Minnesota State University, Mankato

The State Legislature recognized the need for an education center in southern Minnesota by 1858.[24] In 1860 the legislature chartered the development of state run normal schools to serve areas outside of Winona. 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 turned state legislator Daniel Buck, the newly formed City of Mankato donated $5,000 raised from the area community and sold $5,000 in bonds for the founding of the second state normal school, Mankato Normal School.[25] Chartered in state law in 1860, the first classes were held in 1868 with an enrollment of 27 students. The institution's original mission was to train and educate teachers for rural schools throughout southern Minnesota. Early course work included sciences, mathematics, civil engineering, agriculture, western classics, and basic pedagogy.

During this early period, Mankato Normal School provided educational certificates that allowed for graduates to become school teachers and a majority of the students were women.[26] In relation to this focus on women's education, Mankato Normal School is noted as the first public college in the United States to be headed by a woman, suffragette Julia Sears, in 1872. Controversially Julia Sears was hired, then subsequently demoted and eventually she was fired by the School Board of Trustees. Students, city residents and some businesses were upset at the firing of Sears and a protest was held. This became known as the Sears Rebellion which lasted until Sears left the school for a professorship at Peabody Normal School. These events would later come to be remembered as 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.[27]

By 1921, the school had grown significantly to the point that it began to offer four-year bachelor's degrees. As a result, it was renamed the Mankato State Teachers College. Enrollment then dipped during World War II and the college refocused its extension programs on providing education to members of the Works Progress Administration and Naval Corps.[26]

During the post World War II period, student enrollment expanded greatly. The original university buildings were then located in what was known as the Valley Campus. It was located geographically down the hill in lower Mankato. The size and footprint of the Valley Campus could not sustain the space needed to handle the growing student body. By the late 1950s work began on constructing an entirely new, modern campus atop the river valley bluff. This became the Highland Campus.[26] A new experimental school called the Wilson School was built on the Highland Campus to research and apply new teaching methods for students in grades K-12. The intent of this school was to provide student teachers the opportunity to learn and experiment with new methods in a university environment.[28]

By 1957, the mission of the institution had broadened to comprehensive four-year college education, the state legislature changed the name of the college to Mankato State College. The following years saw additional enrollment growth. The Valley Campus was eventually sold to a private developer and the Highland Campus grew in size.[26] By the 1960s the institution had grown so fast and so large that there was a bill created in the State Legislature to designate it the University of Southern Minnesota by state Senator Val Imm and later an amendment to the bill by state Representative Mike McGuire would have renamed it Minnesota State University.[29] These were proposed long before the popular television show Coach (TV series) aired.[30] It was proposed to be a second and independent state university equal in stature to the University of Minnesota at a time when there was only one research institution.[31] There was significant opposition from the University of Minnesota and from Governor Karl Rolvaag at the time.

In 1975, the college successfully made the case to transition to comprehensive status and was renamed to Mankato State University. This change reflected a further 40% growth in the student body to 12,000 students by 1972.[25] Following this period was a movement toward increasing the number of available programs including science, technology, engineering, health sciences and others. The university became more comprehensive in its programmatic offerings.

Minnesota State University Entrance Sign – Built in 2008, the sign is carved out a single block of Kasota stone, which is a local building material only found in the area.

In 1995, the seven state universities were transferred to the newly created Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system by a mandate from the state legislature. Shortly after this, the University was renamed Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1998 in recognition of its significant contribution to the state's higher education system.[32] This name change was also intended to broaden recognition of the university in the Midwest region.[33] Dr. Richard Rush, then the President of the University had famously stated about the name change that: Our goal is to make this University the other great public university in Minnesota,[34] this marked a significant change in direction in the history of the institution, one that would later be realized as it fought for the authorization of being able to award doctoral degrees. It was during this time that the institution began to refer to itself as Minnesota State.

In 2007, in another major milestone – the University was authorized to begin offering applied doctoral degrees.[35]

The University has previously been named:

• Mankato Normal School: 1868–1921
• Mankato State Teachers College: 1921–1957
• Mankato State College: 1957–1975
• Mankato State University: 1975–1998
• Minnesota State University, Mankato: 1998–present

The university is accredited by 26 national and regional accrediting agencies. A shortlist of these include accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission,[55] American Association of University Women, American Board of Engineering and Technology, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.[56]

The Ostrander-Student Memorial Bell Tower stands in the campus arboretum. It was constructed through donations from Lloyd B. Ostrander, a 1927 MSU graduate, his wife, Mildred, and from the Student Association. The Bell Tower was completed in 1989.

This campus is located at 7700 France Ave. S. in Edina, Minnesota and serves a diverse student body from the southwest Twin Cities metropolitan area.[73] Program offerings at this campus include 12 undergraduate programs including bachelor's degrees, bachelors completion programs, undergraduate minors and teaching licensure. The College of Graduate Studies offers 23 graduate programs including master's degrees in Accounting, Engineering, Education Leadership and other specialty areas.

Located on the southwest side of Owatonna, Minnesota, the Owatonna College and University Center was established on 27 acres by the state to meet the needs of college graduates in the Owatonna area. This site is a collaboration of Minnesota State University, Mankato, South Central College, and Riverland Community College to provide lower division liberal arts, career and technical education, and upper division and graduate-level studies in one location. On average 4,000 students attend this location for-credit coursework.[74]

A partnership center was established in 2012 to offer several targeted bachelor's degree in the southwest Twin Cities area at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota.[75] Several trial programs originally offered at the Normandale Center such as the Twin Cities Engineering program were expanded to other Minnesota State system community colleges in 2016.[76]

The Student Senate provides leadership and policy action as an advisory council to the student body. It oversees student activity fees allocations, hires a student legal aid, communicates with the university faculty and leadership, provides grade appeals, awards a yearly scholarship, and partners with the Memorial Library to operate a textbook rental/reserve program for commonly requested books.

The Student Government (formerly the Minnesota State Student Association[78]) represents Minnesota State University, Mankato students at the Institutional, Local, State, and Federal governing levels through listening to and voicing the thoughts, ideas, and concerns of all students. It advocates on behalf of university students along with Students United.

Minnesota State University, Mankato has the second oldest LGBT resource center for students in the nation.[79] This center, originally named the "Alternative Lifestyles Office", was founded by Mankato alumnus James Chalgren in 1977. The current director of the Center is Jessica Flatequal.[80] The Center is located in the Centennial Student Union and is an independent office within the University Student Affairs. Minnesota State was also voted as one of the top 100 campuses in the nation for LGBT students according to The Advocate.[81]

Freshman and sophomore students are encouraged to stay in the on-campus student housing. Students may optionally choose to participate in the Learning Community Program.[82] This program provides a structured environment for incoming first-year students to join a residence hall that supports their academic success by placing them with students from the same major, provides major specific study sessions led by senior students and provides direct connections with faculty and staff.

The Taylor Center opened in the Fall of 2000

The Taylor Center opened in the Fall of 2000, and was made possible by the donations of alumnus Glen Taylor. The 4,800-seat facility houses Maverick basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams. The MSU Admissions office is also located here and the 5,000 square-foot Hall of Champions showcases the University's proud history. In addition to MSU athletic events and other sporting activities, Taylor Center also hosts MSU commencement ceremonies, major concerts and lectures.[93]

Expanded Outdoor Athletic Facilities were constructed in the very southern portion of the campus including over 20 acres of new baseball fields, a soccer field, a jogging track, a trail, and experimental wind power facilities were completed in 2008.

A fictitious Minnesota State University was the main setting for the popular sitcom Coach, with its teams nicknamed the Screaming Eagles. However, the show was filmed and portrayed by University of Iowa and other colleges. At the time the television show was filmed the institution was still under the previous name, Mankato State University.