The University of Minnesota, Morris makes its home on a 118 year-old campus. The first buildings housed an American Indian boarding school, first administered by the Sisters of Mercy order of the Catholic Church and later by the United States Government. The school closed in 1909, and the campus was transferred to the State of Minnesota with the stipulation that American Indian students "shall at all times be admitted to such school free of charge for tuition," a policy still proudly honored. The current Multi-Ethnic Resource Center is the only remaining building from the American Indian boarding school period.

Ag school students at barbecue In 1910 the U of M established the West Central School of Agriculture on the campus, which successfully educated the area's high school students in a boarding school environment until 1963. It is this time period that garnered the campus its placement on the National Register of Historic Places as the West Central School of Agriculture and Experiment Station Historic District. Handsome Prairie School structures, such as Behmler Hall and the Education building, built during the WCSA years and designed by well-known state architect Clarence H. Johnston, Sr., continue to serve the campus well.


In the late 1950s when the U of M announced that agricultural schools would be phased out, a grass roots citizens movement convinced the Minnesota Legislature that creating a distinct public liberal arts college within the University of Minnesota system on the Morris campus would be a good investment for the state. In September 1960 the University of Minnesota, Morris opened its doors and began fulfilling its institutional vision to be an affordable, undergraduate, small, residential, public liberal arts campus.