The “University of Minnesota School of Medicine at Duluth,” as it was originally known, admitted its first class of 24 students in 1972. The initial goals of the Duluth campus were to increase the total number of physicians in Minnesota, to increase the potential number of future family physicians, and to increase the probability that graduates would establish practice in rural Minnesota. These were substantial, transformative goals, and yet, Duluth campus has done so much more. 

Duluth is currently #2 in the nation for Native American physician training. Duluth is the home to the Memory Keepers Discovery Team, committed to helping Native American and rural communities develop appropriate strategies for coping with dementia. 

And not only did Duluth fulfill its original mission of training more physicians, more family physicians, and more physicians who gravitated toward rural practice, we also created a phenomenal Biomedical Sciences Department with a track record of impressive research. 

Our collaborative culture has resulted in partnerships across the Medical School, across disciplines, across cultures, and sometimes across continents. 

We celebrated our Medical School's 50th Anniversary on Thursday, September 15 with tremendous support from our school and community leaders. An extra special thank you to our speakers: Duluth mayor Emily Larson, Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce president Matt Baumgartner, David McMillan (Duluth interim chancellor), Dr. Jakub Tolar (Medical School dean), and Dr. Kevin Diebel (interim regional campus dean).

We look forward to continuing to advance, educate and serve our Duluth community (and beyond)!