A is for Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, Northrop Auditorium’s newly restored instrument, which comprises nearly 7,000 pipes. It makes its official debut in a concert series in October.
B is for Norman Borlaug,who earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D., in plant pathology, from the U. He won the Nobel Prize in 1970 for innovations that increased worldwide agricultural production and alleviated hunger.
C is for children’s literature archives, or Kerlan Collection, which contains more than 100,000 books, plus original manuscripts and artwork from more than 1,700 authors and illustrators.
D is for the Dairy and Meat Sales room on the St. Paul campus, open every Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. Try the ice cream and the Nuworld blue cheese, which isn’t even blue.
E is for Leatherdale Equine Center, opened in 2007 on the St. Paul campus, where you can learn about the health, well-being, and performance of horses.
F is for foot-washing stations. Three stations with floor sinks are scattered around campus for Muslim community members to use before prayer times.
G is for Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program, which brings talented U undergraduates to the Guthrie’s stage—and beyond.
H is for Honeycrisp, the popular and tasty apple developed by the U’s Horticultural Research Center.
I is for Immigration History Research Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts, renowned for researching and telling stories that illuminate the immigrant experience.
J is for School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which added “Hubbard” to its name in 2017, training ground for such famous journalists as Harry Reasoner (shown here), Eric Sevareid, and Michele Norris.
K is for Kroll Boathouse in East River Flats Park on the Mississippi River, named for the late Irene Claudia Kroll, whose children made the largest gift in Gopher rowing history.
L is for Lindsay Whalen, former Gopher and pro basketball star, who recently returned to the U to coach women’s basketball.
M is for Mississippi, the mighty river that splits the Minneapolis campus and is traversed on foot via the Washington Avenue Bridge.
N is for Nutritious U Food Pantry, based in Coffman Union, which provides thousands of students with food three days a month during the school year.
O is for the owls adorning Walter Library—225 at last count, not including the stylized owl’s-head design incorporated into reading room light fixtures.
P is for pacemaker, developed in conjunction with the U of M. The first external, battery-powered model was produced in the 1950s by alumnus Earl Bakken at the behest of U heart surgeon C. Walton Lillehei.
Q is for Queen Rearing Short Course, a three-day class at the U’s Bee Lab that teaches both hobby and commercial beekeepers how to raise their very own queen bees.
R is for Raptor Center, which annually rehabs approximately 1,000 sick and injured eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey.
S is for the Shoe Tree perched on the Mississippi River’s West Bank, which holds hundreds of hurled student sneakers. It’s best viewed from the Washington Avenue Bridge.
T is for the frostbite-fighting network of campus tunnels—and underground hallways and skyways—collectively known as the Gopher Way.
U is for University of Minnesota Advanced Careers, a new program helping Baby Boomers transition from work to a new phase in which they contribute their talents to the social good.
V is for vaccines. Medical School scientists are currently developing vaccines that treat heroin and prescription opioid abuse by blocking the drugs from reaching the brain.
W is for Weisman Art Museum, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. Its iconic shape, forged from steel, shines like a beacon on the East Bank.
X is for Queer X, an educational series sponsored by the Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life, which explores important topics impacting the LGBTQIA community.
Y is for Youth Programs Summer Camps, which annually bring thousands of schoolchildren onto U campuses for classes ranging from Backyard Bugs to Lumberjack Log Rolling.
Z is for Ziagen, one of the world’s most effective HIV/AIDS drugs. Also known as Abacavir, it was developed by U medicinal chemist Robert Vince and patented in 1988.
