Facts and figures
College information | CBS by the numbers | College leadership | Timeline
Timeline
1851
- The University of Minnesota was created by territorial
legislation and a federal land grant of 100,000 acres. Science was among
the original disciplines proposed.
1868
- The College of Sciences, Letters, and the Arts
(CSLA) was established.
1887
- The Animal Science Department was established
in CSLA. In 1927, it was renamed Zoology.
1891
- The Botany Department was created in CSLA.
1900
- Josephine Tilden, the University’s first
woman scientist, established the Minnesota Seaside Station on the coast
of British Columbia.
1909
- Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station was
established with a forestry training program.
1913
- The Agricultural Biochemistry Department was formed
within the Institute of Agriculture.
1915
- The Zoology Building was constructed on the Minneapolis
Campus.
1926
- The Botany Building was constructed on the Minneapolis
Campus.
1928
- Snyder Hall, named for agricultural scientist Harry Snyder, was built
to house Agricultural Biochemistry. Snyder Hall is now headquarters
for CBS.
- The Agronomy and Plant Genetics Department was established in the
Institute of Agriculture.
1930
- Cedar Creek Natural History Area was discovered
and was later preserved for research.
1937
- The Botany Department added ecology as a discipline,
and an era of interest in conservation began.
1965
- The College of Biological Sciences was organized
to unify biology departments on the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses.
Agricultural Biochemistry, Botany, Zoology, and the Bell Museum were
administratively joined under CBS, and two new departments, Genetics
and Cell Biology, and Ecology and Behavioral Biology were created.
1967
- Gortner Laboratories was built, named for Ross
Gortner, chairman of Agricultural Biochemistry from 1917-42.
1973
- The Biological Sciences Center was built to house
the Botany department and the Genetics and Cell Biology Department.
1976
- The Zoology Department was disbanded; faculty
joined either Ecology and Behavioral Biology or Genetics and Cell Biology.
1983
- The Biological Process Technology Institute was
formed to create a connection with biotechnology industry. It was renamed
the Biotechnology Institute in 2002.
1988
- The name of the Botany Department was changed
to Plant Biology.
1989
- The department of Ecology and Behavioral Biology
was renamed Ecology, Evolution and Behavior.
1993
- The Ecology Building was constructed on the St.
Paul campus.
1995
- Administration of the Bell Museum was transferred
to the College of Natural Resources.
- Edward Lewis (B.S. '39) received the Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine for discovery of the colinearity principle
in fruit flies, which revealed that the linear arrangement of genes on
a chromosome corresponds to the development of body segments. The finding
was later confirmed in humans.
1997
- Paul Boyer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
discovering how cells make adenosine triphosphate (ATP).Boyer was on
the faculty of the biochemistry department from 1945-1957.
1998
- Biological sciences programs Universisty-wide were reorganized to
merge and strengthen basic science departments on the Minneapolis and
St. Paul campuses.
- The Molecular and Cellular Biology Initiative was funded by the Minnesota
Legislature, allowing the Univeristy to hire 41 new faculty and to
build the the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building in Minneapolis.
2001
- Biodale opened, offering biological research support
services to faculty, students, and industry.
2003
- The Cargill Building for Microbial and Plant Genomics opened on the
St. Paul campus.
- The Univerisity of Minnesota Initiatiive for Renewable Energy
and the Environment was created and funded with $20 million from the
Minnesota Legislature and Xcel ratepayers.
2004
- University Enterprise Laboratories, Inc. was dedicated. Founding
sponsors included Xcel Energy, the City of St. Paul, the University
of Minnesota, 3M, Medtronic, Dorsey Whitney, Surmodics, Guidant, Boston
Scientific, and Ecolab.
