Michigan Technological University

Michigan Technological University (abbr. MTU) is an American public university primarily oriented toward science and engineering. MTU's main campus is in Houghton, Michigan.

History

Michigan Technological University traces its origin to 1885, when the state of Michigan founded the Michigan Mining School in response to the Keweenaw Peninsula's copper mine boom of the late 19th century; the Mining School served to train mining engineers to operate the local copper mines efficiently.

Initially, the Michigan Mining School consisted of four faculty members and 23 students on the second floor of the Houghton Fire Hall. In 1897, the school expanded and changed its name to the Michigan College of Mines, only to be later renamed to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology. The college grew into a multidisciplinary university, and finally adopted the moniker Michigan Technological University in 1964.

Michigan Tech broke three world records, the largest snowball (21' 3" circumference), largest snowball fight (3,745), and most simultaneous snow angels (3,784) on February 10, 2006, as verified by Guinness World Records officialsThis attempt received criticisms [http://bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/02/08/news/local/109685.txt from Bismark, North Dakota, the previous holders of the record for most simultaneous snow angels. Much of the criticism focused upon the school children who were excused from school in order to participate, even though without their numbers the old record would still have yielded.

Academics

Michigan Technological University—or Michigan Tech, as it is familiarly known— is highly regarded for its high quality academic programs in engineering and science. The university is divided into several schools and colleges, including:

The College of Engineering, with majors in most forms of engineering. Programs of note are the Environmental, Materials Science, and Mechanical Engineering, all of which have national rankings.
The College of Sciences and Arts, which includes one of the largest Communications programs in the United States
The School of Business and Economics
The School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, which is a recognized leader in Forestry Science
The School of Technology

Michigan Tech is ranked in the top half of reviewed institutions by US News and World Report, and is ranked highly by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Report, and the Princeton Review. ^*

Seaman Mineral Museum

Michigan Tech is home to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, located on the 5th floor of the EERC building. There are plans to move the museum to the Quincy Mine in Hancock, Michigan.

School Songs

Michigan Tech has both an official fight song and an official Alma Mater. At most sporting events, however, both the "Engineers Song" and "In Heaven There Is No Beer" are played by the Huskies Pep Band, and many students consider these to be the unofficial school songs.

Fight Tech Fight!

Fight Tech, fight Engineers.

For banners bright Engineers.

From Northern hills, we'll sound our cry,

We'll ring your praises to the sky!

Fight Tech, fight Engineers.

For right with might Engineers.

We'll win the game in the glorious name

of the Michigan Michigan Michigan Engineers!

Hail Alma Mater

Hail alma mater; hats off to you.

Ever you’ll find us loyal and true.

Firm and undaunted always we’ll be.

Hail to our MTU, Here’s a toast to thee.

Campuses

The main Michigan Tech campus is located on US 41 in Houghton, Michigan. It is the safest campus in Michigan, and the eighth safest in the United States. Michigan Tech has also expanded beyond Houghton. In addition to a building in Hancock, it also maintains the Ford Forestry Center and Research Forest, located in Alberta, Michigan; the Keweenaw Research Center at the Houghton County Airport; the Portage Lake Golf Course in Portage Township and the Mont Ripley ski hill in Ripley, Michigan. Michigan Tech also opened a campus in India in 2003. Faculty are involved in several distance education programs, with clients such as General Motors.

Student body

The MTU student body is approximately 75% male. Students are primarily from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and about 9% are from outside the United States. The student body is approximately 90% Caucasian, 2% African American, 1% Asian and 1% Hispanic. The university has recently focused on achieving a more diverse student body, in terms of ethnicity, gender, and areas of study. A key step in this effort was the recent introduction of several new academic majors, including Philosophy, Fine Arts, and Sound Design.

Notable student activities and organizations include:

WMTU-FM, an entirely student-run radio station
The MTU Lode, an award-winning student newspaper
The Daily Bull, a daily comedy newspaper
The Huskies Pep Band, an integral part to football, men's and women's basketball, and ice hockey
Blue Key, an affiliate of the National Blue Key honor society, which organizes the annual Winter Carnival
Many fraternities and sororities

Sports and special events

As the school mascot is the husky (specifically, Blizzard T. Husky), the school's sports teams are known as the "Huskies". MTU competes in the NCAA's Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. MTU has its own downhill ski/snowboard hill, Mont Ripley, just across Portage Lake from campus, and maintains extensive cross-country ski trails (used for mountain biking in summer).
The first Friday of the fall term is K-Day (Keweenaw Day), a university-sponsored half-day holiday. This is usually celebrated at nearby McLain State Park, which is taken over by Michigan Tech students and organizations for the day. Activities include a student organizations fair, games, swimming, and music.
Each fall, the Parade of Nations highlights the range of cultures represented on campus with a parade, food, and performances by a multitude of groups.
In February Michigan Tech hosts its annual Winter Carnival, where students compete in a variety of artistic and athletic events. The highlight of Winter Carnival is a snow statue competition in which students construct snow and ice sculptures consistent with an annual theme. Some groups of students complete their work in a single evening, while the more grandiose are one month in the making. These sculptures require so much snow that, even with an average annual snowfall of nearly 200 inches, the campus must truck in additional snow from the surrounding areas.
In the summer Michigan Tech hosts the Summer Youth Program (SYP), Women in Engineering (WIE), American Indian Workshop (AIW), and Orchestra Fellowship Programs (OFP) to introduce high school students to college opportunities.
During June and July, Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts is one of the main venues for the Pine Mountain Music Festival, with many musical and operatic performances. The Rozsa Center also holds performances by many university, local, and touring companies during the school year.
Michigan Tech's biggest athletic rival is Northern Michigan University (NMU). The rivalry is known as the "The Battle Over 41" (US 41).

Distinguished alumni

Melvin Calvin, Nobel Laureate and discoverer of the Calvin Cycle
David House, former Vice President of Intel
Kanwal Rekhi, successful businessman and entrepreneurship promoter in the Silicon Valley; recently donated $5 million to MTU for its new computer science building.
Randy McKay, NHL Player - Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, and the New Jersey Devils when they won two Stanley Cups.

External links

Michigan Technological University | 1885 establishments | Schools of Mines | Universities and colleges in Michigan | Houghton County, Michigan

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