About the School of Medicine
The University of Minnesota Medical School held its first classes in 1888, after three of the four private medical schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul offered their charters and resources to the state. In 1911 the Elliot Memorial Hospital was opened, giving Minnesota medical students a greater opportunity to gain clinical experience. In the 1950s the Medical School received substantial funds from the federal government for the construction of research facilities. The medical school curriculum was reformed in 1960 to include more clinical experience for juniors and seniors and in 1968 the Board of Regents supported the expansion of medical training facilities into St. Paul, Duluth and Rochester, Minnesota. In 1972, the Board of Regents established a two-year medical school at the Duluth campus, where the focus would be on educating physicians to serve in rural communities. After completing two years of preclinical studies at the Duluth campus, students would go on to complete clinical clerkships in Duluth, Minneapolis, or St. Paul. In the fall of 1986 the MD / PhD program was initiated at the Medical School.
Please click here for the Medical School timeline.
Arnold Anderson earned his M.D. in 1943 and his MA in 1950 from the University of Minnesota. In 1950, Dr. Anderson became part Medical School’s faculty in pediatrics. He was integral in the development and establishment of the Minneapolis…
Ellis Benson received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1945, and completed residencies in pathology and internal medicine at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Medical School in…
Henry Blackburn earned his M.D. from Tulane University in 1948, the M.S. from the University of Minnesota in 1957, and became a medical fellow in the Department of Medicine in 1953. In 1956, he became a faculty member in the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene in the School of Public Health …
Mary Briggs was one of the founders of the University of Minnesota’s Program in Human Sexuality, located in the Department of Family Practice and Community Health. She was integral in the founding of the Program in Human Sexuality in 1971…
Dr. David Brown completed his pediatric residency at the University of Minnesota in 1962. He returned in 1967 and became an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Laboratory Medicine. He advanced at the University, becoming an associate professor and acting…
Dr. Henry Buchwald began his residency at the University of Minnesota in 1960. He concurrently completed his master’s in biochemistry under Dr. Ivan Frantz and became a professor in 1966. Dr. Buchwald’s career has included research into the partial…
H. Mead Cavert received his B.S. in Agricultural Biochemistry in 1942, his M.D. in 1951, and his Ph.D. in Physiology in 1952, all from the University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty of the University’s Medical School in the…
Dr. Frank Cerra joined the University of Minnesota’s Department of Surgery in 1981. He became Chair of the Department in 1993, Dean of the Medical School in 1995, and Senior Vice President of Health Sciences in 1996. He retired…
Dr. Christopher Chute joined the health informatics graduate faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1990. He was appointed co-principal investigator with Laël Gatewood, PhD…
Dr. Eli Coleman earned his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in 1978 and became a professor in the Program in Human Sexuality that same year. He became director of the Program in 1991, and continues to serve in…