Main article: University of Minnesota


Because of its size and several decades of history prior to the addition of other campuses, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (sometimes abbreviated UMTC) is what most people think of upon hearing "University of Minnesota." It can actually be subdivided into multiple parts. Most significantly, Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Paul (actually, the suburb of Falcon Heights) each have distinct campuses. The Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses are connected via cheap nfl jerseys a dedicated bus transitway. The buildings on each campus are connected by a series of underground tunnels and aboveground skyways called The Gopher Way. The campus had 51,721 students enrolled for fall 2010, making it the fourth largest public university in the United States.[2]


The Minneapolis portion is the largest and has a number of colleges dedicated to a variety of subjects. Minneapolis' campus can be further subdivided into the East Bank (main portion) and West Bank, as the Mississippi River flows through it. Students become wellacquainted with the doubledecker Washington Avenue Bridge that connects the two sections. There are a number of distinguished graduate and professional schools on the Minneapolis campus, notably the University of Minnesota Law School, Medical School, Carlson School of Management, School of Public Health, and Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. In addition, Minneapolis houses many research facilities such as The Cancer Center.


The Saint Paul campus is more focused on agriculture, though Wholesale NFL Jerseys several other subjects are taught there. Due to the workings of the U of M phone system, both campuses have 612 area code (Minneapolis) telephone numbers instead of the 651 code that would be expected for the Saint Paul portion. The Minnesota State Fairgrounds is also located in Falcon Heights.


The mascot for the Twin Cities campus is Goldy the Gopher, and the sports teams are called the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They participate in the NCAA's Division IA and in the Big Ten Conference. Its hockey program competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Vice Presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, former NAACP president Roy Wilkins, several Nobel prize winners, several athletes such as Ric Flair, Kevin McHale, Dave Winfield, Patty Berg, Brock Lesnar, Curt Hennig, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Jackson of the NBA, and composer Yanni. Folksinger Bob Dylan famously attended the University and was a part of its thriving "West Bank" music scene, but did not graduate. A wide variety of medical and technological innovations have taken place there as well. For instance, the Internet Gopher protocol was created at the Twin Cities campus. A predecessor of sorts to the World Wide Web, it was named after the school mascot. Their teams are nicknamed Bulldogs. Their teams are nicknamed Cougars. At that time it was known as the University of Minnesota Technical Institute at . Since 1993 the campus has offered bachelor's degrees, and it has grown to be a more comprehensive regional college campus. It is known for its focus on experiential learning and technology, and through fees each student is provided a laptop computer as part of their experience. It is currently housed in University Square in downtown , near the Mayo Clinic. Plans are being developed for a larger campus of its own. Their mascot was the ram. The University still operates an agricultural outreach program in the city. Campus buildings became part of a lowsecurity federal prison (see Federal Correctional Institution, ).


The University of Minnesota was founded in Minneapolis in 1851 as a college preparatory school, seven years prior to Minnesota's statehood. As cheap nfl jerseys such, the U enjoys much autonomy from other operations of the state government. The school was closed during the American Civil War, but reopened in 1867. Minneapolis businessman John Sargent Pillsbury is known today as the "Father of the University", and aided the campus through financial troubles as a regent, state senator, and governor. The Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act also helped provide funding for the U.


In 1869 the school reorganized and became an institution of higher education. William Watts Folwell served as the U's first president. An official residence known as Eastcliff has been used by six university presidents since 1958. The 20room house, originally built by lumber baron Edward Brooks[disambiguation needed], was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.


During the traditional autumn through spring year, classes are not held on Thanksgiving Day or the Friday after, and the school traditionally has an extended break covering Christmas and New Year's Day. Classes don't resume in January until the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A weeklong spring break occurs after the eighth week of the spring term, which sometimes coincides with Easter.


The University of Minnesota system has one of the largest endowments among public universities in the country. As of 2007, the University of Minnesota maintained an endowment of $2.8 billion.[3] Also, as a public university, the system received an estimated $641 million from the State of Minnesota.[4] The university's total budget for FY 2006 was $2.36 billion.[5]There are many other research and outreach centers across the state owned by the university.