All About UMN Morris

A Unique History of UMN Morris:

From Boarding School to Liberal Arts

The University of Minnesota Morris makes its home on a 127-year-old campus. The University of Minnesota Morris makes its home on lands first inhabited by the Anishinaabe and Dakota/Lakota people. The first buildings housed an American Indian boarding school, first administered by the Sisters of Mercy order of the Catholic Church and later by the United States Government. The school closed in 1909, and the campus was transferred to the State of Minnesota with the stipulation that American Indian students “shall at all times be admitted to such school free of charge for tuition,” a policy still proudly honored.

In 1910, the University of Minnesota established the West Central School of Agriculture (WCSA) on the Morris campus, which educated area high school students in a boarding school environment until 1963. It is this time period that garnered the campus its placement on the National Register of Historic Places as the West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District. Handsome Prairie School structures, such as Behmler Hall and the Education building, built during the WCSA years and designed by well-known state architect Clarence H. Johnston, Sr., continue to serve the campus well.

In the late 1950s, when the University of Minnesota announced that agricultural schools would be phased out, a grassroots citizen’s movement convinced the Minnesota Legislature that creating a distinct public liberal arts college within the University of Minnesota system on the Morris campus would be a good investment for the state. In September 1960, the University of Minnesota Morris opened its doors and began fulfilling its institutional vision to be an affordable, undergraduate, intentionally small, residential, public liberal arts college.

With an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students and more than 125 teaching faculty, the campus attracts students from throughout Minnesota, 32 other states, and 24 foreign countries. The “Morris experience” emphasizes faculty/student collaborative research, study abroad opportunities, and service learning.

Morris is a national leader in green initiatives—wind energy, biomass energy, Pride of the Prairie local, sustainable food projects. Its goal is to be a carbon neutral campus.

In 2020 the University of Minnesota Morris celebrates its 60-year anniversary and marks the 110-year anniversary of the opening of the West Central School of Agriculture.

Morris by the Numbers

Doors Opened: 1960

Student Population: 1,500

Town Population: 5,400

Student/Faculty Ratio: 11:1

Faculty with highest degree in their field: 99%

Students who complete advanced degrees after Morris (2005-2007 grads): 32%

Average Class Size: 16 students

Average ACT of students: 25

In-state, out-of-state students: 76%, 24%

American Indian and students of color: 35%

Majors: 34 majors and 35 minors

Pre-professional programs: 9

Education endorsement areas: 5; licensure areas: 12

Opportunity to study in 50 states, 80 countries, and 6 continents

Student organizations: 120+

Men's and women’s NCAA DIII athletic programs: 19

Intramural leagues: 18

Our Students

Morris Students are extremely active in everything and anything they can get their hands on including student-run organizations, faculty partnerships, internships, musical groups, theatre groups, athletics, undergraduate research projects, study abroad, campus events and community events and projects. Be prepared and excited to work with a talented, enthusiastic, engaged and passionate group of young adults!

Sustainability

Please take time to learn about sustainability efforts.

Our commitment to sustainability is embedded into the policies and the practice of what we do on campus: our academics, our research, and the way we manage our initiatives at the university. Sustainability is woven into the fabric of our work at Morris.

An Eclectic Compilation of Useful Information about UMN Morris

Definitions:

Campus Constitution: https://committees.morris.umn.edu/sites/committees.morris.umn.edu/files/constitution-may2019.pdf

Campus Governance:

https://committees.morris.umn.edu/

Discipline: Essentially this is a department or program (e.g., sociology, English, biology, elementary education, etc.). All persons who teach classes for each discipline belong to that discipline.

Division: At UMN Morris there are four divisions consisting of Education, The Humanities, Science and Mathematics, and The Social Sciences. At larger universities, the Division equivalent would be a college.

Discipline Coordinator: This is a position that usually rotates among discipline members so that one person is in charge of acting as the point person for the discipline. This person administers the discipline and is equivalent in some ways to a department chair.

Division Chair: The Chair administers the Division and acts as a liaison between the Division and Administration. This position is equivalent to that of a Dean of a College. A Division Chair is appointed by the Dean to a 5-year term.

Meetings:

There are three different meetings you will regularly attend (in addition to others, but these are the three main recurring meetings you can expect):

1. 1. Discipline meetings: In these meetings, discipline colleagues exchange information, solve problems, plan for the future and coordinate efforts. These are often called on an as- needed basis, although some disciplines set regularly scheduled meetings. The discipline coordinator moderates these meetings.

   2. Division meetings: Everyone from each discipline within a Division meets to discuss and vote on issues that affect the entire Division. The dates for these meetings are usually set at the beginning of the academic year. Typical agenda items include probationary faculty review, promotion and tenure decisions, division policy changes and information disseminated from the administration via the Division Chair. The Division Chair moderates these meetings.

   3. Assembly: The Morris Campus Assembly includes all faculty and professional and administrative staff (P&A) as well as elected civil service/bargaining-unit staff members (USA), and elected student members. The Assembly establishes appropriate policies, procedures, and regulations governing the campus and acts on issues that materially affect the campus as a whole (e.g., allocation of resources, budget, curriculum, etc.). Assembly meets 2-3 times each semester.

In addition, there are University-wide bodies such as University Senate Governance and Senate Committees.

Mentoring:

It is highly recommended that new faculty, particularly tenure-track faculty, obtain a mentor within the division throughout the first few years at UMN Morris (mentors can vary from year to year). A formal mentor-mentee relationship can be of great value in integrating into UMN Morris. Consult your division chair for an appropriate mentor.

Informal Course Evaluations:

Many faculty new to UMN Morris have found it to be highly beneficial to administer anonymous evaluations of the classroom experience once or more during the semester. UMN Morris students have their own quirks and expectations, and these in-semester evaluations can provide a unique look at how the classroom experience is being perceived by the students. Feel free to consult colleagues on the kinds of informal evaluations they have devised for their own use. Formal evaluations will be administered near the end of the semester.