Minnesota State University Moorhead

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a four-year, public university located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of 6,624 students and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. MSUM is located on the western border of Minnesota on the Red River of the North in Moorhead; across the river lies Fargo, North Dakota.

History

The plans for what would become MSUM were laid down in 1885, when the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill declaring the need for a new state normal school in the Red River Valley, with an eye on Moorhead. The State Senator who proposed the bill, State Senator Solomon Comstock, donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) and appropriated the funds that would go to form Moorhead Normal School, which opened in 1888. In 1921, the State authorized the school to offer the four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Education in order to satisfy the need for high school teachers in northwest Minnesota, and the school became Moorhead State Teachers College.