The University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) is a public college in Rochester, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and focuses primarily on general health sciences. It was formally established by an act of the state legislature in December 2006. UMR currently offers two bachelor's degrees in health science and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus offers several graduate programs at the education center in downtown Rochester. History Rochester legislators and community advocates started the campaign to increase higher education in the local area as early as the 1950s. Courses were offered in engineering, education, and math starting in 1966 as a satellite site of the University of Minnesota in coordination with other institutions. In the early 1990s, an educational coalition was formed with Rochester Community and Technical College and Winona State University Rochester to form the University Center Rochester – three institutions, two systems, and one campus. In 1998, Rochester was identified by the legislature as a future branch of the University of Minnesota system. This designation allowed the Rochester site to develop its own leadership structure and to begin to develop its own academic program independent of other campuses. In 2000, the university heightened efforts to grow both the graduate satellite programs of the Rochester branch by adding a new provost to lead the campus and staff to accommodate this growth. The current University of Minnesota Rochester began to take form in January 2005 when then-Governor Tim Pawlenty announced in his State of the State address that southeastern Minnesota was underserved by public higher education and announced a plan to initiate research into solving the problem. The governor formed the Rochester Higher Education Development Committee (RHEDC) and appointed local business owner Marilyn Stewart to lead the group. The committee consisted of representatives from other public and private education institutions, area business leaders, and leaders in health care. The group's charge was to formulate a plan to advance higher education in the Rochester area. The RHEDC eventually identified the need for a branch campus of the University of Minnesota system that could integrate with the health sciences programs and needs of the Mayo Clinic. The group promoted the University of Minnesota system as the only higher education provider in a position to carry out this ideal, in spite of the existing branch campus of Winona State University - Rochester and Rochester Community and Technical College.