Special Collections

DALE FREDERICK NITZSCHKE – THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT, 1984-1990

dale nitzschke

Dale Frederick Nitzschke assumed the office as the University’s thirteenth president on March 1, 1984. He had been the vice president of Academic Affairs at University of Nevada at Los Vegas, but decided to leave because of conflicts with that institution’s president over the new university code and other matters concerning academic freedom. He had quite an impact on West Virginia while he was here. Two colleagues stated that “providence brought Dale F. Nitzschke” to Marshall: “A dynamic people-person, Nitzschke began selling the university around the state in the 1980s. He was so effective that he was named the Charleston Gazette’s Man of the Year in 1987, the only non-West Virginian up to that date. Nitzschke made a lot of friends for Marshall…People around the state knew who the president of Marshall was, but didn’t know who was president of West Virginia University.” He inaugurated the nationally-acclaimed Society of Yeager Scholars program. He reorganized the need for faculty governance by creating the Faculty Senate. During his tenure he worked toward the completion of a new Football Stadium. During the Spring 1990 semester the campus learned that he was looking for a new job, and he resigned effective on July 31, 1990, in order to accept the presidency of the University of New Hampshire.

Dale F. Nitzschke, the fourth son of Elmer Nitzschke and Florentine (Stoos) Nitzschke, was born in Remsen, Iowa, on September 16, 1937. He was the center on his high school football team and received an athletic scholarship for Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa. However, he decided against the scholarship and focused instead on academics. He worked his way through college, receiving a B.A. in education (cum laude) from Loras College in 1959. He then obtained a M. Ed. at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, in 1960. He accepted a position as an instructor at Loras College, from 1961 to 1963. During this period, he also continued his education at Ohio University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1964. In 1965 he accepted a professorship at Ohio University, and in 1967 he was promoted to associate dean of the College of Education. He left Ohio University in 1972 to become the associate dean of Professional and General Studies at State University of College of Arts and Sciences at Plattsburg, New York. In 1976 he moved to the University of Northern Iowa, when he accepted the position of dean of the College of Education. In 1980 he became the vice-president for Academic Affairs at University of Los Vegas, Nevada, where he remained until 1984, when he accepted the presidency of Marshall University.

In 1984 he received the Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom from the American Association of University Professors for his defense of faculty rights while at the University of Nevada. He left Marshall University in 1990 to accept a position as the president of the University of New Hampshire, where he resigned in 1994, “citing philosophical differences with the Board of Trustees on the direction the University should take.” He became an educational consultant, residing at Milford, Ohio, for two years. Between 1996 and 1999 he was the president of Southeastern Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, after which he accepted a newly-created position of chancellor for development at its River Campus and Polytechnic Institute, his main function being promotion and fund raising. In 2000 he was hired as Southeast Missouri State University’s federal legislative consultant, which job he current holds, while maintaining his residence at Milford, Ohio. He married Linda Hutchinson on June 24, 1972, and they have five children, three boys and two girls.

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