University of Minnesota, Morris

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University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) is a public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges located in Morris, Minnesota. A part of the University of Minnesota system, it was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts degrees. The enrollment is about 1,900 students [1], consisting of all undergraduates. UMM has a student to faculty ratio of 13 students to every one professor, and the average class size is sixteen students. UMM currently competes in NCAA Division II (a transition to Division III will be complete by 2007) and its team mascot is the Cougar.

[edit] History

Although the UMM officially opened its doors in 1960, the history of what became the current institution reaches back farther. In the 1880s, an American Indian boarding school was formed on the site and run by the Roman Catholic Church and later the US government. The school closed in 1909 and the campus was transferred to the State of Minnesota under the agreement that American Indians would always be admitted free of tuition, the current UMM still follows this agreed policy. In 1910, the University of Minnesota (at the time only the Twin Cities campus), established a boarding school on the campus called the West Central School of Agriculture. In the 1950s, the University of Minnesota began phasing out its regional agricultural school and the people of the Morris region were able to convince the school to develop the campus into a liberal arts college. The current UMM opened in September 1960.

Several historic buildings of the West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Music Hall, the oldest building on campus, dates back to 1899. It was the boys' dormitory of the Morris Industrial School for Indians. Camden Hall, Spooner Hall, Saddle Club Barn, Community Services Building, Behmler Hall, Blakely Hall, Social Science Building, Education Building, Pine Hall, and the Recycling Center all contribute to the Register. Most of these buildings were designed by Clarence H. Johnston Sr. in the Craftsman and Prairie School style.

[edit] Achievements

In 2005, UMM was rated fourth out of the 20 public liberal arts colleges and in the third tier of all liberal arts colleges in the U.S. News and World Report's ranking of "America's Best Colleges."
UMM is also known for its commitment to alternative sources of energy. In April 2005, a wind turbine was installed east of campus on a ridge over the Pomme de Terre river. The turbine currently provides about 60% of the campus' electricity, in addition to providing a source for research.[2] Efforts are currently underway to have two more wind turbines installed over the next few years. UMM has also secured funding for a biomass plant for research purposes. When completed, it will provide about 80% of the campus' heat.[3]

[edit] Athletics

UMM's athletic teams have experienced varied success during the school's history. The 1970s were marked by success in basketball and football. Olympic wrestler, Dennis Koslowski, wrestled for the Cougars in the early 1980s. After a move in the early 1990s as a non-scholarship Division II and a brief experiment with athletic scholarships, Cougar athletics found a more appropriate home in NCAA Division III.

Holding the UMAC Championship trophy, former head coach Kenith Crandle holds his head high, as PC "can-I-get-a-beat" Collins pumps a fist of triumph

UMM ended a famous football losing streak on September 20, 2003, by defeating Principia College, a Division III team, in Elsah, Illinois 61-28. UMM holds the NCAA Division II record with 46 games lost consecutively, with the previous win before September 20, 2003 being November 14, 1998.

UMM was, in 1993, the first college in the United States to sponsor women's wrestling as an official varsity sport. The program was cut in 2003 due to budget constraints.

In 2006, a new men's soccer team was announced.

In 2006 the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougar football team won their first ever upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship27-20 in the MetroDome in Minneapolis, MN on October 27, 2006.

The last conference title for the Cougar football program was the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) title in 1987, the second of two straight NIC titles.

[edit] Media

The university operates the radio station " the U-90 alturnitive, the prarie's only alturnitive" 89.7 FM (KUMM)
and produces at least three television programs that air on PBS stations in the state. Pioneer Public Television carries Prairie Yard and Garden, Academic Challenge and Minnesota Rivers and Fields. UMM also has two student-run publications: The University Register, a newspaper which is published weekly, and The Counterweight, a conservative paper which is published monthly.

[edit] Dorms

The dormitory halls on campus are

• Clayton A. Gay Hall (Gay Hall) - Underclassmen Dormitory Hall also home to Student Health Services
• Independence-Johnson Hall (Indy Hall) - Underclassmen Dormitory Hall
• Pine Hall - Underclassmen Dormitory Hall
• Spooner Hall - Upperclassmen Dormitory Hall
• Blakely Hall - Upperclassmen Dormitory Hall

[edit] References

• UMM | About UMM
• UMM | Welcome to a Green Campus
• Heath, Eagan (Feb. 9, 2006). "UMM may have two more wind turbines in its future". The University Register, p. 1.
• National Register of Historic Places Registration Form:West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District

[edit] External links

• University of Minnesota, Morris
• KUMM: The U-90 Alternative
• The University Register
• The Counterweight
• Prairie Yard and Garden
• Minnesota Rivers and Fields