Department of English

Why Minnesota Needs a Renovated Pillsbury Hall• The renovation will provide the 6,000-plus students who take English classes annually with 21st-century

classrooms, study spaces, and production labs for journal editing, video making, digital storytelling, website building, and web-based research.

Our Project

• It will also preserve the most historically significant and architecturally distinguished building on campus. Opened in 1889, Pillsbury Hall was named in honor of Governor John S. Pillsbury, the “father of the University.”

• English and the humanities will be able to expand the service-learning, laboratory practices, and internship opportunities that channel undergraduate students into post-graduation employment and civic life.

• When the Department of English moves to Pillsbury Hall, the College of Science and Engineering will use the vacated space to initiate exciting new programs in Computer Science and Engineering to address the pressing demand for skilled computing professionals.

• A total of $33 million is needed to convert this obsolete science building into a humanities center; the University is seeking $22 million in state bonding.

• The renovation of Pillsbury Hall is part of a sequence of strategic moves. The Physics Department moved from the outdated Tate Lab to the new Physics and Nanotechnology building in 2014. Tate Lab is being redesigned for Earth Sciences, which currently resides in Pillsbury Hall. When Earth Sciences moves to Tate in 2017-18, Pillsbury Hall can be renovated for English and other humanities program activities.

• In the summer of 2015, the State Designer Selection Board reviewed proposals for the Pre-Design process and recommended two to the University. The architectural firm selected by the U met in the fall with representatives from the University, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of English to complete the Pre-Design.

Where English students eat, meet, and study in Lind Hall

//english.umn.edu //z.umn.edu/PillsburyHall

Who We Are

“Minnesota is recognized as the second most important publishing area in the country (after New York/Boston). The English department at the U plays a crucial economic role in this publishing ecosystem by supplying a well-educated, motivated workforce that respects and understands the power of the written word. Besides the many important educational opportunities a refurbished Pillsbury Hall will provide, it will also ensure that our state maintains its place as an internationally renowned publishing center.”— Adam Lerner, Publisher and CEO, Lerner Publishing Group; Chair, English Advisory Board

The study of English at Minnesota goes back to the University’s origins. In 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state, the University taught young people the basics of grammar, reading, and arithmetic. The first two presidents—William Folwell (1869-1884) and Cyrus Northrop (1884-1911)—taught grammar and literature. In 1885, President Northrop, who had been a professor of literature at Yale, formally established English as one of the first departments. Today we teach 6000 students a year, including 500 majors and 110 graduate students.

“An English major provides its students with growth and

development of writing skills (whether creative, scholarly, or argumentative), critical-

thinking skills, cross-cultural skills, empathy, communication,

and so much more. Providing the English Department with its

own home would help in building a necessary community of

thinkers and future leaders.”— Undergraduate student

Pillsbury Hall’s Storied HistoryJohn S. Pillsbury, governor of Minnesota (1875-1881) rescued the fledgling university in the 1860s with a plan that stabilized its finances. Later, he secured its land grant status (under the Federal Morrill Land Grant Act) by offering to construct

a “complete science hall” on the University of Minnesota campus. No single individual has contributed more to the founding of the University of Minnesota, and no building represents the history of its founding more than Pillsbury Hall.

Faculty members in English have led and continue to lead our field in new directions. We pioneered the establishment of American Studies, Women’s Studies, and other ethnic studies programs at the University. Our Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing ranks 11th nationwide, and our interdisciplinary program in literary criticism and theory ranks 13th nationwide.

The age of the word—in all of its oral, printed, and digital forms—is the age of English. At a time when everyone is bombarded with information, students of English excel at identifying, interpreting, and communicating what is most significant. At a time when we struggle to understand the world’s complex problems and how to engage them, English students and majors learn to explore, analyze, and communicate effective solutions.

“Because applied and natural sciences stayed in proximity, today’s university offers rich interdisciplinary opportunities that continue to serve this state well. That history alone justifies Pillsbury Hall’s preservation. The proposal to make it a modern home for the English Department justifies its renewal.” — Star Tribune, “Renewal of pivotal building at the U deserves legislative support” (January 5, 2016)

Pre-Design sketch of student space in Pillsbury Hall (RRTL photo)