Crouse receives posthumous Distinguished Service Award

Her brother Frosty and his wife, Kerma, and their daughter, Rachel Crouse of Jewell, Kansas; her sister, Celia Krug, and husband, Steve, of Spearman, Texas; her cousin, Irene Storer, and her husband, Bill, of Wichita, Kansas, and her niece Michelle Riddle of Blue Springs, Missouri, will ride in the parade in her honor, receive Crouse's award at the football game, and attend a luncheon at the CSC President’s house.

Crouse arrived at CSC in 1979 as a home economics instructor, expecting to stay only one year before moving on to a research university. Instead, she discovered a deep love for teaching and supervising student teachers, a passion that kept her at CSC for more than three decades.

“My first love is teaching,” she said. “The outcomes are immediate. It is very rewarding when you see the lights go on for students.”

She completed her doctorate in home economics education at Oklahoma State University in 1984 and soon began shaping the college’s future. In the late 1980s, she helped secure a Higher Education Act Grant that established CSC offices in Scottsbluff and North Platte, expanded computer services, launched the Interactive Television System, and created the college’s first services for adult students. Between 1984 and 1990, she and her colleagues also wrote numerous grants to support vocational education and school-to-work programs across the Panhandle.

She was recognized with multiple honors, including the Special Service to Nebraska Home Economics Teachers Award in 1993, the Outstanding Vocational Educator Award in 1994, and the Family and Consumer Science Leadership Award in 2001.

After years in the classroom, Crouse began a term as the Interim Dean of Education, Health, Physical Education, Recreation/Sports Management, Psychology, Counseling & Social Work in 2004.

She was instrumental in creating the college’s Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) degree and supporting accreditation efforts in several disciplines. She worked with colleagues to raise funds for the Rangeland Complex, which has become a signature part of CSC.

Even after her 2015 retirement, she returned to serve as an interim dean in 2020 and contributed to accreditation efforts.

Crouse also shared her wisdom as a mentor and speaker. In her May 2015 commencement address, she urged graduates to consider the legacies they would leave behind.

“Behave as though a young person idolizes you, become a listening mentor and perform as a role model, always on stage,” she said. She believed that the legacies built outside the workplace often outweighed career accomplishments.

Crouse participated in a 2007 mission to Ukraine, helping form an educational partnership with the National Agricultural University of Kiev. In 2018, she traveled to Israel with a local church group and later shared her reflections in a Graves Lecture.

Through every role, Crouse invested in people and programs with vision and heart. In award nominations, colleagues commented on her steady leadership and ability to bring people together for a common goal. Students said she inspired them to think deeply, act with integrity, and mentor others.

Her legacy endures not only in the programs she built and the students she guided, but also in her example of purposeful and lifelong service. The Distinguished Service Award affirms that Crouse left CSC better than she found it, and her influence will continue.