Minnesota State University Moorhead

The plans for what would become MSUM were laid down in 1885, when the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill declaring the need for a new state normal school in the Red River Valley , with an eye on Moorhead. The State Senator who proposed the bill, State Senator Solomon Comstock , donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) and appropriated the funds that would go to form "Moorhead Normal School", which opened in 1888. In 1921, the State authorized the school to offer the four-year Bachelor of Science degree in education in order to satisfy the need for high school teachers in northwest Minnesota, and the school became "Moorhead State Teachers College". Weld Hall, the oldest building on campus, built in 1915 With the entrance of World War II , the college entered into a contract with the Army Air Corps to train aviation students. After World War II, enrollment swelled to more than 700 students and the school diversified and broadened into both a liberal arts and professional curriculum. The school began offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1946 and graduate programs by 1953. As a result of the broadened offerings, by 1957 the name was changed to "Moorhead State College". In 1969, the school joined a cooperative cross-registration exchange with neighboring Concordia College and North Dakota State University , creating the Tri-College University (Replaced by the Metro College Alliance in 2025 [ 8 ] ). The school continued to increase its number of programs and by 1975, the State Legislature that year granted the school university status under the name "Moorhead State University". In 1995, Moorhead State became part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system . On July 1, 2000, the school was renamed Minnesota State University Moorhead via a request sent to the board of trustees of the system. Minnesota State University Moorhead was rated the 18th top liberal arts college in the midwest by TIME magazine in 2008.

Lommen Hall, which houses education departments The school has gone through many names changes with Moorhead Normal School (1887), Moorhead State Teachers College (1921), Moorhead State College (1957), Moorhead State University (1975) and finally Minnesota State University Moorhead (2000). Presidents 1888–1899 Livingston C. Lord 1899–1919 Frank A. Weld 1919–1923 Oliver Dickerson 1923–1941 Ray MacLean 1941–1955 Otto W. Snarr 1955–1958 A.L. Knoblauch 1958–1968 John Neumaier 1968–1994 Roland Dille 1994–2008 Roland Barden 2008–2014 Edna Mora Szymanski 2014–2023 Anne E. Blackhurst 2023–Present Timothy Downs

Quick facts Academic rankings, Master's ... Academic rankings Master's Washington Monthly [ 9 ] 328 Regional U.S. News & World Report [ 10 ] 115 National Forbes [ 11 ] RNP Close MSUM offers 76 undergraduate majors with 99 emphases and 14 graduate degree programs. They are organized into five colleges: the College of Arts, Media and Communication; the College of Business and Innovation; the College of Education and Human Services; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; and the College of Science, Health and the Environment. MSUM is accredited by 14 national accrediting and certification agencies , including the Higher Learning Commission . [ 12 ] The MSUM School of Business is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). [ 13 ] The nursing program is accredited at both the baccalaureate (BSN) and master's (MS in nursing) levels by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Other programs that are accredited include speech, language and hearing sciences; athletic training; and teacher education. [ 14 ] MSUM also collaborates with Concordia College , North Dakota State University , North Dakota State College of Science , and Minnesota State Community and Technical College on a Tri-College University program that offers students the chance to take courses between the five campuses that can be credited toward their degree. [ 15 ]

MSUM operates the New Rivers Press , a nonprofit literary press founded in 1968. The campus newspaper is The Advocate , formerly The MiSTiC. The MiSTiC was closed by university administration in 1970. [ 16 ] The school also publishes a literary magazine, Red Weather, [ 17 ] with the support of the English Department. The yearly publication is a journal of prose, poetry, interviews, photography and art by current undergraduates and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Students produce a weekly open-submission literary journal entitled The Yellow Bicycle, a collection of poetry, prose, essays, and reviews. [ 18 ] MSUM produces a daily faculty/staff email newsletter called Dragon Digest [ 19 ] and a twice a year publication for its alumni and friends titled Moorhead Magazine. [ 20 ] The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning (IJGLL), a blind peer-reviewed open access scientific journal, is published twice a year by the Department of Leadership and Learning in the College of Education and Human Services. The IJGLL focuses on original research in areas related to P-12, post-secondary, and community education.