St. Cloud State University has a rich history of serving the people of Minnesota. The University began in 1869 as the Third State Normal School, created for the sole purpose of educating primary school teachers to teach in Minnesota’s schools. St. Cloud State University has since evolved its degrees and structures to remain responsive to the needs of Minnesota and its residents.
As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2019, we reflect on how far we have come and contemplate the work we have yet to do.
In 2013, after our academic reorganization, the Minnesota State board reaffirmed St. Cloud State University’s nearly 150-year-old core mission. Our new mission is fundamentally grounded in our tradition of providing post-secondary education opportunities to improve the economic, social and cultural vitality of Minnesota and its people. Our recommitment to upholding our historic mission challenged us to create a forward-looking educational environment that prepares our students with the knowledge and skills for life in the 21st Century, which requires both professional preparation and a strong liberal arts education.
We believe we have met this challenge with Our Husky Compact – the essential and cross-cutting attributes of a St. Cloud State University education. More than a set of learning outcomes, Our Husky Compact is a commitment that we make to our students and our students make to their education. Underpinning Our Husky Compact is the belief that our students learn over time and across and beyond the curriculum. Intellectual and personal growth occur when students are exposed to broad and specialized knowledge and invited to apply it – through research, service and community-based learning, internships, learning communities, collaborative experiences – to where they live and work.
In a global environment of complexity, diversity and change, the dimensions of Our Husky Compact provide our students a pathway to lifelong growth and development. Our Husky Compact unifies all members of the St. Cloud State University community in our commitment to deliver on our promise to students. To that end, we will collectively reconsider the world around us, discover and apply new solutions to challenges and opportunities we encounter in our professional and personal lives through risk-taking, innovation and imagination.