Winona State University
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Motto | A Community of Learners Dedicated To Improving Our World |
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| Established | 1858 |
| Type | Public |
| President | Judith Ramaley |
| Undergraduates | 8,000 |
| Location | Winona, Minnesota, United States |
| Campus | Small Town |
| Colors | Purple and White |
| Nickname | Warriors |
| Website | http://www.winona.edu/ |
Winona State University is primarily an undergraduate university, the oldest of the schools that constitute Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). It is not part of the University of Minnesota, the state's land grant institution. Founded in 1858 to train teachers, today it offers over 80 undergraduate majors and 10 pre-professional programs. Enrollment for the year 2003 was 8,236 students. It has several masters programs, most relating to education, but no doctoral programs. The main campus is in Winona, Minnesota and there is a branch campus in Rochester, Minnesota (WSU Rochester Center). Pre-professional programs include medicine, law, and dentistry. Its pre-medical program operates in conjunction with Mayo Medical School, affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Winona State University is currently in the process of implementing a program dubbed the "Learning for the 21st Century Initiative". Previously it was called "The Winona Experience", which generated some controversy, and before that "The New University". This radical series of changes in University operation and structure seeks to better the vocational-education experience of each student. This change is not popular with all students because of a hefty tuition surcharge in addition to normal tuition, which has grown at double-digit or near-double-digit rates every year since 1998.
WSU is also noted as being one of the earliest universities in the country to offer a "Laptop University" program. In this program each student, upon acceptance, is required to lease his or her choice of either an Apple Macintosh or Gateway (PC) laptop directly from the university. The purpose of this program is to increase the bond between education and technology. WSU's laptop program has been used as a model for many like it nation-wide.
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[edit] Notable alumni
- John Blatnik, Member of the U.S. Congress
- Tim Penny, Member of the U.S. Congress
- Michele Bachmann, Member of the U.S. House
- Austin Aries, Professional Wrestler
- Kyle and Lane Carlson, Models
- Brian Wrobel, NFL, Green Bay Packers
- Chris Samp, NFL, Carolina Panthers
- Jerry Seeman, NFL Referee and NFL Senior Director of Officiating
[edit] Name changes
- First State Normal School of Minnesota (1858)
- Winona State Normal School (1873)
- Winona State Teachers' College (1921)
- Winona State College (1957)
- Winona State University (1975)
[edit] Athletics
Winona State University competes in Division II NCAA athletics and its teams are called the Warriors. It is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The WSU football team has won the NSIC conference championship nine times in 13 years (1993-2005).
The Men's Basketball team won the 2006 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship, the first NCAA title for the University.[1]
Winona State has a mild crosstown rivalry with Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
[edit] Winona State facilities
- KQAL, Winona State's radio station
- Darrell W. Krueger Library
- Maxwell Field at Midwest Wireless Stadium - Home of the Winona State Warriors Football, Soccer and Softball teams.
- Academic Halls at Winona State University
- Residence Halls at Winona State University
- Kryzsko Commons, the primary student center on-campus, houses the WSU bookstore and numerous lounges, including The Smaug.
