay City Junior College in 1922. Though the junior college was replaced by Delta College in 1961, the area still lacked a four-year baccalaureate institution. Saginaw Valley College was founded as a private institution in November 1963, and became a state-supported institution in 1965. The name changed to Saginaw Valley State College in 1974 and again to Saginaw Valley State University in 1987.
In 1955, civic leaders in the Saginaw Valley region met to discuss prospects for a local institution of higher education. The next year, a committee of 300 recommended a two-year community college which would expand to a four-year college. The two-year college, Delta, was approved by voters in 1958 and opened in 1961.
Articles of incorporation for what would become Saginaw Valley College (originally called Delta Senior University) were drawn up in 1963, and the state granted a charter to SVC as a private, four-year liberal arts institution. Dr. Samuel D. Marble, the president of Delta College, was appointed president of SVC in 1964. After holding both presidencies for four months, he resigned from Delta. The first class of 119 students completed two years at Delta and transferred to SVC. The first commencement ceremony was held in 1966 at a Midland church for a graduating class of ten. A site for a permanent SVC campus (the college was operating out of Delta's basement) was chosen in Kochville Township in 1966 and classes were moved to a building on that site the next year. Ground was broken for what would become Wickes Hall in the late summer. Saginaw Valley College received full accreditation by the North Central Association in April 1970. The college's athletic teams were named the Redbirds, shortly thereafter changed to Cardinals after two coaches spotted a kitchen decoration with a cardinal on it at a golf tournament in Kentucky. In 1972, the Cardinals became a charter member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and in 1974 Frank "Muddy" Waters was hired as the college's first football coach.
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