| Type | Public university system |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Website | system |
TheUniversity of Minnesota System[1] is a publicuniversity system with five campuses spread across theU.S. state ofMinnesota.[2]
The university system's campuses are in theTwin Cities,Crookston,Duluth,Morris, andRochester. The university also operates severalresearch facilities around the state, including some large parcels of land. The Twin Cities, Crookston, Duluth, Morris and Rochester campuses are accredited by theHigher Learning Commission (HLC).[3] The other public system ofhigher education in the state is the largerMinnesota State Colleges and Universities system (Minnesota State System, previously MnSCU).
The university system receives annual funding from the State of Minnesota.
The flagship Twin Cities campus is the largest in the system, with a total enrollment of 50,943 students (undergraduate, graduate, professional, and non-degree included) in fall 2018. In the same year Crookston had 2,810, Duluth had 11,040, Morris had 1,554, and Rochester had 533, bringing the system-wide total to 66,880.[4]
The colors of the university, which are used system-wide, aremaroon andgold.
The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMTC) is the largest with locations inMinneapolis and neighboringSaint Paul (actually, the suburb ofFalcon Heights). The locations are connected via a dedicatedbus transitway. The buildings on each campus are connected by a series oftunnels and above-groundskyways calledThe Gopher Way. The campus is the oldest and largest in the system and has theninth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,376 students at the start of the 2021–22 academic year.[5]
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The Minneapolis portion is the largest and has a number of colleges dedicated to a variety of subjects. The Twin Cities campus located in Minneapolis can be further subdivided into the East Bank (main portion) and West Bank, as theMississippi River flows through it. Students become well-acquainted with the double-deckerWashington Avenue Bridge that connects the two sections. There are a number of distinguished graduate and professional schools on the Minneapolis campus, notably theCollege of Science and Engineering,University of Minnesota Law School,Medical School,Carlson School of Management,School of Public Health, andHubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. In addition, Minneapolis houses many research facilities such asThe Cancer Center.
The Twin Cities campus located in St Paul is home to theUniversity of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences,University of Minnesota College of Design, andUniversity of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences programs, theUniversity of Minnesota School of Social Work, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and a variety of additional programs and student services. TheBell Museum of Natural History is also located on the campus in St. Paul.
Themascot for the Twin Cities campus isGoldy Gopher, and the sports teams are called theMinnesota Golden Gophers. They participate in theNCAA'sDivision I and the football team participates in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The majority of the teams compete in theBig Ten Conference, however, the women'shockey program competes in theWestern Collegiate Hockey Association.
Among the graduates from this campus are two former U.S. Vice Presidents,Hubert Humphrey andWalter Mondale, formerNAACP presidentRoy Wilkins, BritishDeputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg, severalNobel Prize winners, several athletes such asRic Flair,Kevin McHale,Dave Winfield,Patty Berg,Brock Lesnar,Curt Hennig,Shelton Benjamin,Bobby Jackson of the NBA, and composerYanni. FolksingerBob Dylan famously attended the University and was a part of its thriving "West Bank" music scene, but did not graduate. A wide variety ofmedical andtechnological innovations have taken place there as well. For instance, theInternetGopher protocol was created at the Twin Cities campus. A predecessor of sorts to theWorld Wide Web, it was named after the school mascot.
Campus media includes theMinnesota Daily newspaper,The Wake Student Magazine, and770 Radio K (KUOM), anAMradio station that is probably the oldest in the state.
TheUniversity of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) joined the university system in 1966. At that time it was known as the University of Minnesota Technical Institute at Crookston. Since 1993 the Crookston campus has offered bachelor's degrees, and it has grown to be a more comprehensive regional college campus. It is known for its focus on experiential learning and technology[citation needed], and through fees each student is provided a laptop computer as part of their experience. The campus mascot is Regal the Eagle, and the athletics teams are known as the Golden Eagles.
TheUniversity of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) became part of the system in 1947, though the campus has a history stretching back to 1895 when it was formed as the Normal School at Duluth.
Its men's hockey program competes in theNational Collegiate Hockey Conference and its women's hockey program competes in theWestern Collegiate Hockey Association. UMD baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's track and field, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball areDivision II teams. Their teams are nicknamedBulldogs. and their mascot is Champ.
Among the graduates from UMD are former Lieutenant Governor of MinnesotaYvonne Prettner Solon, former Duluth mayorEmily Larson, and former Duluth mayorDon Ness.Brian Kobilka received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. UMD has produced numerous professional hockey players includingJohn Harrington andMark Pavelich from the 1980Miracle on Ice Olympic hockey team, and NHL Hall of FamerBrett Hull.
Campus media includesThe Bark newspaper; until 2021, UMD also owned radio station KUMD-FM (nowWDSE-FM).
TheUniversity of Minnesota Morris (UMM) joined the system in 1960. UMN Morris is a public liberal arts college.
The campus offers 34 majors, 35 minors, and 13 licensure areas, along with the option to create one's own major. The student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1, and students are able to engage in undergraduate research and internships with faculty members. One in five students also participates in NCAA Division III Intercollegiate Athletics as a Cougar athlete.
With tuition a quarter of Minnesota's most expensive private school and 96% of incoming students receiving financial aid, UMN Morris students graduate with the lowest student loan debt in the University of Minnesota system.
TheUniversity of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) is the public undergraduate health sciences university. UMR is the newest campus of the University of Minnesota system, having been formally established in December 2006 (although the University of Minnesota has offered classes in Rochester as a satellite site since as early as 1966).
UMR has noNCAA athletic teams, but it does have a mascot, the Rochester Raptor.
UMR, located in University Square in downtownRochester, is neighbor to world-renownedMayo Clinic.
Programs offered:
TheWaseca campus opened in 1971 and closed in 1992. Their mascot was "Ramus" the ram.[7] During its operation, it maintained a college cable-FM radio station with the call letters KUMW. Campus buildings became part of a low-security federal prison for women (seeFederal Correctional Institution, Waseca). The University still operates an agricultural outreach program in the city.[7]
| Number | Name | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | William Watts Folwell | 1869–1884 |
| 2nd | Cyrus Northrop | 1884–1911 |
| 3rd | George Vincent | 1911–1917 |
| 4th | Marion Burton | 1917–1920 |
| 5th | Lotus Coffman | 1920–1938 |
| 6th | Guy Stanton Ford | 1938–1941 |
| 7th | Walter Coffey | 1941–1945 |
| 8th | James Morrill | 1945–1960 |
| 9th | O. Meredith Wilson | 1960–1967 |
| 10th | Malcolm Moos | 1967–1974 |
| E. W. Ziebarth | 1974–1974 (interim) | |
| 11th | C. Peter Magrath | 1974–1984 |
| 12th | Kenneth H. Keller | 1984–1985 (interim) 1985–1988 |
| Richard J. Sauer | 1988–1989 (interim) | |
| 13th | Nils Hasselmo | 1989–1997 |
| 14th | Mark G. Yudof | 1997–2002 |
| 15th | Robert H. Bruininks | 2002–2011 |
| 16th | Eric W. Kaler | 2011–2019 |
| 17th | Joan Gabel | 2019-2023 |
| *interim | Jeffrey Ettinger | 2023-2024 |
| 18th | Rebecca Cunningham | 2024-Present |
The University of Minnesota was founded inMinneapolis in 1851 as a collegepreparatory school, seven years prior to Minnesota's statehood. As such, the University of Minnesota enjoys much autonomy from other operations of the state government. The school was closed during theAmerican Civil War, but reopened in 1867. Minneapolis businessmanJohn Sargent Pillsbury is known today as the "Father of the University", and aided the campus through financial troubles as a regent, state senator, and governor. TheMorrill Land Grant Colleges Act also helped provide funding for the University of Minnesota.
In 1869 the school reorganized and became an institution of higher education.William Watts Folwell served as the University of Minnesota's first president. An official residence known asEastcliff has been used by six university presidents since 1958. The 20-room house, originally built bylumber baronEdward Brooks, Sr., was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 2000.
During the traditional autumn through spring year, classes are not held onThanksgiving Day or the Friday after, and the school traditionally has an extended break coveringChristmas andNew Year's Day. Classes don't resume in January until the day afterMartin Luther King, Jr. Day. A week-longspring break occurs after the eighth week of the spring term, which sometimes coincides withEaster.
As of 2007, the University of Minnesota maintained an endowment of $2.8 billion.[8] Also, as a public university, the system received an estimated $641 million from theState of Minnesota.[9] The system's total budget for FY 2006 was $2.36 billion.[10]
There are several otherresearch andoutreach centers across the state operated by the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities or by the university system. As of September 2004, these areas plus the campuses are spread across 28,300 acres (44 miles² or 115 km2). Other areas owned by the state and university bring this up to a total of 57,200 acres (89 miles² or 231 km2)
Media related toUniversity of Minnesota system at Wikimedia Commons
Works related toPortal:University of Minnesota at Wikisource
