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| Welcome ALumni |
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The University of Minnesota, Crookston
(UMC) celebrates 100 years of excellence in academics
and research with the kickoff of its centennial on June
24 & 25 and continuing through commencement in May
2006. The school and experiment station located in northwest
Minnesota were built on land donated by railroad magnate
James J. Hill. The first school built on the site was
the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA), a residential
high school. William Robertson was the first school
superintendent.
In 1963, the University of Minnesota Bureau of Field
Studies urged the phasing out the NWSA and the possibility
of launching a college-level technical institute. Stan
Sahlstrom, Ph.D. was hired in 1965 to direct the establishment
of a two-year technical institute on the site of the
NWSA. When the institute opened in the fall of 1966,
there were 185 students enrolled. Known as the founding
provost, Sahlstrom led the campus until 1985 when Donald
Sargeant, Ph.D. was appointed provost and subsequently
chancellor.
In 1993 under Sargeant’s leadership, UMC became
a four-year baccalaureate degree granting institution
and a technology initiative provided all faculty members
and full-time students with a portable notebook computer.
UMC was designated the original “Laptop U.”
The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded at commencement
in 1994. When Chancellor Sargeant stepped down in June
of 2002, Velmer Burton, Ph.D. was named chancellor.
During this time, UMC dedicated its Controlled Environmental
Science Building as the Bergland Laboratory, named after
former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and University
of Minnesota Regent, Robert Bergland.
Joe Massey became the Chief Executive Officer of the
campus in 2004. He will serve as host to UMC’s
centennial events including the dedication of the Centennial
Park memorial wall and the new student center. The centennial
celebration was announced by the unveiling of the centennial
logo at the student convocation on Wednesday, March
30. “Our goal was to honor our roots and recognize
the history of the Northwest School of Agriculture,
acknowledge our close tie with the University of Minnesota,
and show that we are the University of Minnesota, Crookston
and will be for the next 100 years.” Mike Meyer,
Director of Development & Alumni Relations said.
The logo was unveiled with much fanfare in a video narrated
by CEO Massey highlighting the history of the institution
and concluding with the introduction of the logo. Everyone
in attendance received a logo lapel pin to commemorate
the centennial. On Friday, April 1, the Office of Development
& Alumni Relations introduced the UMC Centennial
Shuffle trivia contest for students, faculty, and staff,
which runs throughout April. An iPod Shuffle™
will be given away in a drawing on May 2. Each day at
1:00 a trivia question appears on UMC’s Today
page located at http://www.umcrookston.edu/umcnews/
and the first answers to the question are entered into
the drawing. “This contest is just one of the
ways we want to involve students in learning more about
campus history and get the campus excited about our
centennial year,” Mike Meyer said. “We have
a lot to look forward to this year.”
Some of the events planned for the centennial are the
dedication of the Centennial Park memorial wall, the
dedication of the new student center, along with centennial
activities surrounding homecoming, and other special
events. There will be a special dedication of the Bede
Ballroom in the new student center during the NWSA reunion
this summer as well.
“This is a great
opportunity for us to recognize the contributions that
UMC has made to this region and state,” Joe Massey,
CEO of the Crookston campus, stated. “The events
surrounding the centennial recognize our pioneering
efforts in education and research that have had such
an impact on Minnesota and the world. We are looking
at this as an opportunity to recognize those pioneers
and showcase the great things planned for our next 100
years.” |
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