The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...
in
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
. It is part of the
University of Minnesota system and offers 16
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s in 88
majors
Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...
, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year program at the School of Medicine and a four-year College of Pharmacy program.
[The Will and the Way, published by Manley Goldfine and Donn Larson, 2004, chapter 30 by Mike Lalich.]
History
Early history and plans for Duluth Normal School
Although the University of Minnesota Duluth did not officially make its appearance until 1947, plans for a college in the Duluth area were first made in the 1890s. The state legislature planned for a teaching school for women (then referred to as a
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
) and in 1895 they passed a bill authorizing the State Normal School at Duluth. In 1896, the City of Duluth donated of land to serve as a foundation for the school, and the state legislature provided additional funds for the construction costs for the main building in 1899, which was built in 1900. In February 1901, a fire caused extensive damage to the school and the following year, the school was rebuilt.
Opening of Duluth State Teachers College
In April 1901, Eugene W. Bohannon was appointed president of the Duluth Normal School. In 1902 the school first opened for enrollment. The first students, all women, came to the school to be trained for a degree in education. By 1903, the first seven women received their diplomas from the State Normal School at Duluth. The institution changed names to the Duluth State Normal School or Duluth Normal School in 1905. In 1906, the first dormitories were opened, costing the school around $35,000 to build. Room and board were offered at cost, between fourteen and fifteen dollars a month.
Throughout the next few years, more dormitories, two new wings, and an auditorium were added to the school. Requirements, such as having a high school diploma, were instituted. Students who signed a pledge to teach after graduation attended for free; others were required to pay $30 per year.
The 1906 ''Bulletin of the State Normal School'' describes the school at that time:
:The building is thoroughly modern in construction and equipment. It is located in one of the most attractive parts of the city, overlooking the waters of Lake Superior from a height of more than three hundred feet. The laboratories are large and well arranged. The furniture and apparatus are new and excellent in every way. The present equipment of the several laboratories represents an expenditure of not less than $7,500, and is entirely adequate for the needs of the school. A large and well-lighted room has been equipped for manual training. It is supplied with twenty benches of the most approved make and all of the necessary tools and instruments.
Enrollment for 1903 was 127 and by 1906 it had increased to 202. A Model School with kindergarten through grade eight was maintained for "practice teaching". The 1906 bulletin reports, "At the opening of the school four years ago it was somewhat doubtful whether the number of children to attend would be sufficient to constitute a model school in any proper sense. Only three teachers were needed to take charge of the pupils at that time, while five are required now and the number of children seeking admission is greatly in excess of the limit fixed for the several grades.
In 1921, the State Normal School at Duluth was renamed Duluth State Teachers College or DSTC. The change in status allowed bachelor's degrees and four-year degree programs to be added to the school. The college published a yearbook, ''The Chronicle'', and looking through the publication the many pages devoted to extracurricular events and student's photos of campus life suggests that the students enjoyed many activities outside of their everyday classroom work.
In 1929 the school became co-ed, and the first sports teams were instituted, including hockey, football, and basketball. By 1937, the community supported elevating DSTC to a branch campus of the University of Minnesota.
In 1985 the four surviving buildings of the State Normal School at Duluth, consisting of the Main Building, Washburn Hall, Torrance Hall, and the Model School, were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
[ With ] The Duluth State Normal School Historic District was listed for its state-level significance in the themes of architecture and education. It was nominated as Minnesota's most intact state normal school campus, and for the
Beaux-Arts architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...
of the Main Building.
However a fire in 1993 reduced the Main Building to freestanding remnants.
Founding of University of Minnesota Duluth
As enrollment increased on the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
campus in the Twin Cities in the 1940s, higher education leaders began to debate how to address overcrowding on the state's land grant university campus. During this time City leaders and area state legislators formed a plan to advocate for establishing a branch campus of the University of Minnesota in the City of Duluth. After significant lobbying efforts a bill was drafted and submitted to the legislature that would instead take the Duluth State Teachers College, remove it from the Minnesota State Teachers College system and establish a branch of the University of Minnesota in 1947.
[Landmark Structures of Duluth: Their History and Architecture. Sommer, Lawrence J. 1971.] The Legislature narrowly passed the bill and the marriage of the University of Minnesota to Duluth State Teachers College began. It is at this time that the University of Minnesota Duluth was established.
These events were significant statewide as the Duluth State Teachers College was given preference above all of the other state teachers college in 6 other regions of the state to be upgraded to "university" status. These events later led to discord, with
Southern Minnesota organizing to request its own university in 1963-1967 as part of efforts to make Mankato State Teachers College into a research university called the
University of Southern Minnesota
Southern Minnesota Normal College, was a normal school and business school located in Austin, Minnesota that operated from 1897 to 1925. It was founded with the Austin School of Commerce.
The school was founded in 1896 by Charles Boostrom, an ...
or
Minnesota State University
Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...
. It wouldn't be until 1975-1976 that the others would be allowed to develop comprehensive curriculum and expand as full universities. During these initial years the University of Minnesota Duluth was considered directly a part of the University of Minnesota, not an independent institution.
Modern history
The University of Minnesota Duluth has established itself in a number of research areas including ocean, sea and freshwater sciences.
It is the primary sea-grant university for the state of Minnesota and operates the Minnesota Sea Grant Program offices on campus. In addition, in 1972 a two-year
school of medicine
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
was founded at the university to provide the first two years of medical education in a small urban and rural setting. The medical school was reorganized in 2000 to be a direct component of the University of Minnesota Medical School from the Twin Cities campus and now operates semi-independently from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Today, the university now educates a medium-sized student body of nearly 11,000 students each year and draws students primarily from the Twin Ports and Twin Cities areas.
Campus
The UMD campus consists of more than 50 buildings on overlooking
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
.
[A Construction History: University of Minnesota Duluth by Robert W. Bridges, UMD. Duluth. 1986.] Most UMD buildings are connected by concourses or hallways. UMD is also home to the
Tweed Museum of Art
The Tweed Museum of Art is a museum on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth, in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
The Tweed Museum of Art was established in 1950 when Alice Tweed Tuohy, widow of George P. Tweed, donated their house an ...
, the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium, Weber Music Hall, and the Marshall Performing Arts Center. Other UMD facilities include
Glensheen Historic Estate
Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate is a 20,000 square foot mansion in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, operated by the University of Minnesota Duluth as a historic house museum. Glensheen sits on 12 acres of waterfront property on Lake Supe ...
,
Chester Park School which houses Minnesota Sea Grant and the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, the
Natural Resources Research Institute
The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) is a United States (U.S.) based research institute founded by the Minnesota state legislature within the University of Minnesota Duluth. NRRI is a non-profit, applied research organization, establi ...
, the Research and Field Studies Center, and the Lower Campus which houses the Large Lakes Observatory.
UMD has substantially expanded its facilities beginning in 2000 with the completion of the Kathryn A. Martin
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
. Additional recent buildings include the Weber Music Hall (2002), Kirby Plaza (2004), James I. Swenson Science Building (2005), Sports and Health Center addition (2006), Life Science Renovation (2006), Labovitz School of Business & Economics (2008), Bagley Environmental Classroom (2009), the Civil Engineering Building (2010)
[2000-2010: A decade of building excellence at the University of Minnesota Duluth, UMD, Duluth. 2010.] and the Heikkila Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science (HCAMS) building (2019).
New art on campus came along with the construction of the new buildings. All new public building projects in Minnesota must comply with the state's “One Percent for Art” law, passed by the
State Legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
in 1984, which mandates that all such projects in Minnesota costing over $500,000 must devote at least 1% of their total construction budget towards incorporating
public art into these building's public spaces. A little over 1% of the library's $28 million construction costs went toward the purchase and installation of a glass sculpture by
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly () (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".
Early life
Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20 ...
that hangs from the ceiling of the two-story library lobby. An outdoor
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
adjacent to the Swenson Science Building makes reference to elements of Duluth's surrounding Native American
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
culture. The sculpture, "Wild Ricing Moon," was designed by John David Mooney and represents the traditional
wild rice
Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...
harvest.
![2009-0617-UMD-SchoolofMedicine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/2009-0617-UMD-SchoolofMedicine.jpg)
The colleges and schools at the University of Minnesota Duluth are:
* College of Education & Human Service Professions
* College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
* Labovitz School of Business and Economics
* Swenson College of Science and Engineering
* Graduate School
* Medical School
* College of Pharmacy
Buildings
Heikkila Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science Building
The three story, 56,000 sq. ft. Heikkila Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science (HCAMS) building opened in 2019. It is named for benefactors Kurt and Beth Heikkila. The HCAMS building is the home of the Advanced Materials Center.
James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building
Completed in 2010, the 35,300 square foot, $12,100,000 building was designed by
Ross Barney Architects
Ross Barney Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Organized in February 1981 as Carol Ross Barney Architects, the firm served clients with cultural and social agendas but not necess ...
of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. The new building for the Civil Engineering program is designed to teach students about materials, how they go together, how they age, and how they express the forces inherent in any structure. The exterior expresses the traits of a place where students design, construct, and test structures to withstand stresses and strains. The facade is distinguished by cor-ten steel, precast and poured in place concrete, concrete block, and scuppers clad in reclaimed wood. On a rainy day, the building is a demonstration of hydraulics and kinetic energy, as water pours from the scuppers and splashes into the cor-ten steel catch basins. The design has received many accolades, including the 2013
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
Cote Top Ten Green Project Award.
The jury stated "This is an example of wedding together buildings that perform well but also are aesthetically rich, and culturally useful, beneficial, and beautiful in their own way. The project has a very honest expression of the materials—it's very clear what this building is made of. It's creative in its architectural expression in a way that's sculptural and sort of bold and solid like the sciences that are studied within. Seventy-seven percent energy reduction below the baseline in Duluth’s severe climate also is impressive."
Marshall Performing Arts Center
Marshall Performing Arts Center was built in the 1970s and is a 715-seat flexible thrust/proscenium theatre presenting an array of theatre and dance events. It was named after the parents of Julia and Caroline Marshall and Jessica Marshall Spencer (Albert and Julia N. Marshall) who were donors to the university. The Dudley Experimental Theatre (a black-box theatre within MPAC) was named for another donor, Marjorie Congdon Dudley.
Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium
The construction of the Marshall W. Alworth
Planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
was supported by Marshall W. Alworth. Alworth grew up in Duluth and attended
Duluth Central High School
Duluth Central High School, also known as Central High School, was a secondary school located in Duluth, Minnesota, which educated students in grades ten through twelve until seventh and eighth were added after the closing of Washington Junior Hi ...
and later
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. He also donated funds towards scholarships which today are valued at over $35 million.
The Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium has a dome, which seats 65. Astronomical programs are delivered with an optomechanical Spitz A3P star machine, a full-dome digital projection system running UniView® software, surround sound, and programmable LRGB LED lighting. The planetarium is home to the Darling telescope, a 9-inch refracting telescope that belonged to
John H. Darling.
Swenson Science Building
Completed in 2006, the building is situated on the main corridor into the 244 acre campus and contains 108,000 gross square feet of inter disciplinary research and teaching laboratories for Chemistry, Fresh Water Ecology and Biology and creates a link between the academic and residential areas of the campus. Designed by
Ross Barney Architects
Ross Barney Architects is an architectural firm founded in 1981 by Carol Ross Barney in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Organized in February 1981 as Carol Ross Barney Architects, the firm served clients with cultural and social agendas but not necess ...
of Chicago, Illinois, the new building provides 16 undergraduate instructional laboratories for 2100 students, 16 research laboratories for faculty and postdoctoral researchers, offices for faculty, graduate and postgraduate students, and the Biology departments administration. One unique feature is the wild rice research laboratory built into the watershed creating a front yard and an outdoor learning space.
The outdoor area of the Swenson Science Building was designed by
landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...
firm oslund.and.assoc. with the concept of "Science on Display", playing upon the idea that seeing is the ideal way to understand scientific concepts. The landscape features an experimental stormwater wetland garden, outdoor classrooms, experimental garden pool, and outdoor laboratories. The native plantings pay homage to the native peoples of Minnesota, with the water garden showcasing the cultivation of wild rice, a cultural staple of some of the Native Americans of the area. In 2007, this landscape won a 2007
ASLA
Asla (Arabic: عسلة, from Arabic "Assel", lit. ''honey'') is a municipality in Naâma Province, Algeria. It is coextensive with the district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local ...
General Design Honor Award.
Tweed Museum of Art
The Tweed Museum of Art's history began in the 1920s when George and Alice Tweed first began collecting pieces of 19th and 20th American and European art including examples of the French Barbizon School and Impressionist influenced American Landscape painting. After the death of Mr. Tweed in 1946, Mrs. Tweed saw the potential of the Tweed collection as a resource for the community.
[UMD Comes of Age: The First 100 Years, by Ken Moran and Neil Storch, 1996] She generously developed the funding for the present building which was dedicated in 1958.
Today the museum holds over 10,000 works of art. The collection features artists including David Ericson,
Gilbert Munger
Gilbert Munger (April 14, 1837 – January 27, 1903) was a late 19th-century American landscape painter whose romantic yet topographically accurate landscapes helped to introduce the newly opened West to the American public.
Biography
Gilbert Dav ...
, Eastman Johnson, William Hart,
John Twachtman
John Henry Twachtman (August 4, 1853 – August 8, 1902) was an American painter best known for his impressionist landscapes, though his painting style varied widely through his career. Art historians consider Twachtman's style of American Impr ...
,
Homer Dodge Martin
Homer Dodge Martin (October 28, 1836 – February 12, 1897) was an American artist, particularly known for his landscape paintings. Examples of Martin's work are in many important American museums.
Biography
Martin was born in Albany, New York o ...
, and
Childe Hassam. The Hudson River Valley School collection, the Potlatch Company Royal Canadian Mounted Police painting collection, the Glenn C. Nelson pottery collection and an extensive American Indian artifacts and artworks collection are especially noteworthy. Besides the museum's permanent collection the Tweed hosts exhibitions that feature both international and local artists.
Weber Music Hall
The Weber Music Hall, built in 2002 and designed by architect
César Pelli
César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a ...
, is considered the "gem" of UMD. The hall has state-of-the-art acoustics and can seat 350 people.
Centers, Institutes, and Research Labs
Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER):.
Center for Community and Regional Research:
Center for Economic Development:
Center for Genocide, Holocaust, and Human Rights Studies:
Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies:
Center for Water and Environment:
Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI):
Large Lakes Observatory (LLO):
MMAD Lab:
Minnesota Sea Grant Program:
Natural Resources Research Institute
The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) is a United States (U.S.) based research institute founded by the Minnesota state legislature within the University of Minnesota Duluth. NRRI is a non-profit, applied research organization, establi ...
:
The Northland Advanced Transportation Systems Research Laboratory:
Royal D. Alworth Institute for International Studies:
SIVE Lab:
Visualization and Digital Imaging Lab:
Academics
The University of Minnesota Duluth has 16 bachelor's degree programs with 88 majors and 77 minors and graduate programs in 25 fields.
[UMD: Facts]
/ref>
Athletics
Minnesota–Duluth (UMD) athletic teams are the Bulldogs (which they have been named since 1933). Their colors are maroon and gold. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western Midwestern United States. Nine of its ...
(NSIC) in all sports except ice hockey since the 2008–09 academic year; which they were a member on two previous stint from 1932–33 to 1950–51, and from 1975–76 to 2003–04. For their ice hockey programs, men's ice hockey competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), while women's ice hockey still competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
(WCHA; which the men's team previously competed in). The Bulldogs previously competed in the D-II North Central Conference (NCC) from 2004–05 to 2007–08; and in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian.
...
(MIAC) at the NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...
ranks from 1951–52 to 1974–75.
Minnesota–Duluth competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, ice hockey and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, ice hockey, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
Accomplishments
On 13 December 2008, the undefeated Bulldogs won the NCAA Division II National Football Championship—the first Division II championship in any sport at the school.
On December 18, 2010, the Bulldogs won their second NCAA Division II National Football Championship in a 3-year span, and their second in school history beating Delta State University
Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi
Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census.
Cleveland has a large commercia ...
.
On April 9, 2011, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team play ...
team defeated the University of Michigan 3–2 in overtime for the NCAA Division I men's hockey national title, their first.
On April 7, 2018, after the Bulldogs were the last team to receive an at-large bid in the tournament, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team play ...
team defeated Notre Dame 2-1 for their second NCAA Division I men's hockey national championship. The team won its second consecutive championship (and third overall) on April 13, 2019, after defeating the University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
3–0.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Col ...
team has won five NCAA Division I national titles (2001, 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2010.)
Facilities
UMD's Football, Soccer and Track and Field teams compete at Griggs Field in James S. Malosky Stadium. Hockey is played off campus at Amsoil Arena in the DECC. Basketball and Volleyball teams play in Romano Gymnasium on campus. Baseball is played in Bulldog Park and softball is played in Junction Avenue Field
Student life
Fraternities and sororities
There are several fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
that UMD students can join.
Sororities include Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma () is a national service sorority founded on October 12, 1952, at Beekman Tower in New York City. It partners with other organizations such as March of Dimes, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, American Cancer Society, a ...
, Beta Lambda Psi (a local sorority), Phi Sigma Sigma, and Alpha Sigma Tau
Alpha Sigma Tau (known as or Alpha Tau) is a national sorority founded on November 4, 1899, at Eastern Michigan University (formerly Michigan State Normal College). A member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the sorority has 83 active colleg ...
. Fraternities include Phi Kappa Psi, Alpha Delta, Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...
, Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of November 2022, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 79 active chapters, 6 Associate chapte ...
, and Alpha Nu Omega (a local fraternity, not to be confused with the national Alpha Nu Omega organization). Students must be an active member of a fraternity or sorority in good standing before serving on Greek Council. The UMD Greek system is run like a senate body where all organizations are represented by two delegates. Although the council had financial disagreements involving the membership fee which led to the departure of Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
in the fall of 2009, they have since rejoined. In April 2013 Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...
transferred to Alpha Delta due to conflicts at a national level.
Recreational Sports Outdoor Program (RSOP)
Intramural Sports
Soccer, Softball, Volleyball, Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, Bowling, Inner Tube Water Polo, Broomball, Hockey (4 on 4), Basketball (Co-Rec., 3 on 3), Curling, Volleyball (4 on 4)
UMD Sport Clubs
There are many UMD organized sports clubs that both men and women may join. Some of the clubs include: Alpine Skiing, Cycling, Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
, Dance Team, Cheer Team, Figure Skating, Nordic Skiing, NS Climbing, Kayak & Canoe, Water Polo and Wrestling. Men's Sport Clubs include: Lacrosse, Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball. Women's Sport Clubs include: Lacrosse, Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball.
Outdoor Programs
Examples of past trips include: Paddling the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Climbing the Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming, backpacking the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan. Events and races on campus in UMD's Bagley Nature Area have included the Rock Hill Adventure where participants run, canoe or kayak and the Homecoming 5K Trail Run.
Fitness
There are a variety of group fitness programs at UMD. These programs are open to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Fitness passes grant entry to classes including; Butts & Gutts, Cardio Mix, Circuit City, Hip Hop, Kardio Kick, Pilates, Piloga, Pump & Tone, Power Yoga, Spin & Core, Step, Step & Sculpt, Vinyasa Yoga, and Yoga Inspired Stretch. Massage therapy, personal training, tri teams, and kinesis are also available at UMD.
Notable alumni
University of Minnesota Duluth alumni have made significant contributions in government, business, sciences, athletics, and the arts. Yvonne Prettner Solon is the former Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. Robert Senkler Robert Senkler is the former chairman of Securian Financial Group. He served as CEO from 1994-2014. Robert started with Minnesota Life - Securian Financial Group as an actuarial trainee in 1974, and eventually worked his way up to vice president in ...
served as chairman and CEO of Securian Financial Group
Securian Financial Group, Inc. is a mutual holding company that provides a range of financial products and services. Founded in St. Paul, Minnesota by Russell Dorr on August 6, 1880, Securian Financial provides insurance, investment retireme ...
. Brian Kobilka
Brian Kent Kobilka (born May 30, 1955) is an American physiologist and a recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Lefkowitz for discoveries that reveal the workings of G protein-coupled receptors. He is currently a professor in ...
received the 2012 Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. Emily Larson is the current mayor of Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
and Don Ness
Don Ness (born January 9, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 38th Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota from 2008 to 2016. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
Early life and education
Ness was born in Duluth to Don ...
is the former mayor of Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
. Minnesota Duluth has also produced numerous professional hockey players including John Harrington and Mark Pavelich
Mark Thomas Pavelich (February 28, 1958 – March 4, 2021) was an American professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward who played 355 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Minnesota North St ...
from the 1980 Miracle on Ice Olympic hockey team, and NHL Hall of Famer, Brett Hull. Amit Singhal
Amitabh Kumar "Amit" Singhal (born September 1968) is a former senior vice president at Google Inc. having been a Google Fellow and the head of Google's Search team for 15 years.[Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...]
's core search team for 15 years. Manila Luzon
Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, better known by the stage name Manila Luzon (born August 10, 1981), is an American drag queen, recording artist, comedian and reality television personality. Luzon came to international attention as a contestant on ...
, a drag queen, comedian, recording artist, and television personality, competed on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the first and fourth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Notable donations
Joel Labovitz
Joel Labovitz is founder of Labovitz Enterprises, a diversified investment firm based in Duluth with a focus on the hospitality industry. Previously, Joel Labovitz was president and CEO of Maurices, the retail clothing company that was founded in 1931 in Duluth by his father, Maurice Labovitz.
James Swenson
James Swenson, a University of Minnesota Duluth Alumnus, donated more than $21 million to the school, with his most recent donation of $10.7 million toward the College of Science and Engineering. $3 million of this was dedicated to the new civil engineering building and the remaining $7.7 million was given as scholarships for students in science and research programs. This donation helps to continue to support the scholarship programs the Swenson family started in 1994. Since the program began, UMD has awarded scholarships to over 200 students.
Because of his generous donations over the years, the school renamed the College of Science and Engineering to be the Swenson College of Science and Engineering. "It's nice to have our names on buildings, but there's a lot of gratification in helping these young people," said Swenson.
The Swensons are natives of Superior, Wisconsin, and have since relocated to California. James completed his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1959 at UMD. He then worked in the computer industry with his circuit shop, Details Inc., which he sold in 1997. James died in October 2018.
See also
* List of colleges and universities in Minnesota
There are nearly 200 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Twin Cities campus of the public University of Minnesota is the largest university in the state with 51,721 enrolled for fall 2010, making it the sixth-largest ...
* Higher education in Minnesota
There are nearly 200 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Twin Cities campus of the public University of Minnesota is the largest university in the state with 51,721 enrolled for fall 2010, making it the sixth-largest ...
Notes
References
External links
*
Official athletics website
{{authority control
1947 establishments in Minnesota
Educational institutions established in 1947
Tourist attractions in Duluth, Minnesota
University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...
Universities and colleges in St. Louis County, Minnesota