Curtis Aggies to celebrate 50 years as college

Curtis, Neb. – The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture will celebrate 50 years as a college with a public program and reception on Friday (November 13) at the NCTA Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center at 1:30 p.m.

Campus tours will occur at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., starting from the Student Activities Center (also known as The Barn), located at 404 East Seventh Street. Other activities will include placing a time capsule, alumni and friends bringing branding irons to emblazon on wooden benches, awards presentations, and anniversary cake and University of Nebraska dairy store ice cream.

The University of Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture (UNSTA) was dedicated as a college in November, 1965 and offered two programs, ag machinery mechanics and drafting, survey and soils. The statewide institution operated simultaneously from 1965-1968 with the residential high school that had been established in 1913.

The Nebraska School of Agriculture became the University of Nebraska School of Agriculture (UNSA) in 1946, and was closed in 1968. UNSTA added four more programs in 1966 and 1967, commercial horticulture, agricultural business, production agriculture technology, and veterinary technology.

“To satisfy the workforce development needs of Nebraska’s agricultural industries, leaders in the early 1960s saw the demand for an institution of statewide mission providing technical education in agriculture,” said Ron Rosati, current NCTA dean. “UNSTA was created to satisfy that demand. Over the past 50 years UNSTA, and then NCTA, have served that need very well.

” Rosati has invited former college superintendents or deans to help with the 50th celebration. Participants will include Stan Matzke, Jr., of Lincoln, who served as the first superintendent of UNSTA from 1965-1969, Elaine Siminoe of Kearney, wife of Bill Siminoe who served as UNSTA dean from 1968-1995, and former NCTA associate dean and interim dean Jerry Sundquist of Curtis, 1978-2006. They will be joined by Weldon Sleight, NCTA dean from 2006-2012, and Dean Rosati who joined NCTA in July, 2013.

They will salute former faculty, staff and alumni, with a time for reminiscing following the program. Tours will feature ranch horse team demonstration, a new meat fabrication lab, the Veterinary Technology complex and the historic student activities center which previously housed Aggie athletics.

Today, NCTA’s academics feature AgBusiness Management Systems, Agriculture Production Systems (animal science and agricultural education; agronomy, horticulture and ag mechanics) and Veterinary Technology Systems, along with courses in general education. Student teams include rodeo, livestock judging, ranch horse and a new trap club.

Fall enrollment achieved a new record with 512 students, up 33 percent from a year ago. Of those, 239 are fulltime students with over 250 enrolled in dual credit programs from Nebraska high schools.

For information about NCTA, campus tours and 50th celebration events for Friday, contact the Dean’s Office at 308-367-5200, or e-mail chauptman4@unl.edu, or see http://ncta.unl.edu/