Founded in 1858, Winona State University is a comprehensive, regional public university with over 8,000 students. The oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, Winona State offers 80 undergraduate, pre-professional, licensure and graduate programs on its three campuses: the original Main Campus in Winona, the West Campus in Winona, and Winona State University-Rochester Center.

University Mission Statement

The mission of Winona State University is to educate and enlighten our citizenry at a distinctive institution: a community of learners dedicated to improving our world.

Located in the beautiful bluff country of the Mississippi River Valley, the Winona campus is largely residential and primarily serves a traditional student age population, while the Rochester campus serves primarily non-traditional students. The Institute for Lifelong Education, headquartered on the Rochester campus, meets the needs of the non-traditional student on each campus and provides the structure for outreach activities compatible with the mission of WSU. Commonly-held principles help Winona State University prepare undergraduate and graduate students on both campuses. We value differences and work collaboratively, continuing a legacy of a century-and-a-half of service.

We are an exemplary arts and sciences institution with select professional and graduate programs anchored in a general education core. As a mid-sized public university, we are committed to retaining small class sizes and to challenging students by maintaining rigorous academic standards. Faculty and administration are involved with students, facilitate cooperative and active learning, provide prompt feedback, emphasize time on task, communicate high expectations, and respect our students’ diverse talents and ways of knowing. Faculty are dedicated to creating an optimal learning environment for students by using contemporary technology and by building learning communities which help students maximize their post-graduation successes. Students acquire the disciplinary expertise enabling them to pursue careers or enter graduate or professional schools. They learn the value of aesthetics and ethical integrity, along with the importance of becoming community leaders and furthering the public good.

Winona State University recognizes that many of the learning experiences of college occur outside the classroom. It therefore is committed to building and maintaining a caring community. On both campuses, community members strive for amicable relationships based on shared values and an affirmation of the principle of freedom of speech within an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect. Governed by collective bargaining agreements and guided by principled leadership, we respect diversity and collaborate to resolve issues that affect us all. We celebrate our common successes and our distinctive heritage.

We are committed to measuring results against self-defined and national standards. Through this ongoing assessment, one in which students, faculty, and staff participate, we will improve continuously and establish accountability for results. Thus, we shall reaffirm Winona State University’s social contract to provide educational benefits to the people of Minnesota, the nation, and the world.