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University of Minnesota

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This article is about the oldest and largest campus of the University of Minnesota. For a description of the system at large, see University of Minnesota system.
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
File:Umnseal.gif
MottoCommune Vinculum Omnibus Artibus
(Latin, "A common bond for all the arts")
TypePublic university
Established1851
Endowment$1.969 billion [1]
PresidentRobert H. Bruininks
Students51,194
Undergraduates28,740
Postgraduates13,841
Location
Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota
,
USA
CampusUrban - 2,730 acres (11.04 km²)
SportsThe Golden Gophers
ColorsMaroon and gold
MascotGoldy Gopher
Websiteumn.edu
Washington Avenue Bridge at night

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, almost always abbreviated U of M, and sometimes referred to as The "U" by locals, is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. Its student body is the second-largest in the United States according to autumn 2005 statistics, with 51,175 students (behind Arizona State University's campus in Tempe, Arizona).

It is located on two campuses in the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota; the campuses are linked through a dedicated bus system.

Academics

By far the largest institution of higher education in the Midwest, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities offers degree programs in almost all fields, from agriculture to modern dance. As of 2006, the university has sixteen schools and colleges:

The university recently reorganized its college system, merging some of the colleges together. General College, the School of Social Work and the Department of Family Social Science from the College of Human Ecology merged with the old College of Education and Human Development, forming a new College of Education and Human Development, while the College of Natural Resources merged with the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences into the new College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). The design-oriented programs from the College of Human Ecology merged with the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture(CALA), creating the new College of Design. These plans were controversial, particularly the closing of General College, which had been the entry point to the University for many first-generation students, low-income students, students with disabilities, and students of color since its founding in 1932.

The University has all three branches of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Additionally, the University's college bowl team won College Bowl's National Championship Tournament in 2004 and 2005.

U.S. News and World Report ranks the University of Minnesota 74th among Universities in the United States. A number of U of M graduate school departments have been ranked in the nation's top twenty by the National Research Council:

In addition, many of the U of M graduate professional schools and programs are consistently ranked in the top 20 in the US News and World Report, such as the School of Social Work, the Law School, the Carlson School of Management and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

For 2006, the department of Work and Human Resource Education was ranked number one in the nation by US News and World Report.

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

The Hubert H. Humphrey Institute ranks among the top 15 professional schools of public affairs at public universities in the country. Its program concentration in nonprofit management ranks fifth in the nation.

The Institute is widely recognized for its role in examining public issues and shaping public policy at the local, state, national, and international levels, and for providing leadership and management expertise to public and nonprofit organizations.

Campus

Minneapolis

Aerial photo of Minneapolis campus, facing east

When originally built in 1851, the Minneapolis campus overlooked the Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, but it was later moved about a mile downstream to its current location. That site is now marked by a small park known as Chute Square at the intersection of University Avenue and Central Avenue. The school shut down following a financial crisis during the American Civil War, and didn't reopen until 1867. It was upgraded from a preparatory school to a college in 1869.

Today's campus has buildings on both banks of the river, but the East Bank is the main portion of the campus and covers 307 acres (1.24 km²). It contains six residence halls (the University administration believes the terms "dorm" and "dormitory" have negative connotations).

On the East Bank, four of the residence halls have concentrated into a 4-city-block space known as the "Superblock". Each residence hall has some type of inner courtyard, and the Superblock contains various small parking lots for residents and visitors. There is also an outdoor basketball court as well as a beach volleyball pit. The Superblock is a popular locale for student housing primarily because of its location and the multitude of social activity between the four residence halls.

Next to the Superblock is a large medical complex, now merged with the Fairview system of clinics and hospitals known as the University of Minnesota Medical Center.

The historical center of the Minneapolis campus is Northrop Mall, a green space located about four blocks away from the Superblock. It was based on a design by Cass Gilbert, although his plans were too extravagant to be fully implemented. Several of the campus's primary buildings surround the Mall. Northrop Auditorium provides a northern anchor, with Coffman Memorial Union to the south. Four of the larger buildings on the sides of the Mall are the primary mathematics, physics, and chemistry buildings, and Walter Library, which has recently been renovated to focus more on digital media rather than the printed word.

Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art

Additionally, the East Bank has a few buildings with unique architecture worth mentioning. The Armory north east of the Northrop Mall is built like a Norman castle, with a sally port entrance facing Church St., and a tower originally intended to be the Professor of Military Science's residence, until it was found to be too cold. It originally held the athletics department as well as the military science classes that it now holds. One of the oldest buildings on campus is Pillsbury Hall, designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style and built out of varieties of sandstone available in Minnesota. It has a unique color that is hard to capture in a photograph. In more recent times, Frank Gehry designed the Weisman Art Museum. It is a small example of his work with curving metallic structures. Another new building on campus is the addition to the Architecture building that was designed by Steven Holl and completed in 2002. It won a NY American Institute of Architects award for its innovative design. The Architecture building was then re-named Rapson Hall after the local modernist architect and school of architecture dean Ralph Rapson. The University of Minnesota also boasts an historic Greek row north of Northrop Mall on University Avenue SE.

The West Bank of the campus has been growing rapidly, first seeing major development in the 1960s. It covers 53 acres (210,000 m²). Music, theater, and art students cannot pass through the University without spending a significant amount of time there, in what is known as the West Bank Arts Quarter, home to several annual interdisciplinary arts festivals. In addition to the arts, social science is a big area of research on the West Bank. The business school (Carlson School of Management) calls the West Bank home, as does the University's Law School. Wilson Library, the largest library in the University system, is also located there. Visitors to the West Bank will no doubt notice Middlebrook Hall, the largest residence hall on campus. Approximately 900 students reside in the building named in honor of William T. Middlebrook.

The Washington Avenue Bridge connects the East Bank and West Bank portions of the Minneapolis campus.

Students traveling between the East and West Banks will most likely use the Washington Avenue Bridge either on foot or via bus. This bridge is unique because it has two separate decks. The lower deck carries automobile traffic, while the upper deck is a pedestrian walkway. An enclosed walkway runs the length of the bridge, sheltering students from the wind, rain, and snow as they cross the Mississippi.

There are some subterranean passageways that students use to get from building to building when the weather is harsh. It is an ungainly network of circuitous routes that are confusing and don't always connect. Many people don't even know they exist. However, in recent years, effort has been made to map out these tunnels, and directions are now marked with signs reading, "The Gopher Way".

The Minneapolis campus is located near two interstate highways: I-94 and I-35W. It is bordered on the north by the Dinkytown neighborhood and by the Stadium Village neighborhood on the east.

Two proposed light rail stations have been proposed beneath the University along the proposed Central Corridor light rail line. Stations have been proposed under the East Bank and the West Bank.

St. Paul

Aerial photo of St. Paul campus

The University's St. Paul campus is actually located north of the city of St. Paul, surrounded by the suburb of Falcon Heights. Despite this, all university buildings on the campus have St. Paul street addresses. The campus is primarily associated with agriculture, and has a suburban setting. However, the University has some farm fields around it. It is by far the quieter campus. It has a grassy mall of its own and can be seen as a bit of a retreat from the busier Minneapolis campus.

Students have commuted between the two sites for many decades. Early on, a streetcar line between the campuses was established, but it went away along with the rest of the area's trolleys in the 1950s. Buses were used from then on, and a busway was created in 1992 to improve the speed between campuses. Unfortunately, the rate of collisions was fairly high with 32 crashes piling up over the years. Hence in 1997, new stop signs were added that would illuminate when a bus, bicycle, or pedestrian was approaching an intersection along the corridor. As of 2002, no additional accidents had been reported.

The St. Paul campus also borders the fairgrounds where the Minnesota State Fair is held every year. Minnesota's Fair is one of the largest in the United States, usually lasting twelve days, from late August through Labor Day in early September. Because of the heavy traffic associated with the Fair, classes do not start on either campus until after it is over (the Fair also makes extensive use of the Minneapolis campus parking).

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.

Media

The Twin Cities campus has a newspaper, a magazine and a radio station, all produced and managed almost entirely by students of the University.

The newspaper is The Minnesota Daily, which is printed each weekday during the normal school season, going to a weekly production during the summer. The Daily is operated by an organization of students, not by the university; and is the largest student-run paper in the United States. It was first published on May 1, 1900.

A relative newcomer to the University's print media community is The Wake Student Magazine, a weekly publication that covers University and campus-related stories and provides a forum for student expression. The magazine was first published in 2002 and became an official University-sanctioned student group in 2003. During the 2004 student fees committee cycle, The Wake was denied all funding under claims that it had not successfully reached out to the student body. After appeal, Jerry Rinehart, University associate vice provost for student affairs restored the magazine’s funding, citing the magazine's short period of existence, and the need for additional campus media as reasons for the restoration. The publications existence has since been uncontested. During the Spring 2006 semester, the Wake successfully moved to a weekly publication schedule. Additionally, the Wake publishes Liminal, a literary journal at the University that began in 2005. "Liminal" was created in the absence of an undergraduate literary journal and continues to bring poetry and prose to the University community. The journal is free and has been received as a major success by the University community.

In 2005 conservatives on campus began formulating a new, monthly magazine named the The Minnesota Republic. Their first issue was released in February of 2006, and will be funded by student service fees starting in September 2006.

The campus radio station is KUOM "Radio K"; it broadcasts during the day on 770 kHz AM. Its 5000-watt signal has a range of 80 miles. Due to FCC regulations, it shuts down at dusk. In 2003, the station began switching to a low-power (8 watt) signal on 106.5 MHz FM overnight and on weekends. Because of the limited range, Radio K also streams its content over the Internet. With roots in experimental transmissions that began before World War I, the station received the first AM broadcast license in the state on January 13, 1922 and began broadcasting as WLB, changing to the KUOM call sign about two decades later. The station had an educational format up until 1993 when it merged with a smaller campus-only music station. A small group of full-time employees oversee the station, while most of the on-air talent consists of student volunteers.

Some television programs made on campus have been broadcast on local PBS station KTCI channel 17. Several episodes of Great Conversations have been made since 2002, featuring one-on-one discussions between university faculty and experts brought in from around the world. Tech Talk is a show meant to help people who feel intimidated by modern technology, including cellular phones and computers.

Athletics

File:Goldy.jpeg
Goldy Gopher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mascot.
Main article: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Sports teams associated with the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota go by the Golden Gophers moniker. The Gophers are members of the Big Ten Conference and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in the NCAA. Minnesota is one of only 13 universities in the country offering NCAA Division I-A football, Division I men's and women's basketball, and Division I hockey.

Most of the facilities that the teams use for training and competitive play are located on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus. There are arenas for male and female basketball (Williams Arena) as well as hockey (Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena).

The school has held recent national championships in men's hockey (2002 and 2003), women's hockey (2004 and 2005), wrestling (2001, 2002), and men's golf (2002). The women's basketball team made it to the Final Four in 2004. Also in 2004, the Volleyball team made it to the NCAA championship game against Stanford.

File:UMN mlogo.gif

The University of Minnesota has a long tradition in football winning the National Championship 6 times (1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960). Minnesota's Bruce Smith won the Heisman Trophy in 1941 as college football's best player. There used to be a football stadium on campus, but in 1982 the football team started playing at the Metrodome near downtown Minneapolis when that dome was constructed. Memorial Stadium was torn down in 1992 and the area has since been developed with other University buildings, though it is still known as "stadium village". On May 24, 2006 Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a bill that will provide partial state funding to construct a new on-campus football stadium near Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena. The stadium will be called TCF Bank Stadium and is projected to open on September 12, 2009.

Weather

Minnesota weather can be harsh, and the weather on campus is no exception. In the winter, temperatures in the region sometimes dip below −20°F (−29°C), with wind chills perhaps −60°F (−51°C) or lower. Large amounts of snow can fall as well, but the University's Facilities Management team is very proactive about clearing snow quickly.

It is extremely rare for the University as a whole to have unscheduled closings. Classes were cancelled for half a day on September 11, 2001, but the last time the campus had a weather-related closing was January 18, 1994, when then-Governor Arne Carlson ordered the shutdown of state government services throughout Minnesota during a period of extreme cold. Temperatures ranged from −27 °F (−33 °C) to −16 °F (−26 °C) in the Twin Cities that day. However, many individual classes will be cancelled by professors and teaching assistants during any given year, and students are excused from evening classes when Minnesota holds political caucuses.

While Minnesota is known for having cold winters, hot summers also occur in the region, and weather varies on a daily basis. The Minneapolis campus largely uses steam heat in the winter and chilled water for cooling in summer, but the campus staff always takes a gamble that weather trends will continue when transitioning between the two modes in spring and fall.

However, it should be noted that many (if not most) buildings are interconnected by a system of tunnels and skyways. It's possible to reach almost any building on either bank of the Minneapolis campus without having to go outdoors, though the routes may be somewhat circuitous and poorly marked.

One of the main heating plants is located near the Stone Arch Bridge across from downtown. In the first half of the 20th century, it provided electricity for the regional system of streetcars operated by Twin City Rapid Transit and is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of that (of course, there are several other registered buildings on campus). It was converted to provide steam for heating after the University acquired it in 1976. When the weather is cold, four railroad cars worth of coal can be required each day to keep the campus heated.

Notable faculty, staff, students, and alumni

Notable Professional Organizations

On October 15, 1904, Theta Tau, the Professional Engineering Fraternity, was founded at the University of Minnesota. It is described today as, "The nation's largest, and still foremost, engineering fraternity."

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Minnesota.
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