University of Minnesota Morris

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. As 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.

History

Although UMM officially opened its doors in 1960, the history of what became the current institution reaches to 1887. That year, the first building of the Morris Industrial School for Indians, an American Indian boarding school, was constructed on the site and run by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy under contract to the US government. Beginning in 1898, the Office of Indian Affairs (today's Bureau of Indian Affairs) took over operations to introduce a more progressive curriculum.^[11][12] The school closed in 1909, under a Congressionally authorized program to reduce the number of boarding schools in preference for locating schools on reservations, so that Indian families and communities would not be broken up. 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 policy. In 1910, the University of Minnesota (at the time based only in 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. The residents of the Morris region convinced the university to develop the campus as a liberal arts college. The current UMM opened in September 1960.^[3]

West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	600 E. Fourth St., Morris, Minnesota
Area	42 acres (17 ha)
Built	1910
Architectural style	Bungalow/craftsman
NRHP Reference #	02001707[13]
Added to NRHP	January 15, 2003

Morris Industrial School for Indians Dormitory
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Off 4th St., Morris, Minnesota
Area	less than one acre
Built	1899
NRHP Reference #	84001696[13]
Added to NRHP	May 10, 1984

Several historic buildings of the West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[14][15] The Multi-Ethnic Resource Center, the oldest building on campus, dates back to 1899.^[16] It was previously the Music Hall of the West Central School of Agriculture, and the boys' dormitory of the Morris Industrial School for Indians. Camden Hall, Spooner Hall, the Horse Barn, Welcome Center, Behmler Hall, Blakely Hall, Imholte Hall, 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.

Academics

Morris offers 35 majors and minors, 15 secondary education licensure areas, as well as eight pre-professional programs in education, the humanities, science and mathematics, and the social sciences. ^[17]

According to U.S. News & World Report, the five most popular majors on campus are biology, psychology, business administration and management, English language and literature, and history.^[18]

Morris strives to offer high-caliber academics at an affordable cost. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report ranked UMM 139th in the "National Liberal Arts Colleges" list ^[19] and #7 in "Top Public Schools" for Liberal Arts Colleges.^[20] Washington Monthly ranked UMM the #36 "Best Bang for Your Buck" school in 2014. ^[21]In May 2011, Consumers Digest ranked UMM in the Top 5 Values in Public Colleges and Universities.^[22][23] During the fall of 2010, both U.S. News & World Report and Forbes ranked UMM among their “Best College” lists.^[24] Morris was ranked seventieth in the Top Public Schools in the National Liberal Arts Colleges category and made the Top 100 list of "Best Colleges: Most Students Studying Abroad" in U.S. News.^[25][26] A significant number of Morris graduates enroll in advanced degree programs following graduation.

Music Discipline

The music discipline provides performing opportunities such as choir, symphonic winds, jazz ensembles, orchestra, and recitals.^[27]

The annual jazz festival was founded by Jim "Doc" Carlson in 1979.^[28] World-renowned jazz artists are invited to host clinics and master classes for high school, community, and college jazz ensembles . Each night of the festival concludes with performances by student jazz combos, ensembles, and the guest artists backed by Morris Jazz I.^[29]

Green campus

In August 2009, Mother Jones Magazine chose the University of Minnesota Morris as one of its top 10 "cool schools" in the United States, stating that the school is great for alternative energy enthusiasts.^[30]

Morris is one of the first public colleges to generate on-site renewable power from local resources, such as corn stover. At the south edge of campus, a biomass gasification plant—fueled by crop residues from nearby farms—generates steam. The biomass gasifier is part of an integrated system for heating and cooling campus buildings. The combined heat and power system includes a steam turbine, which generates renewable electricity from gasifier steam, and a steam—powered absorption chiller.^[31]

At the campus’s Regional Fitness Center, locally manufactured solar thermal panels collect the sun’s energy to heat swimming pool water. A solar photovoltaic system on the south side of the science building converts sunlight into electricity. On the glacial ridge overlooking the campus, two 1.65 megawatt wind turbines generate renewable electricity for the campus and the region. Shifting to renewable power is just one piece of the campus’s comprehensive sustainability strategy. Other measures include historic building reuse, green building design and construction, conservation, local foods programs, hybrid vehicles, innovative curriculum, and community outreach. The Morris campus is a nationally recognized sustainability leader and serves as a model community.^[32]

In August 2013 the University of Minnesota Morris opened the Green Prairie Living and Learning Community.^[33] Construction on the building began in December 2012. The building is designed to house 72 students including 4 community advisors and a hall director. The building will house students during summer for special events and camps. There are kitchen facilities, a central lounge and patio, and study space. The Green Prairie Living and Learning Community was designed to meet Minnesota B3 sustainability guidelines and LEED Gold certification. It is constructed with high thermal mass insulated concrete forms (ICF) to prevent winter heat loss and summer heat gain. This is the first Residence Hall on the Morris campus to have suites.

Athletics

UMM's athletic teams have experienced varied success during the school's history.^[34] 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's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. They are the first member of the UMAC to be a public, state-supported institution - all other members over the years were private institutions, usually with a religious affiliation.

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, UM Morris opened a new football stadium named Big Cat Stadium, just south of the school's Regional Fitness Center. BCS is also used by the Morris Area High School Tigers. The new stadium replaced Cougar Field which had been used from 1970 to 2005. The school's first football field, named Miller Field, was used from 1961 to 1969.

In 2006, the Minnesota Morris Cougars football team captured their first UMAC championship in the Hubert H. Humphry Metrodome signaling the end of coach Ken Crandall's coaching career at UMM. 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. Over the next three years, the Cougars suffered losing records under coach Todd Hickman. In 2010 the team overcame their preseason rating (tied for last) to end the season with a winning record (5-4) and ending in a three way tie for 3rd in the conference.

Media

The university operates the radio station " the U-90 alternative, the prairie's only alternative" 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,^[35][36] Academic Challenge and Minnesota Rivers and Fields.^[37] UMM also has a student-run publication: The University Register, a newspaper which is published weekly.

Since 2005, the university has held an annual film festival, referred to as the UMMys, in the spring. Past winners include: "The Amazing Adventures of Beeman", "Rumspringa: The Musical" (a story about the forbidden love between a young Amish girl and a robot), and "The Chancellor's Daughter".^[38][39]

Residence halls

The residence halls on campus are:^[40]

• Clayton A. Gay Hall (Gay Hall) - Underclassmen Residence Hall. Also home to Student Health Services and the Office of Residential Life (ORL).
• David C. Johnson Independence Hall (Indy Hall) - Underclassmen Residence Hall
• Pine Hall - Underclassmen Residence Hall
• Blakely Hall – Upperclassmen Residence Hall (inactive during the 2013-2014 year)
• Spooner Hall - Upperclassmen Residence Hall
• On-Campus Apartments - Upperclassmen Apartment Housing
• Green Prairie Living and Learning Community - Underclassmen and Upperclassmen Residence Hall and Suites^[33]

Notable people

Alumni

• Chief Justice Lorie Skjerven Gildea 1983 - Chief Justice for Minnesota Supreme Court
• Earl B. Olson 1932 - Founder and Chairman of Jennie-O Turkey Company
• Sara McMann (attended 98' & 99') - 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in women's freestyle wrestling; currently a professional mixed martial arts fighter, competing in the Women's UFC bantamweight division^[41]
• Dennis Koslowski 1981 - team chiropractor, Minnesota Vikings. Owner, Koslowski Chiropractic Inc.
• Cy Thao 1995 - State of Minnesota House of Representatives
• Dana Veth 2006 - Bahamian footballer
• Joseph Ruud, better known by his ring name, Erick Rowan - professional wrestler, currently signed by the WWE.

Faculty

• PZ Myers - Associate professor of biology, prominent atheist blogger^[42]
• John Stuart Ingle - Artist^[43]
• Vicente Cabrera Funes - Author

Staff

• Jim Hall - Free software advocate, best known for FreeDOS^[44][45]

See also

• List of colleges and universities in Minnesota
• Higher education in Minnesota

References

External links

• University of Minnesota-Morris
• University of Minnesota-Morris Athletics
• KUMM: The U-90 Alternative
• The University Register
• Minnesota Rivers and Fields

Coordinates: 45°35′23″N 95°54′10″W / 45.58972°N 95.90278°W / 45.58972; -95.90278