University of Minnesota system

The University of Minnesota is a large university with several campuses spread throughout the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are four primary campuses in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Crookston, and Morris. In addition, university services are available in Rochester, and a campus was open in Waseca for a time. The university also operates several research facilities around the state, including some large tracts of land. The other major higher education network in the state is the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU).

Campuses

The flagship Twin Cities campus is by far the largest in the system, with a total enrollment of 50,883. That made it the fourth-largest campus in the country at the time [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_United_States_universities_by_enrollment] . Duluth reported 10,366, Crookston had 2,346, and Morris had 1,686 students, bringing the system-wide total to 66,099 for fall semester 2007 (numbers for Rochester are apparently counted separately) [http://www.irr.umn.edu/stix/fall07/fall_2007_table_01.pdf] .

The colors of the university, which are used system-wide, are maroon and gold.

Twin Cities

Because of its size and several decades of history prior to the addition of other campuses, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (sometimes abbreviated UMTC) is what most people think of upon hearing "University of Minnesota." It can actually be subdivided into multiple parts. Most significantly, Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Paul (actually, the suburb of Falcon Heights) each have distinct campuses. The Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses are connected via a dedicated bus transitway. The buildings on each campus are connected by a series of underground tunnels and above-ground skyways called The Gopher Way. The campus has 50,883 students currently enrolled.

The Minneapolis portion is the largest and has a number of colleges dedicated to a variety of subjects. Minneapolis' campus can be further subdivided into the East Bank (main portion) and West Bank, as the Mississippi River flows through it. Students become well-acquainted with the double-decker Washington Avenue Bridge that connects the two sections. There are a number of distinguished graduate and professional schools on the Minneapolis campus, notably the University of Minnesota Law School, Medical School, Carlson School of Management, School of Public Health, and Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. In addition, Minneapolis houses many research facilities such as The Cancer Center.

The Saint Paul campus is more focused on agriculture, though several other subjects are taught there. Due to the workings of the U of M phone system, both campuses have 612 area code (Minneapolis) telephone numbers instead of the 651 code that would be expected for the Saint Paul portion. The Minnesota State Fairgrounds is also located in Falcon Heights.

The mascot for the Twin Cities campus is Goldy the Gopher, and the sports teams are called the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big Ten Conference. Its hockey program competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Among the graduates from this campus are two former U.S. Vice Presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, former NAACP president Roy Wilkins, several Nobel prize winners, several athletes such as Ric Flair, Kevin McHale, Dave Winfield, Patty Berg, Brock Lesnar, Curt Hennig, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Jackson of the NBA, composer Yanni, and folksinger Bob Dylan. A wide variety of medical and technological innovations have taken place there as well. For instance, the Internet Gopher protocol was created at the Twin Cities campus. A predecessor of sorts to the World Wide Web, it was named after the school mascot.

Campus media includes the "Minnesota Daily" newspaper, "The Wake Student Magazine", and 770 Radio K (KUOM), an AM radio station that is probably the oldest in the state.

Duluth

The University 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. Their teams are nicknamed Bulldogs. Campus media includes the KUMD FM band radio station.

Crookston

The Crookston campus (UMC) joined the university system in 1966. Their mascot is Regal the Eagle, and the school nickname is Golden Eagles.

Morris

The Morris campus (UMM) joined the system in 1960 as the system's public liberal arts college. Their teams are nicknamed Cougars. The school operates an FM radio station, KUMM.

Rochester

The Rochester campus has offered classes since 1966. The campus is located in University Square, in downtown Rochester, Minnesota.

Waseca

The Waseca campus opened in 1971, but was closed in 1992. Their mascot was the ram. The University still operates an agricultural outreach program in the city. Campus buildings became part of a low-security federal prison (see Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca).

History

The University of Minnesota was founded in Minneapolis in 1851 as a college preparatory school, seven years prior to Minnesota's statehood. As such, the U enjoys much autonomy from other operations of the state government. The school was closed during the American Civil War, but reopened in 1867. Minneapolis businessman John 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. The Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act also helped provide funding for the U.

in 2000.

During the traditional autumn through spring year, classes are not held on Thanksgiving Day or the Friday after, and the school traditionally has an extended break covering Christmas and New Year's Day. Classes don't resume in January until the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A week-long spring break occurs after the eighth week of the spring term, which sometimes coincides with Easter.

ources of funding

The University of Minnesota system has one of the largest endowments among public universities in the country. As of 2007, the University of Minnesota maintained an endowment of $2.8 billion [ [http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2008/01/28/72165198 University's endowment fund reaches $2.8 billion - Minnesota Daily ] ] . Also, as a public university, the system received an estimated $641 million from the from the State of Minnesota [ [http://www.budget.state.mn.us/budget/summary/fund_statements/071130_con_fund_state.pdf Microsoft Word - front page.doc ] ] . The university's total budget for FY 2006 was $2.36 billion [ [http://www.budget.umn.edu/answer.htm Budget and Finance - The University's Annual Budget ] ] .

Additional properties

There are many other research and outreach centers across the state owned by the university. 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)
*Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
* [http://cfc.cfans.umn.edu Cloquet Forestry Center]
* [http://www.nrri.umn.edu/default/nrri.asp?pageID=14 Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory]
* [http://www.hi.umn.edu Hormel Institute]
* [http://www.maes.umn.edu/components/ROCArb.asp Excelsior Horticultural Research Center]
* [http://www.cbs.umn.edu/itasca Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Center]
* [http://swroc.cfans.umn.edu Lamberton Southwest Research and Outreach Center]
*Magnuson Research Farm
*Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
* [http://www.bah.state.mn.us/animals/poultry/mptl.html Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory]
* [http://ncroc.cfans.umn.edu North Central Research and Outreach Center]
* [http://www.nwroc.umn.edu Northwest Research and Outreach Center]
* [http://ir.astro.umn.edu/telescopes/obo.html O'Brien Observatory] - Marine on the St. Croix
* [http://sprf.coafes.umn.edu Sand Plain Research Farm]
*Soudan Underground Mine State Park
* [http://sroc.coafes.umn.edu/index.html Southern Research and Outreach Center]
* [http://www.umorepark.umn.edu U of M Outreach and Research Education Park]
* [http://wcroc.cfans.umn.edu West Central Research and Outreach]

External links

* [http://www.umn.edu/ University of Minnesota]
* [http://www1.umn.edu/systemwide/factshistory.html About the U of M]
* [http://www.gophersports.com/ Gophersports.com]
* [http://www.gopherbooks.com/ Professor-rating and textbook exchange website for the U of M]
*" [http://www.mndaily.com/ The Minnesota Daily] "
*" [http://www.wakenews.org/ The Wake Student Magazine] "

References

*(October 11, 2004) [http://www.irr.umn.edu/stix/fall04/ Official Registration Statistics, Fall 2004.] University of Minnesota Office of Institutional Research and Reporting. Retrieved January 16, 2005.
*Lori-Anne Williams and Aaron Strozinsky (September 2004). [http://www.uservices.umn.edu/ubuildings/index.html U Buildings At-a-Glance.] University Services, University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 2, 2005.