University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Other name	U of M; The U; UMN
Motto	Commune vinculum omnibus artibus (Latin)
Motto in English	"A common bond for all the arts"
Type	Public land-grant research university
Established	1851; 173 years ago (1851)[1]
Parent institution	University of Minnesota system
Accreditation	HLC
Academic affiliations	AAU CUMU URA USU Space-grant
Endowment	$5.366 billion (2022)[2]
Budget	$4.5 billion (2024)[3]
President	Jeff Ettinger (interim)[4]
Provost	Rachel Croson
Academic staff	4,823 (Fall 2023)[5]
Total staff	27,675 (Fall 2023)[5]
Students	54,890 (Fall 2023)[6]
Undergraduates	30,469 (Fall 2023)[6]
Postgraduates	11,233 (Fall 2023)[6]
Doctoral students	5,534 (Fall 2023)[6]
Other students	9,284 (Fall 2023)[6]
Location	Minneapolis-Saint Paul , Minnesota , United States 44°58′30″N 93°14′07″W / 44.97500°N 93.23528°W / 44.97500; -93.23528
Campus	Large city[7], 2,730 acres (1,100 ha)
Newspaper	Minnesota Daily
Colors	Maroon and gold[8]
Nickname	Golden Gophers
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FBS – Big Ten WCHA
Mascot	Goldy Gopher
Website	twin-cities.umn.edu

The University of Minnesota (formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The Twin Cities campus comprises locations in Minneapolis and Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) apart.^[9]

The Twin Cities campus is the oldest and largest in the University of Minnesota system and has the ninth-largest (as of the 2022-2023 academic year) main campus student body in the United States, with 54,890 students at the start of the 2023–24 academic year.^[10] It is the flagship institution of the University of Minnesota System and is organized into 19 colleges, schools, and other major academic units.

The Minnesota Territorial Legislature drafted a charter for the University of Minnesota as a territorial university in 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state. The university is currently classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".^[11] It is a member of the Association of American Universities. The National Science Foundation ranked University of Minnesota 22nd among American universities for research and development expenditures in 2022 with $1.202 billion.^[12][13] The University of Minnesota is considered a Public Ivy university.^[14]

The Minnesota Golden Gophers compete in 21 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference and have won 29 national championships.^[15][16] As of March 2024, Minnesota's current and former students have won a total of 90 Olympic medals.^[17]

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

The University of Minnesota was founded in Minneapolis in 1851 as a college preparatory school, seven years prior to Minnesota's statehood.^[9] It struggled in its early years and relied on donations to stay open from donors, including South Carolina Governor William Aiken Jr.^[18][19]

In 1867, the university received land grant status through the Morrill Act of 1862.^[20][21] With lands taken from Dakota people, the university was able to revive itself after closing in 1858.^[22] The Dakota people have not been credited for the expropriation of their lands.^[22]

An 1876 donation from flour miller John S. Pillsbury is generally credited with saving the school.^[18][19] Since then, Pillsbury has become known as "The Father of the University."^[23] Pillsbury Hall is named in his honor.^[24][25]

Academic milestones began with Warren Clark Eustis and Henry Martyn Williamson graduating in 1873 as the university's first graduates.^[26] Helen Marr Ely was the first female graduate in 1875.^[26] The university progressed by awarding its first master's degree in 1880 and conferring its first Ph.D. in 1888.^[26]

As the 20th century began, the university expanded its academic offerings. In 1908, the university inaugurated the Program of Mortuary Science, becoming the first state university in the United States to do so.^[26] The School of Nursing was established in 1909, the first continuous nursing school on a university campus in the United States. The nursing school later opened its doors to male students in 1949.^[26]

20th-century breakthroughs at the University of Minnesota positioned it as a leader in medical innovation. In 1954, C. Walton Lillehei and F. John Lewis performed the world's first successful open-heart surgery using cross-circulation.^[26] 1955 saw Richard DeWall and Lillehei develop the bubble oxygenator, setting the stage for modern heart-lung machines.^[26] This was followed by Lillehei's performance of the first artificial heart valve implant in a human in 1958, and in the same year, Earl Bakken, co-founder of Medtronic, Inc., developed the first portable pacemaker, introduced into practice by Lillehei.^[26]

The latter part of the 20th century saw the university's continued innovation in medical transplantation, including the world's first successful kidney/pancreas transplant in 1967, a bone marrow transplant in 1968, and a living donor pancreas transplant in 1998.^[26] Another notable contribution to agriculture came in 1991, with the development of the honeycrisp apple.^[26]

Academics

Organization and administration

The university is organized into 19 colleges, schools, and other major academic units:^[27]

Institutes and centers

Six university-wide interdisciplinary centers and institutes work across collegiate lines:^[28]

• Center for Cognitive Sciences
• Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment, and the Life Sciences
• Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota
• Institute for Engineering in Medicine
• Institute for Translational Neuroscience
• Institute on the Environment
• Minnesota Population Center

Rankings