our history

Originating from humble beginnings in a renovated horse stable, The Hormel Institute has always been a curious place for discovery. Learn more about The Hormel Institute’s unique story.

Harold Schmid

Former Executive Director Harald Schmid chronicled more than six decades of history at The Hormel Institute, from its modest beginnings to research impact worldwide. The Hormel Institute journey that began in the 1940s has become a hub of scientific knowledge generation, with investigators from around the globe, more than eight decades later. 

Initially, The Hormel Institute studied food preservation, food safety, swine disease, and other agricultural and food-related research. However, it soon became known for pioneering research in lipid biochemistry, biophysics and nutrition, including Ralph Holman's work on essential fatty acids.

In the early 1990s, under the direction of Harald Schmid, The Hormel Institute shifted its focus to researching cancer and other chronic diseases. Today, The Hormel Institute is focused on “Cancer+” — the study of cancer and cancer-related diseases from every angle. Cancer is not a one-size-fits-all disease, and investigators at The Hormel Institute do not take a one-size-fits-all approach to research.

A more detailed HISTORY

Early Days: 1942-1960

The Hormel Institute owes its existence to the curiosity and foresight of one man – Jay C. Hormel, long-time president and CEO of Geo. A. Hormel & Co. (now Hormel Foods Corp.).  Jay Hormel was a visionary who realized that mankind’s progress is largely based on scientific discoveries. 

Hence, when he established The Hormel Foundation he resolved that part of the Foundation’s income should be used for scientific research, to be carried out locally. 

With that philosophy, the Hormel Institute was established on November 20, 1942, when The Hormel Foundation and the Regents of the University of Minnesota entered into an agreement to operate a biological research laboratory in the small town of Austin, Minnesota.

LEARN ABOUT OUR EARLY DAYS

Development: 1961-2000

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the original Institute buildings on the Hormel estate were used primarily for the Lipids Preparation Project, under the direction of O. S. Privett, and for the miniature pig breeding project.

As the Hormel Institute had grown and developed largely by the initiative and ingenuity of its faculty, organizational weaknesses began to appear, which led to a series of financial problems, beginning around 1970.

After conducting a worldwide search the Board appointed Ralph Holman in 1975 as the new Executive Director for an initial 5-year period. Also, the Board asked Hermann Schlenk to chair an Institute committee charged with the writing of a Hormel Institute Constitution.

LEARN ABOUT OUR DEVELOPMENT
Executive Directors

Expansion, part 1: 
Early 2000s

This expansion of Institute research programs was just the beginning of major new developments, largely due to the initiative and generosity of Richard Knowlton. Like Jay Hormel a half century earlier, Knowlton had been born and raised in Austin and later became his home town’s major benefactor.

As the long-time CEO of Hormel Foods Corp., he had dramatically increased the company’s value, and that of The Hormel Foundation, its major shareholder. 

In 2006, The Hormel Foundation and Hormel Foods Corp., together with other donors from the Austin community funded a new state-of-the-art research building to accommodate the further expansion of the Institute's cancer research program.

LEARN ABOUT OUR FIRST EXPANSION

Expansion, part 2: 
2016-current

In 2016, our Institute grew, thanks to the support of The Hormel Foundation, and again we doubled the size of The Hormel Institute by adding another 20 state-of-the-art labs and a global communications center named “Ray Live Learning Center” in recognition of the significant contribution of Gary and Pat Ray. 

This is great progress, especially in light of tripling in size just 8 years prior. 

As of 2025, The Hormel Institute has nearly 30 faculty members and around 150 employees as we stay true to the institute's 80-plus-year mission to strengthen research in a wide array of areas.

LEARN ABOUT OUR 2ND EXPANSION