Minnesota State University-Mankato

1860–1921: Founding and early years Old Main at Mankato Normal School, Mankato, Minnesota The state legislature recognized the need for an education center in southern Minnesota in 1858. [ 19 ] In 1860, the legislature chartered the development of other state-run normal schools across the state. The largest and fastest-growing cities outside of Saint Paul, Saint Cloud and Mankato, were selected for the sites, dependent on local fundraising to establish the schools with seed money. Through the efforts of local attorney and state legislator Daniel Buck, the newly formed City of Mankato donated $5,000 raised from the community and sold $5,000 in bonds to found the second state normal school , Mankato Normal School. [ 20 ] It was chartered in state law in 1860 and held its first classes in 1868, with an enrollment of 27. [ 21 ] : 4 The school's original mission was to train and educate teachers for rural schools in southern Minnesota. Early coursework included mathematics, science, civil engineering, agriculture, western classics, and basic pedagogy. The first Normal School-owned building's cornerstone was laid on June 22, 1869. [ 21 ] : 4 George M. Gage served as Mankato Normal School's principal from 1868 to 1872. [ 21 ] : 6 Portrait of Julia Sears During this period, Mankato Normal School provided educational certificates that allowed graduates to become schoolteachers, and most of the students were women. [ 22 ] In relation to this focus on women's education, Mankato Normal School is noted as the first public college in the U.S. to be headed by a woman, suffragette Julia Sears , in 1872. In 1873, the State Normal Board demoted Sears to assistant principal, replacing her as principal with David C. John. [ 21 ] : 8 Sears's salary as assistant principal was reduced from $1,500 to $1,200 and resulted in a letter to Gage that it was doubtful that she would see him again in Minnesota.

[ 21 ] : 8 [ 23 ] In response, the assistant principal position was offered to Cornelius Hyde. [ 21 ] : 8 Both Sears and Hyde arrived for work on September 1, 1873. [ 23 ] After it was determined that Hyde would receive the position, 41 students refused to attend classes and 32 were expelled for failing to return after three days. [ 23 ] 60 residents signed a petition requesting that Hyde return to his position as instructor and that Sears be reinstated as assistant principal. [ 21 ] : 8 [ 23 ] This became known as the "Sears Rebellion", [ 23 ] which lasted until Sears left the school for a professorship at Peabody Normal School . These events were commemorated when a new residence hall was dedicated in honor of Sears in 2008 and a commission on the status of women was founded to support the advancement of women's education at the institution in the 1990s.

Quick facts Academic rankings, Master's ... Academic rankings Master's Washington Monthly [ 32 ] 250 Regional U.S. News & World Report [ 33 ] 75 National Forbes [ 34 ] 344 Close MNSU offers over 130 undergraduate programs of study, 13 pre-professional programs, and over 85 graduate programs. It provides a comprehensive education: each undergraduate program of study includes general requirements in mathematics, writing, cultural diversity, speech, information technology, and the environment. [ 6 ] Minnesota State is among the nation's top-producing master's institutions of Fulbright recipients, producing 11 student grant awards and 41 Fulbright Scholars. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] Each year, over 3,000 students graduate from MNSU. The Office of the Registrar confers around 3,000 bachelor's, 600 master's, 50 specialist, and 10 doctoral degrees. [ 38 ] MNSU's Career Development Center reports that 85% of graduates find employment in an area related to their field, and 90% were employed or continuing their education within 12 months of graduation. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Organization and administration The university is organized into seven discipline-specific colleges. Academic programs, schools, and extended learning are divided among them: College of Allied Health and Nursing [ 41 ] College of Business [ 42 ] College of Education [ 43 ] College of Humanities & Social Sciences [ 44 ] College of Science, Engineering and Technology [ 45 ] College of Graduate Studies and Research [ 46 ] College of Extended Learning [ 47 ]

Fourteen university-wide interdisciplinary centers and institutes work across collegiate lines: [ 48 ] The Glen Taylor Nursing Institute The Center on Aging The Minnesota Center for Transportation Research and Implementation The Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research The Minnesota Center for Modeling and Simulation The Kessel Institute for Peace and Change The Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence The Minnesota Center for Rural Policy and Development Minnesota Polytechnic and Applied Learning Institute (MinnPoly) The School of Applied Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Small Business Development Center Southern Minnesota Historical Center The Urban and Regional Studies Institute The Water Resources Center