Supported by 40 years of practiced excellence in academic teaching, Dr. Dale F. Nitzschke is a prominent and former educator and academic administrator whose influence upon his field is unparalleled. Honored multiple times for his contributions to the industry, he most recently served Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau as chancellor from 1999 until his retirement in 2001. Prior to this appointment, he served the university as president for three years. During his tenure at the university, he helped to secure $2 million in funding for construction efforts at the River campus.
At the inception of his career in 1961, after obtaining a master’s degree in education, Dr. Nitzschke served Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, as an instructor of education for two years and chairman of the Department of Education for an additional two years. Relocating to Athens, Ohio, soon thereafter, he worked as an associate professor of education and associate dean in the College of Education at Ohio University from 1967 to 1972. Once again traveling, he found himself in upstate New York, where he served in administration as dean of education and associate dean of professional and general studies of the School of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh from 1972 to 1976.
Traveling cross country, Dr. Nitzschke landed in Iowa, where he remained for four years at the University of Northern Iowa. Serving the university as a professor of education and dean of the College of Education until 1980, he then relocated to Las Vegas, where he worked as a professor of education and vice president of academy affairs at the University of Nevada between 1980 and 1984. Subsequently, he decided to travel east and settled in Huntington, West Virginia, serving Marshall University as president for the following six years. Prior to his most recent role, he worked at the University of New Hampshire in Durham as president from 1990 to 1994.
A frequent workshop director and consultant, Dr. Nitzschke has also contributed his time to civic endeavors. Maintaining affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America’s Greater St. Louis Council since 1997, he previously sat on the board of directors of the New England Council, the Ronald McDonald House in Huntington, the Athens County Red Cross, the John W. Hereford Boyd Clubs of Huntington and the West Virginia Education Fund. Likewise, he was a coordinator of numerous programs and committees within the realm of academia, among other prestigious roles.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nitzschke has demonstrated versatility in his profession through his participation in several creative works. The author of several articles to the New Hampshire Premier, Boston Globe, and the Personnel and Guidance Journal, among other publications, he also co-authored a number of monographs such as “Functions and Preparation of the Elementary School Counselor” for the Center for Educational Service in the College of Education at Ohio University in 1968.
A past president of the Ohio Valley Conference, Dr. Nitzschke has also remained a member of the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau since 1997 and has held memberships with the United Way, the American Council on Education, the New England Council of Presidents, the Nature Conservancy’s New Hampshire chapter, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Humanities Foundation of West Virginia, the U.S. Department of Education, the American Association for Higher Education and the National Vocational Guidance Association, among many others.
Although decorated with countless accolades, Dr. Nitzschke is most proud of remaining in contact with colleagues and students over the years, as well as helping them during their times of need. He notes that he has never been one to endanger this throughout his career. Married to Linda Hutchinson since 1971, he is the proud father of five children: Mary Beth, Stephen, Lori, Eric and David. He also has seven grandchildren.
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