SMSU Today history

Since the University had developed a Rural Studies Program in the late 1970's, it was a logical transition to encourage students to focus on a topic of local and regional interest.

The original Student Center, known as the Mustang Paddock, was extensively damaged by an early morning fire on March 6, 1971, during a student-sponsored winter carnival which was marred by confrontations, assaults and disturbances.

The Southwest Minnesota Regional Research Center began in 1972 as a joint venture of the Minnesota Historical Society and members of the History Department of Southwest Minnesota State University.

The Society for the Study of Local and Regional History (SSLRH) held its inaugural conference, "Servants of the Land," on December 8, 1990.

The R/A (Recreation/Athletic) Facility was built in 1996 and is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose venue.

On October 25, 2001, Draining the Great Oasis: A Colloquium on Environmental History was presented with support from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Humanities Commission.

On January 2, 2002, a fire destroyed the Student Center.

In 2003 the name was changed to The Spur to be more consistent with the Mustang theme and to spur students into action.

An upcoming conference to be held on November 4, 2004, "Rivers of History: The Minnesota and the Mississippi", features two presenters: John Anfinson, PhD, The Farmers' River: Agriculture and the Mississippi, and Anthony Amato, PhD, The Flow of History: Rivers, the Past, and the Present.