[11] After much agitation by Jay Abel Hubbell, the state legislature established the school to train mining engineers.

[15] This name lasted through World War I until 1925, but by this time the school had begun offering a wider variety of degrees and once again decided to change its name to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1927.

Under President Grover C. Dillman (1935–1956), the school underwent many notable changes, including the construction of the Memorial Union Building, the purchasing of an ice rink and a golf course as well as the procurement of the village of Alberta, Michigan.

The early female students were mostly daughters of professors or wealthy businessmen of the Houghton and Hancock area.

They were allowed to take classes and were given special student status, which meant that they could be enrolled in courses, but were not able to receive a degree.

The first female faculty member of the Michigan College of Mines was Ella Wood, who was hired as an assistant professor for the Humanities department in 1927.

She also worked in the library and taught meteorology to assist with pilot training sessions to students during WWII.

Following shortly behind was the first woman to graduate with High Honors in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, Lilian (Heikkinen) Beck, in 1947.

She was also the first woman from Michigan Tech to be inducted into the Alpha Sigma Mu honorary fraternity of the International Metallurgical Society.

One year later, Marian Ione (Smith) Scott was the first woman to earn a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

[citation needed] The first female varsity athlete was Nada J. Fenton, who was a member of the rifle team during the 1950s.

Today Michigan Tech has seven women's varsity sports including basketball, cross country, Nordic skiing, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and soccer.

The Lakeshore Center in downtown Houghton houses the offices of Human Relations, Vice President for Research, and other departments.

[23] Faculty are involved in several distance education programs with clients including General Motors.

[24] Mont Ripley is the oldest ski area in Michigan (established in the 1900s) in the snowiest city in the Midwest.

The Michigan Tech College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science proposed that revenue could be generated from timber harvesting to support the team and upgrade the trails.

The university's cross country ski trail system is located near the Student Development Complex in the Michigan Tech Recreational Forest.

The Tech Trails are nationally recognized for the quality of skiing, consistency of grooming and variety of terrain.

The Ford Motor Company gave Michigan Tech a grant in 1996 to turn the sawmill into a museum.

Michigan Tech's Enterprise Program provides students with real-world design, engineering, and entrepreneurial experiences.

Enterprises develop engineering skills by allowing students to work in businesslike environments on real-world projects while completing their education.

Michigan Tech competes primarily in the NCAA's Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), while the men's hockey team competes in Division I as a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

Michigan Tech owns a downhill skiing/snowboarding hill, Mont Ripley, just across Portage Lake from campus, and maintains extensive cross-country skiing trails (used for mountain biking in summer).

The Huskies Pep Band performs at all home football, basketball, volleyball, and ice hockey games, as well as parades and other local events.

Some cheers and songs have been around since the 1930s and '40s, such as the "Blue Skirt Waltz" in which the pep band (along with the audience) would link arms and sway back and forth.

This tradition began during Winter Carnival in 1948 after Frankie Yankovic had recently performed there and has been since dubbed "The Copper Country Anthem.

"[62] Some of the antics of the band are considered Monty Python-esque, often performing songs from the sketches themselves and shouting the phrase "Run away!"

[78] Notable faculty include: Elias C. Aifantis, Stephen Bowen, Margaret Burnett, Robert Schneider, Kathy Halvorsen, Lyon Bradley King, Nancy Langston, Robert J. Nemiroff, Joseph Rallo, Donald Shell, Martha E. Sloan, David R. Shonnard, and Svitlana Winnikow.