# Minnesota State University, Mankato *Public university in Mankato, Minnesota. In this record it is the comparison institution for St. Cloud State University's enrollment decline.* Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in [[Mankato]], [[Minnesota]].[^1] Its Wikipedia article describes it as the state's second-largest university and the second-oldest member of the [[Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system]]. The article counts more than 145,000 living alumni.[^1] The article's lead gives 1858 as the year it was established as the Second State Normal School and dates its opening as Mankato Normal School to a decade later. The article's history section dates the school's charter in state law to 1860 and its first classes to 1868.[^1] The university appears in the project's record in one at-issue pair, AI-Stearns-007, as the comparison for [[St. Cloud State University]]. The [[Star Tribune]] reported that St. Cloud State's full-year-equivalent enrollment fell from about 15,100 to about 7,300. Over the same comparison, Mankato's decline was about 6 percent.[^2] St. Cloud State's own factbook gives a fall headcount series of 13,466 in 2018 and 9,646 in 2025.[^3] The record shows these trajectories. It does not establish the cause of either.[^2][^3] ## Who According to Wikipedia, Daniel Buck led the local effort that brought the second normal school to Mankato. Buck was a Mankato attorney and a member of the state legislature.[^1] George M. Gage was the school's principal from 1868 to 1872.[^1] Julia Sears, a suffragist, took the post in 1872. In 1873 the State Normal Board moved her to assistant principal and installed David C. John as principal.[^1] Wikipedia lists [[Tim Walz]] (M.S., 2001) among the university's graduates. Walz is the 41st [[Governor of Minnesota]].[^1] ## When Wikipedia states that in 1858 the state [[Legislature]] identified southern Minnesota as needing an education center. In 1860 the legislature chartered a set of state-run normal schools.[^1] Mankato's school began instruction in 1868 with 27 students. The cornerstone of the first building the school owned was laid on June 22, 1869.[^1] The student newspaper, today *The Reporter*, first appeared on March 23, 1926. Radio station KMSU was founded in 1963, and the Centennial Student Union opened on October 27, 1967.[^1] ## Where Under the 1860 charter, the legislature chose Saint Cloud and Mankato as normal-school sites. They were the largest and fastest-growing cities outside Saint Paul, and each site depended on local fundraising for seed money.[^1] The present main campus has 30 buildings on 303 acres.[^1] The university also operates satellite campuses in Edina, at 7700 France Ave. S., and in Owatonna. Through its College of Extended Learning, it offers bachelor's degrees at the Normandale Partnership Center in Bloomington.[^1] ## How much According to Wikipedia, the newly formed City of Mankato put $5,000 raised from residents toward founding the school. It also issued $5,000 in bonds for the same purpose.[^1] When Sears was moved to assistant principal in 1873, her salary went from $1,500 to $1,200.[^1] ## How many Wikipedia's academics section lists more than 130 undergraduate programs, 13 pre-professional programs and more than 85 graduate programs.[^1] Each year the registrar awards about 3,000 bachelor's, 600 master's, 50 specialist and 10 doctoral degrees.[^1] The university's own Career Development Center reports two outcome figures: * 85 percent of graduates work in a field related to their studies. * 90 percent are employed or in further education within 12 months. The pack carries no independent count against which to set these figures.[^1] Five residence communities house up to 2,900 students.[^1] ## In the at-issue record Pair AI-Stearns-007 belongs to the Stearns package. It sets Minnesota State University, Mankato beside [[St. Cloud State]], another member of the same system. The Star Tribune reported the following figures: * St. Cloud State's full-year-equivalent enrollment peaked at about 15,100 around 2010 and fell to about 7,300 by fall 2023, a drop of more than half. * Mankato's comparable decline was about 6 percent.[^2] * St. Cloud State's structural deficit was about $6 million in 2019 and grew to about $24 million once federal COVID relief expired.[^2] St. Cloud State's own factbook measures a different quantity, fall headcount rather than full-year equivalents. It records 13,466 students in fall 2018 and 9,646 in fall 2025. The 2025 figure was measured on October 7, 2025, and is down 5.1 percent from the year before.[^3] The pair also states that the [[Minnesota State system]] reported its third consecutive year of enrollment increases. It attributes that figure to a minnstate.edu source. That source is not among the pack's citable URLs, so this article gives the figure only as the pair's statement. The pair draws on three sources: an agency source, a data source and a news source.[^2][^3] The pair's text argues that the demographic explanation "does not survive its own system's numbers." The pack documents the enrollment figures. It does not document a finding on cause.[^2][^3] The pair is anchored to the White House presidential action *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025).[^4] The pair gives its reason for this anchor as "an institution's decline measured against the system that governs it."[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Minnesota State University, Mankato* (revision 1378376833, retrieved 2026-10-27) — founding dates, persons, funding, campus, programs, degree counts and the university's self-reported outcome figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_State_University,_Mankato [^2]: Star Tribune, *What happened to St. Cloud State University?* (undated in the pack) — St. Cloud State full-year-equivalent enrollment of about 15,100 (peak, ~2010) and about 7,300 (fall 2023); Mankato's comparable decline of about 6%; St. Cloud State structural deficit of about $6 million (2019) rising to about $24 million after COVID relief expired. https://www.startribune.com/what-happened-to-st-cloud-state-university/601140137 [^3]: St. Cloud State University, Office of Analytics and Institutional Research, *2025 Fall University Factbook* (fall 2025) — headcount of 13,466 (fall 2018) and 9,646 (fall 2025, measured October 7, 2025, down 5.1% year over year). https://www.stcloudstate.edu/air/_files/documents/reports/factbook/2025-fall-university-factbook.pdf [^4]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025) — presidential action serving as the anchor of at-issue pair AI-Stearns-007. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/