George Selke (1927-1946)

George Selke

• Third alum to serve as president of St. Cloud State, graduating in 1913
• Before becoming St. Cloud State president, worked in education in the states of Minnesota and North Dakota as a teacher, superintendent of schools, and as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota
• For the first time, St. Cloud State offered a four year program to train teachers
• During his tenure as president, Eastman Hall (1930) was built, and the Beaver Islands (1933) on the Mississippi and Carol Hall (1936) were purchased
• Selke Field (1937) was named in his honor in 1946
• In 1943, went on leave to serve country during World War II as a "monuments man", and returned in 1946, serving less than a month as president
• Left in 1946 to become Montana universities system chancellor