Motto | Where You Belong |
---|---|
Type | Public |
Established | 1964 |
Budget | $57 million (2017) |
President | Connie J. Gores |
Academic staff
|
148 |
Students | 8,285 |
Location | Marshall, Minnesota, United States |
Campus | Small City (Rural), 216 acres (87 ha) |
Colors | Brown and Gold |
Nickname | Mustangs |
Affiliations | MnSCU |
Website | www |
Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) is a public, four-year university that is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It is located in Marshall, Minnesota, United States, a city of 13,680 people. The school has a full-time enrollment of approximately 3,700 students and employs 148 faculty members. It is divided into two major colleges, the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, and the College of Business, Education, and Professional Studies. SMSU is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
The university was founded in 1963 as Southwest Minnesota State College (SMSC). It admitted its first class of students on September 19, 1967. The college became Southwest State University (SSU) on August 1, 1975, and kept that name for nearly thirty years until adopting the current name of Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) on July 1, 2003.
The student newspaper, originally called The Impact, was first published May 10, 1968. The name was changed to The Reader in 1974, and then back to The Impact in 1980. In 2003, the name was changed again to The Spur to be more consistent with the Mustang theme and to spur students into action.
The R/A (Recreation/Athletic) Facility was built in 1996 and serves as a 4,000 seat multi-purpose venue.
On January 2, 2002, a fire destroyed the Student Center, which originally featured an underground living area and a glass dome. The concrete framework for the dome was incorporated into the new student and conference center and is still visible in the food court area. The new student center was completed in 2005. When completed, it featured a replica of the original dome with the words "Student Center Dome: 1972–2002" written on it at the Alumni Heritage Center, located near the Mustang Zone in the upper level.
In 2005, SMSU developed the first bachelor's degree culinology program in the nation to be approved by the Research Chefs Association.