Points of Pride



Tradition

  • For 39 years, retired Biology Professor Richard Pemble’s colored-chalk-on-blackboard drawings depicting the landscape as it appeared in 1850 between the Red River and Itasca State Park were traditional fixtures in his King Biology Hall auditorium ecology classes. More than 15,000 students had a chance to admire his handiwork during his tenure here. Now his blackboard art is a permanent part of MSUM’s history, framed in living color in the main floor elevator foyer of the Science Building. The 20-foot long, two-section display, funded in part by the Alumni Foundation and framed by Dave Holland from Maintenance, is a piece of history reflecting on another piece of history. (Read more)
  • Yesterday and Today
  • Our Buildings
  • Baby Dragons: The Story of Moorhead's Campus School 1888-1972" Using over 250 photographs and original documents dating back to the 1880s and interviews with former students and teachers, this book tells the story of the Moorhead Campus School. The school had three campus homes: Old Main (1888-1908), the Model School Building (1908-1930), and Lommen Hall (K-12 school 1932-1972, Early Education Center 1972 to present) and enjoyed a fine reputation for caring about its students and providing college students with a wonderful place to learn the craft of teaching. If you have any connection to the campus school, Minnesota State University Moorhead, or are interested in the history of campus schools, you will enjoy this book. [ Learn More ]
  • MSUM History
  • Go Red & White! MSUM’s school colors are red and white. The Dragon symbol was adopted by our campus after the fire that destroyed Old Main in 1930. Legend has it that Flora Frick (Frick Hall), who taught women's athletics and German from 1919 until her death in 1958, came up with “Dragons” as she watched the football team run onto the playing field on a crisp autumn afternoon. As their breath steamed, she was said to remark: “Why, they look like dragons!” It's a great story, but the truth is that, shortly after the fire, the student body voted to change the team name from the Teachers, or Peds, to the Dragons. It does sound better.
  • Looking Back
  • Dragon Evolution The Moorhead State Dragon was born in the fire that devastated Old Main, the school’s central building, on Feb. 9,1930. Today’s Dragon, a geometrical, fire-breathing serpent curled in a tight circle, was created by Haley Johnson (’92, BFA) who now owns her own design firm in Minneapolis.