Minnesota State University Moorhead

For the similarly named university in Kentucky, see Morehead State University.

Minnesota State University Moorhead
Motto	Sacrifice, Service, Loyalty
Established	1887
Type	Public
Endowment	$7.18 million
President	Edna Mora Szymanski
Provost	Anne E. Blackhurst
Academic staff	337
Admin. staff	789
Students	7,497 (Fall 2010)
Undergraduates	7,057
Postgraduates	440
Location	Moorhead, Minnesota, USA
Campus	Suburban 140 acres (57 ha)
Colors	Red and White
Mascot	Dragon
Affiliations	NSIC, NCAA D-II, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System
Website	www.mnstate.edu

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a four-year, public university located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of nearly 7,500 students and 337 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. MSUM is located on the western border of Minnesota on the Red River of the North in Moorhead; across the river lies Fargo, North Dakota. The combined metropolitan area has a population of more than 174,000. The MSUM athletic teams are called the Dragons.

History

Weld Hall, the oldest building on campus.

Lommen Hall, home to Elementary & Early Childhood Education, the Secondary Education, and the Special Education departments.

The plans for what would become MSUM were laid down in 1885, when the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill declaring the need for a new state normal school in the Red River Valley, with an eye on Moorhead. The State Senator who proposed the bill, State Senator Solomon Comstock, donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) and appropriated the funds that would go to form the campus which opened in 1888. In 1921, the State authorized the school to offer the four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Education and the school became Moorhead State Teachers College.

With the entrance of World War II, the college entered into a contract with the Army Air Corps to train aviation students. After World War II, enrollment swelled to more than 700 students and the school diversified and broadened into both a liberal arts and professional curriculum. The school began offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1946 and graduate programs by 1953. As a result of the broadened offerings, by 1957 the name was changed to Moorhead State College. In 1969, the school joined a cooperative cross-registration exchange with neighboring Concordia College and North Dakota State University, creating the Tri-College University. The school continued to increase its number of programs and by 1975, the State Legislature that year permitted the institution to change its name to Moorhead State University. In 1995, Moorhead State became part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. On July 1, 2000, the school officially became Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Minnesota State University Moorhead was rated the 18th top liberal arts college in the midwest by TIME magazine in 2008.

Name Changes

• Moorhead Normal School (1887)
• Moorhead State Teachers College (1921)
• Moorhead State College (1957)
• Moorhead State University (1975)
• Minnesota State University Moorhead (2000)

Presidents of MSUM

• 1888-1899 Livingston C. Lord
• 1899-1919 Frank A. Weld
• 1919-1923 Oliver Dickerson
• 1923-1941 Ray MacLean
• 1941-1955 Otto W. Snarr
• 1955-1958 A.L. Knoblauch
• 1958-1968 John Neumaier
• 1968-1994 Roland Dille
• 1994-2008 Roland Barden
• 2008–present Edna Mora Szymanski

Timeline

Facts

• Enrollment: approximately 7,800 students
• Top Majors: Music, Elementary Education, Mass Communications, Computer Science, Business Administration, Art, Biology, Accounting, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Special education, and Graphic Communications.
• Student/Faculty Ratio: 19:1
• Average Scholarship: $950
• Alumni: Over 46,000
• MSUM offers in-state tuition for most students.
• 16% of freshman participate in intercollegiate athletics.
• More than 1,600 students live in campus residence halls.
• MSUM offers more than 120 Student Organizations.
• In 2008, MSUM formally banned smoking on all University property.
• Each student attending MSUM pays a .43 cent per credit fee to fund the Minnesota State University Student Association, a student lead non-profit that advocates on behalf of all Minnesota state university students.

Mission

"Minnesota State University Moorhead is a caring community promising all students the opportunity to discover their passions, the rigor to develop intellectually and the versatility to shape a changing world."^[1]

Academic programs

MSUM offers more than 135 majors and 19 areas of pre-professional studies with 32 academic departments in its four Colleges: Arts & Humanities, Business & Industry, Education and Human Services, and Social & Natural Sciences. Graduate degree programs are offered in 15 academic areas.

MSUM is accredited by 14 national accrediting and certification agencies, including the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.^[2] The MSUM School of Business is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB).^[3]

Study Abroad Programs

MSUM maintains a large number of study abroad programs throughout the world. Programs organic to MSUM include the following:

Asia

• Nankai University in Tianjin China
• Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba Japan
• Kanto Gakuin in Yokohama Japan
• Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu Japan
• Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea
• Ming Chuan University in Taiwan

Australia

• University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia

Europe

• University of Portsmouth on England's's southern coast
• Keele University located between Liverpool and Birmingham England
• Lincoln University located in northeast England
• Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England
• Hedmark University College in southeast Norway

Publications

MSUM operates the New Rivers Press, a nonprofit literary press founded in 1968.

The campus newspaper is The Advocate, formerlyThe MiSTiC. The MiSTiC was closed by university administration in 1970.^[4]

The school also publishes a literary magazine, Red Weather,^[5] with the support of the English Department. The yearly publication is a journal of prose, poetry, interviews, photography and art by current undergraduates and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Students produce a weekly open-submission literary journal entitled The Yellow Bicycle, a collection of poetry, prose, essays, and reviews.^[6]

MSUM produces a weekly faculty/staff newsletter called Continews^[7] and a quarterly publication for its alumni titled Alumnews.^[8]

Dragon Radio

The school's college radio station is KMSC, which airs on AM 1500. KMSC is a student organization that has been set up to run as a Non-profit Educational radio station and serves as an in-house learning facility.^[9]

Notable Events

MSUM sponsors a Student Academic Conference annually. The Student Academic Conference provides student researchers from each of its colleges with the opportunity to present their work to faculty, administration, peers, and the general public in a formal academic setting.^[10] The conference was first offered in 1998.^[11]

Notable alumni

• Collin Peterson, US Congressman
• Ed Schultz, political pundit
• Kevin Sorbo, actor
• Jan Maxwell, actor
• Jerry verDorn, actor
• Patrick Volkerding, Slackware Linux distribution founder
• Leif Enger, author
• Nikita Koloff, professional wrestler
• Todd Brandt, co-host of The Todd and Tyler Radio Empire
• Matthew Von Pinnon, journalist
• Lee Morris, journalist
• Curt Gudmundson, finances & investment
• Mark Vinz, poet
• Richard Gruchalla, artist

Notable faculty

• Thomas McGrath (1916-1990) celebrated North Dakota poet, Rhodes scholar, and Professor of English
• James Wright (poet)

CASE Carnegie Foundation Award Winners

Minnesota State University Moorhead professors have been recognized with more CASE Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Professors of the Year designations than any college or university, public or private, in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, or Wisconsin. One professor has earned CASE Carnegie United States Professor of the Year designation and eight professors have earned designation as CASE Carnegie Minnesota Professor of the Year.^[12][13]

Russ Colson	2010	United States Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][14][15]
Martin Grindeland	2008	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13][16]
Ellen Brisch	2007	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13][17][18]
Mark Wallert	2005	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]
Jim Bartruff	2001	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]
Andrew Conteh	1999	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]
David Mason	1994	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]
Evelyn C. Lynch	1992	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]
Delmar J. Hansen (deceased)	1987	Minnesota Outstanding Professor of the Year[12][13]

See also

• Category:Minnesota State University Moorhead alumni

Coordinates: 46°51′59″N 96°45′43″W / 46.8663522°N 96.7620251°W / 46.8663522; -96.7620251^[19]

References

1. ^ Mission Statement. Minnesota State University Moorhead."
2. ^ "The Bulletin 2011‐2012: Accreditation/Certification. Minnesota State University Moorhead. 2011.
3. ^ Ponzillo, Amy. "Minnesota State University, Moorhead Earns AACSB International Accreditation." AACSB International News Release. 2010-01-07.
4. ^ Shafer, Richard. "Spinning the Zip to Zap: Student Journalist Responsibility and Vulnerability in the Late 1960s." North Dakota Journal of Speech & Theatre. 2000.
5. ^ Red Weather. Minnesota State University Moorhead, Department of English.
6. ^ The Yellow Bicycle: an Open-Submission Weekly Literary Journal for MSU Moorhead.
7. ^ Continews. Minnesota State University Moorhead.
8. ^ Alumnews. Minnesota State University Moorhead Alumni Foundation.
9. ^ KMSC Dragon Radio: About.
10. ^ "Student Academic Conference 2011." Minnesota State University Moorhead. 2011-04-19.
11. ^ "Student Academic Conference: History." Minnesota State University Moorhead. 2011-04-19.
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} "U.S. Professors of the Year." Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Accessed 2011-08-31.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Johnson, Jessie. "Dragons on Fire." OPEN Magazine, pp. 48-53, Fall 2009.
14. ^ Peterson, Hon. Collin C. "In Honor of Dr. Russ Colson" in the United States House of Representatives (Extensions of Remarks - November 30, 2010). The Congressional Record, 111th Congress. 2010-11-30.
15. ^ "CASE, Carnegie Name 2010 U.S. Professors of the Year." CarnegieFoundation.org. 2010-11.
16. ^ Harlow, Tim. "Top honor for North Hennepin professor." StarTribune. 2008-11-20
17. ^ Ehrichs-Engle, Heather. "Yes, We Have Come a Long Way." High Plains Reader. 2008.
18. ^ Krings, Mike. "KU alumna named Minnesota Professor of the Year." KU News Release. 2007-12-13.
19. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minnesota State University - Moorhead

External links

• Official website
• Official Athletics website
• Undergraduate Bulletin
• Graduate Bulletin
• New Rivers Press
• KMSC Dragon Radio's website