(
Abbr. '''MTU''') is an
American Public University primarily oriented toward
Science and
Engineering . MTU's main
Campus is in
Houghton, Michigan .
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 Engineer s 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 , 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 attempted to break three world records, the largest snowball, largest snowball fight, and most simultaneous snow angels on , the current 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 have yielded.
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.
{Link without Title}
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 . Faculty are also involved in several
Distance Education programs, with clients such as
General Motors .
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 Major s, 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 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
- 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.
- 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 ).
- 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.
