The University of Minnesota, 1945-2000
The University of Minnesota is unique for its combination of land grant mission and research focus, urban and rural campuses, the size of its student body, and the breadth of its programs, from agricultural extension through organ transplants. This history of the University’s past fifty years is a narrative account of the challenges and triumphs that have faced Minnesota’s premier institution of higher learning.
There has never been a more exciting moment in the history of higher education and scientific research. Every institution has its defining moment—points in time when talented individuals, working cooperatively, can influence the course of events for generations to come. I believe this is one such time for the University of Minnesota.
Mark G. Yudof, President, University of Minnesota
Regional/History
An engaging look at the University’s past fifty years, in celebration of its sesquicentennial.
The University of Minnesota is unique for its combination of land grant mission and research focus, urban and rural campuses, the size of its student body, and the breadth of its programs, from agricultural extension through organ transplants. This history of the University’s past fifty years is a narrative account of the challenges and triumphs that have faced Minnesota’s premier institution of higher learning.
Through recollections by celebrated alumni such as Garrison Keillor, Walter Mondale, and Eric Sevareid; interviews with students, faculty, and high-ranking administrators such as former president Nils Hasselmo and current president Mark G. Yudof; and stories of daily life found in the Minnesota Daily and other University publications, Stanford Lehmberg and Ann M. Pflaum offer an overview of the post-World War II campus, the social activism of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the athletic, academic, outreach, and research achievements, as well as the controversies and economic challenges, that have characterized the past twenty years. This rich chronicle will be of interest to anyone who wishes to increase their understanding of the University’s varied and intriguing recent past.
Translation Inquiries: University of Minnesota Press
There has never been a more exciting moment in the history of higher education and scientific research. Every institution has its defining moment—points in time when talented individuals, working cooperatively, can influence the course of events for generations to come. I believe this is one such time for the University of Minnesota.
Mark G. Yudof, President, University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota took young people from families with little money and allowed them to dream of living a large life and gave them the wherewithal to enlarge it. And now they're living it, all over the world. It's a community consisting almost entirely of exiles. Exile is the purpose of it. But it's good to read about the old place and imagine ourselves back there, striding down the Mall past Walter Library, looking at the inscription on the Northrop facade as it comes into focus.
Garrison Keillor
This book helps provide a sense of how important this land grant institution is to us.
Hutchinson Leader
Writing the history of an institution as large, complex, and rich in tradition as the University of Minnesota for a span of 55 years is a daunting challenge. Stanford Lehmberg and Ann M. Pflaum undertake the task with a dazzling presentation of facts and reminiscences, packed into 400 pages. The book is encyclopedic in scope, with a wealth of detail recounting key episodes and chronicling the evolution of campuses, colleges, departments, administrative units, extension services, athletic teams, and other centers that compromise the university. It is a valuable reference work and a necessary point of departure for scholars conducting further research on the university. It also serves as a source for past and present members of the university’s community to reminisce about a favorite faculty member, a colleague, a memorable experience, and other ways that the University of Minnesota touched their lives.
Minnesota History
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter1 The University at the End of World War II, 1945‒1959
Chapter2 Years of Growth and Years of Protest, 1960‒1974
Chapter3 Planning in a Time of Austerity, 1974‒1984
Chapter4 Finding Focus, 1985‒1997
Chapter5 The University at the End of the Century
Epilogue
Appendix A. University of Minnesota Enrollments
Appendix B. Graduate Program Rankings
Appendix C. University Campuses, Research and Outreach Centers, and Other Research Sites
Appendix D. University of Minnesota Fund Sources and Expenditures for Selected Years
Appendix E. Presidents and Chairs of the Board of Regents
Notes
Index
