Southwest Minnesota State University

Infobox_University
name = Southwest Minnesota State University
native_name =
latin_name =


motto =
established = 1963
type = Public
endowment =
staff =
faculty = 148
president = Dr. David Danahar
provost =
principal =
rector =
chancellor =
vice_chancellor =
dean =
head_label =
head =
students = 3,700
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
profess =
city = Marshall
state = Minnesota
country = USA
campus = Rural, 216 acre
free_label =
free =
colors = Brown and Gold
colours =
mascot =
fightsong =
nickname = Mustangs
affiliations = MnSCU
footnotes =
website = [http://www.southwestmsu.edu/ www.southwestmsu.edu]
address = 1501 State St.
Marshall, MN 56258
telephone = 1-800-642-0684
coor =

Southwest Minnesota State University is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, a city of 13,000 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,500 students and employs 148 faculty members. It is divided into two major colleges, the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, and the College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies. SMSU is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Southwest Minnesota State University was named the #1 college in its category nine times by "U.S. News and World Report". [ [http://mtqm.mnteachered.org/institution.php?school=SMSU Measures of Teacher Quality in Minnesota] , Retrieved Jan 4, 2007]

History

The university was founded in 1963 as "Southwest Minnesota State College". It admitted its first class of students in 1967. The college became "Southwest State University" in 1975, and kept that name for nearly thirty years until adopting the current name of "Southwest Minnesota State University" in 2003. [ [http://www.mnscu.edu/media/newsreleases/2003/0521-SWState.htm Minnesota State Colleges and Universities News Release] , Retrieved Jan 4, 2007]

The University went through a severe enrollment crisis in the Seventies. During the fall quarter of 1976, on-campus enrollment dropped to an all-time low of 1,624 students. [Amato, J. A. (1991). "A new college on the prairie: Southwest State University's first twenty-five years, 1967-1992". Longmont, CO: Crossings Press.] This led to faculty retrenchment and concerns about the viability of the university.

The student newspaper was originally called "The Impact". The name was changed to "The Reader" in 1974, and then back to "The Impact" in 1980. [Amato, J. A. (1991). "A new college on the prairie: Southwest State University's first twenty-five years, 1967-1992". Longmont, CO: Crossings Press.] In 2003 the name was changed again to "The Spur" to be more consistent with the Mustang theme and to spur students into action.

In December 2001, a fire destroyed the Student Center, which originally featured an underground living area and a glass dome. The concrete framework for the dome was incorporated into the new student and conference center, and is still visible in the food court area. This building was completed in 2005.

In 2005, SMSU developed the first bachelors degree culinology program in the nation to be approved by the Research Chefs Association. [ [http://www.nutrasolutions.com/CDA/Articles/Cover_Story/3d143564f0e2e010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____ State of the Nutra Industry] , Retrieved Jan 4, 2007]

In the summer of 2008, construction began on a freshman-only residence hall, located at the far west end of campus, scheduled for completion in July 2009. It is being built to replace F Hall, which was demolished recently and was a freshman-only hall as well. Another project slated for completion by Fall 2009 is the Alumni Plaza, designed to draw alumni back to campus.

On September 6, 2008, the new Regional Event Center officially opened on the western edge of campus. The athletic field was named Mattke Field after the old field, and in honor of a past football coach. The center is used by the Mustang football and soccer teams, as well as teams from Marshall High School, and for other regional activities. It took two years and $16 million to complete. [Bruns, S. (September 10, 2008). Grand opening of the $16 million regional event center goes well. "The Spur", Volume 6, Issue 1, Page 1.]

Academics

Southwest Minnesota State University provides undergraduate education in the liberal arts and professional studies for the following areas: Accounting, Agribusiness Management, Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Culinology, Economics, Education, English, Environmental Science, Foreign Languages, Global Studies, History, Hotel and Restaurant Administration, Humanities, Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Justice Administration, Marketing, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Rural and Regional Studies, Social Work, Sociology, Speech Communication, Theatre Arts, Wellness and Human Performance, and Women's Studies. The university also supports a Center for Rural and Regional Studies, and offers masters degrees in Business Management, Education, and Special Education. The most popular majors are Business Administration and Education.

Campus

Most of the SMSU campus was constructed between 1965 and 1973 according to a unified plan. The brick and concrete buildings are interconnected via tunnels and enclosed walkways, providing a continuous and controlled environment during both summer and winter. The residence halls unfortunately are not connected. There are many courtyards with gardens between the buildings. The campus is virtually barrier free, allowing easy access to students in wheelchairs.

The university's residence halls were named by the students during the late 1960s, and reflect various themes and values of the times, e.g. Aquarius, Casa Futura, and Kama Sutra. Armstrong Hall was named after astronaut, Neil Armstrong in honor of his trip to the moon in 1969. Manchester Hall was named after pop singer, Melissa Manchester after a concert she gave on campus. [Amato, J. A. (1991). "A new college on the prairie: Southwest State University's first twenty-five years, 1967-1992". Longmont, CO: Crossings Press.]

There are no fraternities or sororities on campus.

Athletics

The school athletic teams are the Mustangs. Their colors are the prairie colors of brown and gold.

The Mustangs compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), which is a part of NCAA Division II. SMSU has been competing since 1969, but has been in the conference since the Northern Intercollegiate Conference and the Northern Sun Conference merged to form the NSIC in 1992. Programs for men include basketball, wheelchair basketball, baseball, football, and wrestling. The programs for women are basketball, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball. The student booster club for basketball is the Mustang Maniacs. Their slogan is, "Our team loves us and our opponents fear us". An annual basketball tradition is Hawaiian Night, which usually coincides with the Winter Meltdown festival.

Intramural sports include badminton, basketball, flag football, floor hockey, broomball, racquetball, softball, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, and volleyball. The Mustang Rugby Club competes in the Minnesota Rugby Union (USA Rugby) and won the Minnesota Division III Championship in 2002.

References

External links

* [http://www.southwestmsu.edu/ Southwest Minnesota State University]
* [http://www.southwestalumni.com/ SMSU Alumni Association]
* [http://smsumustangs.com/ Southwest Minnesota State Athletics]
* [http://www.smsuspur.net/ Campus newspaper, "The Spur"]
* [http://www.southwestmsu.edu/regional/index.html Center for Rural and Regional Studies]