Coordinates: 44.146617°N 93.998117°W Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU or MNSU), also known as Minnesota State,[8][9][10] is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota. Established Minnesota State as the Second State Normal School in 1858,[11] it was designated in Mankato in University, Mankato 1866,[12][13] and officially opened as Mankato Normal School in 1868. It is the second oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. It is also the second largest university in the state,[14][15] and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide.[5] It is the most comprehensive of the seven state universities[16] and is referred to as the flagship of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.[2][17][18] It is an important part of the economy of Southern Minnesota and the state as it adds more than $781 million to the economy of Minnesota annually.[19][20] Minnesota State offers 130 undergraduate programs of study, 75 graduate programs and 4 doctoral programs. It hosts the only nationally, regionally, and state accredited Motto Big Ideas. aviation program in Minnesota.[21][22] Students are served by 750 full-time faculty Real-world [5] members creating a 21:1 student to faculty ratio. In addition to the main campus, it [1] operates two satellite campuses: one in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina and the other in Thinking. Owatonna. Through the College of Extended Learning it provides bachelor's degrees at Type Public[1] the Normandale Partnership Center in Bloomington and programs online through an online campus. flagship university[2] [1] Contents Established 1868 History Parent Minnesota Early years institution State State Teachers College system[1] Rapid post World War II expansion Transition to comprehensive university Endowment $54.1 Change to Minnesota State University million Names (2020)[3] Organization and administration Academics Budget $264 million Accreditation (2019)[4] Notable programs President Richard Enrollment Davenport[1] Campus [5] Satellite campuses Academic staff 750 Edina Campus Administrative 1,250[5] Owatonna Campus staff Normandale Partnership Center Students 17,357[6] Student life Student Government Undergraduates 15,527 LGBT Center Student housing Postgraduates 1,830 Athletics Doctoral 30 Facility renovations and upgrades students In Popular Fiction Location Mankato, Notable alumni Minnesota, See also References U.S.[1] External links Campus Mid-size city 303 acres History (123 ha) Colors Purple and Early years Gold[7] The State Legislature recognized the need for an education center in southern Minnesota by 1858.[23] In 1860 the legislature chartered the development of state run normal schools to serve areas outside of Winona. The largest and fastest growing cities Nickname Mavericks outside of Saint Paul, Saint Cloud and Mankato were selected for the sites dependent on local fundraising to establish the schools with seed money. Through the efforts of local Sporting NCAA attorney turned state legislator Daniel Buck, the newly formed City of Mankato donated affiliations Division II – $5,000 raised from the area community and sold $5,000 in bonds for the founding of NSIC the second state normal school, Mankato Normal School.[24] Chartered in state law in 1860, the first classes were held in 1868 with an enrollment of 27 students. The NCAA institution's original mission was to train and educate teachers for rural schools throughout southern Minnesota. Early course work included sciences, mathematics, Division I - civil engineering, agriculture, western classics, and basic pedagogy. WCHA During this early period, Mankato Normal School provided educational certificates that Mascot Stomper allowed for graduates to become school teachers and a majority of the students were women.[25] In relation to this focus on women's education, Mankato Normal School is Website www.mnsu noted as the first public college in the United States to be headed by a woman, .edu (http:// suffragette Julia Sears, in 1872. Controversially Julia Sears was hired, then subsequently demoted and eventually she was fired by the School Board of Trustees. www.mnsu. Students, city residents and some businesses were upset at the firing of Sears and a edu) protest was held. This became known as the Sears Rebellion which lasted until Sears left the school for a professorship at Peabody Normal School. These events would later come to be remembered as a new residence hall was dedicated in honor of Sears in 2008 and a commission on the status of women was founded to support the advancement of women's education at the institution in the 1990s.[26] State Teachers College By 1921, the school had grown significantly to the point that it began to offer four-year bachelor's degrees. As a result, it was renamed the Mankato State Teachers College. Enrollment then dipped during World War II and the college refocused its extension programs on providing education to members of the Works Progress Administration and Naval Corps.[25] Rapid post World War II expansion During the post World War II period, student enrollment expanded greatly. The original university buildings were then located in what was known as the Valley Campus. It was located geographically down the hill in lower Mankato. The size and footprint of the Valley Campus could not sustain the space needed to handle the growing student body. By the late 1950s work began on constructing an entirely new, modern campus atop the river valley bluff. This became the Highland Campus.[25] A new experimental school called the Wilson School was built on the Highland Campus to research and apply new teaching methods for students in grades K-12. The intent of this school was to provide student teachers the opportunity to learn and experiment with new methods in a university environment.[27] Transition to comprehensive university By 1957, the mission of the institution had broadened to comprehensive four-year college education, the state legislature changed the name of the college to Mankato State College. The following years saw additional enrollment growth. The Valley Campus was eventually sold to a private developer and the Highland Campus grew in size.[25] By the 1960s the institution had grown so fast and so large that there was a bill created in the State Legislature to designate it the University of Southern Minnesota by state Senator Val Imm and later an amendment to the bill by state Representative Mike McGuire would have renamed it Minnesota State University.[28] These were proposed long before the popular television show Coach (TV series) aired.[29] It was proposed to be a second and independent state university equal in stature to the University of Minnesota at a time when there was only one research institution.[30] There was significant opposition from the University of Minnesota and from Governor Karl Rolvaag at the time. In 1975, the college successfully made the case to transition to comprehensive status and was renamed to Mankato State University. This change reflected a further 40% growth in the student body to 12,000 students by 1972.[24] Following this period was a movement toward increasing the number of available programs including science, technology, engineering, health sciences and others. The university became more comprehensive in its programmatic offerings. Change to Minnesota State University In 1995, the seven state universities were transferred to the newly created Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system by a mandate from the state legislature. Shortly after this, the University was renamed Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1998 in recognition of its significant contribution to the state's higher education system.[31] This name change was also intended to broaden recognition of the university in the Midwest region.[32] Dr. Richard Rush, then the President of the University had famously stated about the name change that: Our goal is to make this University the other great public university in Minnesota,[33] this marked a significant change in direction in the history of the institution, one that would later be realized as it fought for the authorization of being able to award doctoral degrees. It was during this time that the institution began to refer Minnesota State University to itself as Minnesota State. Entrance Sign – Built in 2008, the In 2007, in another major milestone – the University was authorized to begin offering sign is carved out a single block of Kasota stone, which is a local applied doctoral degrees.[34] building material only found in the area. Names The University has previously been named: Mankato Normal School: 1868–1921 Mankato State Teachers College: 1921–1957 Mankato State College: 1957–1975 Mankato State University: 1975–1998 Minnesota State University, Mankato: 1998–present Organization and administration The university is organized into 8 discipline specific colleges. Academic programs, schools University presidents and extended learning are divided among them. These units are: President Years[35] College of Allied Health and Nursing[36] College of Arts and Humanities[37] George M. Gage 1868–72 College of Business[38] Julia A. Sears 1872–73 [39] College of Education Rev. David C. [40] 1873–80 College of Science, Engineering and Technology John College of Social and Behavioral Sciences[41] Edward Searing 1880–98 College of Graduate Studies and Research[42] Charles H. 1898– College of Extended Learning[43] Cooper 1930 In addition to the academic units, there are several other research centers and state Dr. Frank D. created units:[44] 1930–46 McElroy The Glen Taylor Nursing Institute Dr. Clarence L. The Center on Aging 1946–65 Crawford The Minnesota Center for Transportation Research and Implementation The Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research Dr. James F. 1966–73 The Minnesota Center for Modeling and Simulation Nickerson The Kessel Institute for Peace and Change Dr. Douglas R. The Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence 1974–78 The Minnesota Center for Rural Policy and Development Moore Small Business Development Center Dr.