Dowell Hall and Dowell Annex

Aerial view of Dowell Hall

Dowell Hall could be considered one of the most active buildings on campus. On its three floors, it is home to various classrooms and laboratory facilities where many of UMN Crookston's courses meet. It can also be considered a technology hub. The Dowell Annex--linked to the north of "Dowell Proper" on the first floor--provides office space for many faculty members.

Dowell Hall and Dowell Annex are highlighted in pink within the campus map

Location on Campus
The Dowell Hall's primary location is on the northwest side of the University of Minnesota Crookston campus, in between the UMN Crookston Library and Sahlstrom Conference Center. Dowell Annex is joined as the northern most part of the Dowell Hall.

Dowell Hall and Dowell Annex
2900 University Ave, Crookston MN 56716

Points of Interest

  • Alseth/NWSA Business Board Room

  • Science Labs (Biology, Chemistry and Physics)

  • Undergraduate Collaborative Learning and Experiential Applied Research (UCLEAR) Lab - an immersive computer visualization and informatics Lab suite


Building History
Austin A. Dowell
Austin A. Dowell

Dowell Hall is named for Austin A. Dowell, who served from 1927 to 1937 as superintendent of the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA), UMC's precursor which was a residential high school. Today Dowell Hall, which was built and dedicated in 1972, stands on the site of the original NWSA Home Economics Building, the first building constructed on campus in 1906. 

Dowell Annex, which is today home to faculty offices, was originally built in 1926 as the NWSA's student health services building.

The Alseth-NWSA Business Boardroom (Dowell 116), a special classroom built to simulate a state-of-the-art business boardroom, opened for student use in early 2009. Dowell Hall's third floor science labs (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) were renovated with major updates in 2010. That same year an immersive computer visualization and informatics lab suite (now called the UCLEAR Lab) was created from classroom space on the second floor.