Minnesota State University, Mankato history

In relation to this focus on women's education, Mankato Normal School is noted as the first public college in the United States to be headed by a woman, suffragette Julia Sears, in 1872.

The first flood was in 1881 and affected small portions of Mankato.

The last boat, The Henrietta, made its final run from Mankato to St Peter on April 27, 1897.

By 1921, the school had grown significantly to the point that it began to offer four-year bachelor's degrees.

The building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1924.

Although our first graduates earned one-or two-year degrees to become teachers, the University has been granting four-year degrees in a growing number of disciplines since 1927.

Notable flooding did not occur again until 1951 when the banks of the Blue Earth and Minnesota Rivers overflowed into North Mankato.

The last boat, The Henrietta, made its final run from Mankato to St Peter on April 27, 1897. It provided for a mayor and three city council members and remained intact until 1952, when the council/manager form of government was approved.

By 1957, the mission of the institution had broadened to comprehensive four-year college education, the state legislature changed the name of the college to Mankato State College.

In 1965, the banks of the Blue Earth River overflowed into Mankato, sparing downtown Mankato but hitting West Mankato the hardest.

In 1975, the college successfully made the case to transition to comprehensive status and was renamed to Mankato State University.

In 1995, the seven state universities were transferred to the newly created Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system by a mandate from the state legislature.

In 1998 its name was officially changed from Mankato State University to Minnesota State University, Mankato.

In 1999, it was renamed Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Since its start in 2005, Campus Kitchen and its student volunteers have provided more than 89,700 meals.

In 2007, in another major milestone – the University was authorized to begin offering applied doctoral degrees.

In sports, the University ranked 24th for the 2018-19 season national standings in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which recognizes institutions with broad-based programming and success in men’s and women’s sports.

Approximately $133 million in scholarships, grants, work-study and other support was received by more than 15,300 students in 2019-20; this includes federal, state and private loans and the opportunity to receive funds from federal and state work-study positions.