The
University of Missouri (Mizzou,
MU, University of
Missouri–Columbia or simply Missouri) is
a coeducational public research university located in the
state of Missouri
.
In
1839 the university was founded in Columbia,
Missouri
as the first public institution of higher education
west of the Mississippi
River. The largest university in Missouri, MU enrolls
over 30,000 students in 20 academic colleges.
The university is the
flagship of the University
of Missouri System which maintains campuses in Rolla
, Kansas City
and St. Louis
.MU is one of thirty-four public universities
to be members of the
Association of American
Universities and the only one in Missouri. There are more than
244,000 MU alumni living worldwide, with half continuing to reside
in Missouri.
The campus
of the University of Missouri is 1,372 acres just south of Downtown
Columbia
and is maintained as a botanical garden. The historical campus
is centered on David R.
Francis Quadrangle, a National
Historic District, and a number of buildings on the National Register of
Historic Places. In 1908 the world's first
school of journalism was founded by
Walter Williams at the suggestion of
Joseph Pulitzer as the
Missouri School of Journalism.
The
University of
Missouri Research Reactor Center is the world's most powerful
university research reactor. It is one of only six public
universities in the United States with a school of
medicine,
veterinary medicine,
engineering,
agriculture, and
law
all on one campus. The university also owns the
University of Missouri Health
Care system which operates four hospitals in
Mid-Missouri
The University of Missouri's athletic teams are known as the
Missouri Tigers and compete as
members of the
Big 12 conference.
The school's mascot,
Truman the
Tiger, is named after Missourian and former U.S. president
Harry S. Truman. According to the
NCAA the American tradition of
Homecoming was established at the University in
1911; the tradition has since been adopted nationwide.
History
Establishment and pre-fire
In 1839, the Missouri legislature passed the
Geyer Act to establish funds for a state
university for the state's many aspiring students. It would be the
first public university west of the
Mississippi River. To secure the
university, the citizens of Columbia and
Boone County pledged $117,921 in cash
and land to beat out five other central Missouri counties for the
location of the state university. The land on which the University
was eventually constructed was just south of Columbia's downtown
and owned by
James S. Rollins, who became known as the "Father of
the University." As the first public University in
Louisiana Purchase, the school was shaped
by
Thomas Jefferson's ideas about
public education.
In 1862 the
American Civil War
forced the university to close for much of the year. It was during
this time that the residents of Columbia formed a "home guard"
militia unit that became notoriously known as the "Fighting Tigers
of Columbia". This name was given because of the group's steadfast
readiness to fight against any form of invading force that was
hoping to plunder the city and university. Later, in 1890, the name
suggested the University's newly-formed football team be called the
"Tigers" for those who fought to
defend Columbia. In 1870 the institution was granted land-grant
status under the
Morrill Act of 1862.
The act
also led to the establishment of the the Missouri School of Mines
and Metallurgy as an off shoot of the main campus in Columbia; This
institution became the present-day Missouri University of Science &
Technology
. In 1888 the Missouri Agricultural
Experiment Station opened. This grew to encompass ten centers and
research farms around central Missouri. By 1890 the university
encompassed a normal college (education), engineering college,
art's and science college, school of agriculture and mechanical
arts. school of medicine, and school of law.
On January 9, 1892,
Academic
Hall
, the institution's main building, fell victim to a
disastrous fire. The fire completely gutted the building,
leaving little more than six stone
Ionic
columns standing. The university's rebuilding, under the tenure
of
Missouri Governor David R. Francis laid the foundations for the modern
university.
After the fire
After the
fire, there was a campaign to move the University to Sedalia
; however, Columbia was able to rally against the
move. The columns, which still stand today, became
a symbol of the campus and form the center of Francis
Quadrangle, the oldest part of campus. At the southern
end of the quad is Academic Hall's replacement, Jesse Hall, named
for Richard Jesse (the president of the university at the time of
the fire). Built in 1895, Jesse Hall is home to many administrative
offices of the University and to Jesse Auditorium. The area of
campus around the quadrangle, where the buildings are built of red
brick, is known as "red campus."
Fire at Academic Hall, 1892
East of the quadrangle, many buildings were built in 1913 and 1914
of white limestone. This section is known as "white campus." In
1908 the world's first
journalism school
was opened at MU. It became famous worldwide for its "Missouri
Method" of hands-on, experience-based teaching. In 1910
George Kessler implemented a
City Beautiful design of the grounds.
In 1911,
MU held the first homecoming when
Athletic Director, Chester Brewer (another alumnus of Acacia
Fraternity), invited alumni to "come home" for a spirit rally, a
parade, and the football game between MU and the University
of Kansas
. After World War II, universities around the
country grew at an extraordinary pace, and MU was no exception.
This was due in part to the
G.I. Bill, which allowed veterans to attend college
with the assistance of the federal government.
Events at the University were instrumental in the desegregation of
universities and schools nationwide.
In the winter of
1935, four graduates of Lincoln University
—a traditionally black
school about 30 miles (50 km) away in Jefferson
City
—were denied admission to MU's graduate
school. One of the students,
Lloyd L. Gaines,
brought his case to the United States Supreme Court
. On December 12, 1938, in a landmark 6–2
decision, the court ordered the State of Missouri to admit Gaines
to MU's law school or provide a facility of equal stature.
Gaines
disappeared in Chicago
on March 19, 1939, under suspicious
circumstances. The University granted Gaines a posthumous
honorary law degree in May 2006. Undergraduate divisions were
integrated by court order in 1950, when the University was
compelled to admit African Americans to courses that were not
offered at Lincoln University.
Flagship campus
The University of Missouri became a four campus system in
1963.
Campus
MU is
located in Columbia,
Missouri just south of downtown. The campus is
designated a
botanical garden by
the state of Missouri. The academic portion of campus is split into
two main groups known as
Red Campus and
White Campus.
Red Campus is the
historical core of academic buildings situated around the landmark
columns of the David R. Francis Quadrangle. Red Campus also includes buildings such as
Jesse
Hall
and Switzler
Hall
. In the early 1900s, the College of
Agriculture began a period of rapid expansion in which several
buildings were constructed to accommodate the growing program and
student body. The new buildings, located to the east of Red Campus,
were built in neo-gothic style from native Missouri limestone.
The most
notable feature of White Campus is Memorial
Union
.
Tower of Memorial Union
A fountain and statue make up Tiger
Plaza, located on the southern edge of the Carnahan
Quadrangle
During the 1990s, Red Campus was extended to the south side of
Jesse Hall with the creation of the
Carnahan Quadrangle.
Hulston Hall of the
University of Missouri School of
Law
had already been completed in 1988 and formed a
natural eastern border for the future quad. The
Reynolds Alumni Center was completed
in 1992 on the west side of the new quad. The new quad was finished
with completion of Cornell Hall of the
Trulaske College of Business
and Tiger Plaza in 2002.
While the
original MU intercollegiate athletic facilities, such as Rollins
Field and Rothwell Gymnasium, were located just to the south of the
academic buildings, the venues began to move further south across
Stadium Boulevard upon the completion of Memorial Stadium
in 1926. The Hearnes Center
was completed just to the east of the stadium in
1972. In 1994, the university developed the first draft of a
master facilities plan for the campus that would tie together all
of Tiger athletic facilities to the south of Stadium Boulevard into
an attractive setting.
Today, the MU
Sports Park now also includes the Mizzou Arena
, Taylor
Stadium
, and Walton Stadium
. Student athletic facilities remain in the
core area of campus where the original intercollegiate facilities
were once located. Rothwell Gymnasium and Brewer Fieldhouse are now
part of the Student Recreation Center that was ranked number one in
the nation by
Sports Illustrated
in the September 2005 issue.
Between the student recreation facilities and the intercollegiate
athletic facilities lies the main campus of the
University of Missouri
Hospitals and Clinics. The complex includes the
University of Missouri
Hospital and
Truman Memorial Veterans
Hospital. Two of the hospitals,
Columbia Regional Hospital and
Ellis Fischel Cancer
Center are located northeast of the main campus, near
I-70.
Located south of the MU Sports Park along Providence Road is the
MU Research Park. The research park
includes the
University of
Missouri Research Reactor Center,
International
Institute for Nano and Molecular Medicine,
MU Life
Science Business Incubator at Monsanto Place, and
Dalton Cardiovascular
Research Center. In October 2005, the University of Missouri
Board of Curators also approved legislation to designate the South
Farm of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
(CAFNR) as a research park. The park, located three miles
(5 km) southeast of the main campus on US63, is now known as
Discovery Ridge Research
Park. Tenants at Discovery Ridge include
ABC Laboratories and the
MU Research Animal
Diagnostic Laboratory.
The main campus is flanked to the east and west by
Greek Life housing. As one of the nation's
largest Greek life systems, the University of Missouri includes
nearly 50 national social fraternities and sororities, many of
which make their homes in multi-million dollar historical
residences.
Beta Sigma Psi,
Kappa Alpha Order,
Sigma Chi,
Beta Theta
Pi,
Alpha Gamma Rho, and
Sigma Nu form a Greek Row (also called Frat
Row) along College Avenue in the
East Campus area. Most
of the Greek letter organizations are arranged in a Greek Town,
consisting of approximately 30 Greek residences, to the north of
Memorial Stadium.
Tau Kappa
Epsilon,
Kappa Sigma, and
Lambda Chi Alpha reside in houses west of
the
MU Power Plant on Stewart
Road.
Academics
MU is one of only six public universities that houses a law school,
medical school, and a veterinary medicine school all on the same
campus.
In Missouri, MU is the designated land-grant university (along with
Lincoln
University), the largest public research institution, and the
only university that is both a member of the Association of American
Universities and designated as a "Doctoral/Research Extensive"
university by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Only 34
universities in the nation have both such designations. The
University
of Missouri Research Reactor Center is located in the MU
Research Park and is the largest university research reactor in the
U.S.
In 1908, the
Missouri
School of Journalism (known colloquially as the "J-school"),
the world's first school of journalism, was founded in Columbia.
The
University of Missouri System also owns and operates KOMU-TV
, the NBC/CW affiliate for Columbia and nearby Jefferson
City
. It is a full-fledged commercial station,
but is also a working lab for journalism students. The MU School of
Journalism also operates the Columbia Missourian which trains
students in reporting, editing and design in a real newsroom
managed by professional editors, local National Public Radio
Station [KBIA]http://www.kbia.org/ and Radio Adelante, a
Spanish-language radio program.
Founded in 1978 after 23 years as a unit of the School of Medicine,
the School of Health Professions became an autonomous division by
action of the University of Missouri Board of Curators on Dec. 14,
2000. The school's five departments and eight accredited academic
programs have a long and distinguished history, some dating back to
the early 1900s, and have produced many well respected and
nationally recognized professionals. As Missouri's only state
supported school of health professions on a campus with an academic
health center, and the only allied health school in the University
of Missouri system, the school is uniquely positioned to educate
highly qualified health care professionals, who, in addition to
becoming skilled practitioners, will assume leadership
responsibilities as faculty, researchers, and administrators in
their respective disciplines.
The university maintains the second largest library collection in
the State of Missouri. As of the 2006-2007 academic year, the
collection was home to nearly 3.1 million volumes, 8.1 million
microforms, 1.7 million government documents, more than 272,000
print maps, and more than 49,000 journal subscriptions.
The
collection is housed in Ellis Library
, the University Archives, and seven specialized
academic libraries across campus. The collection was
originally house in Academic
Hall, and most of it was lost when the building burned
in 1892. The only materials that survived were those that
were checked out at the time. During the
Civil
War, Union troops used the Library as a guard room. The Union
troops caused significant damage, including taking 467 library
volumes to construct fires. The Board of Curators later sued the
Army for the destruction they caused to the library and other parts
of campus. The suit was eventually settled in 1915 and the award
was used to build the Memorial Gateway on the northern edge of Red
Campus. In 1913, construction began on a new main library for the
campus, and in 1915 it was completed and the collection was moved
from Jesse Hall to the newly constructed library. The main library
was expanded in 1935, 1958, and 1985. It was dedicated as Elmer
Ellis Library on October 10, 1972, in honor of the thirteenth
president of the University of Missouri. Today, the MU libraries
are home to the 47th largest research collection in North
America.
Organization and administration
| College/school
founding |
| College/school |
Year founded |
|
| College of
Arts and Science |
1841 |
| College of Education |
1868 |
| College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources |
1870 |
School of
Law |
1872 |
| School of
Medicine |
1872 |
| College of Engineering |
1877 |
| Graduate School |
1896 |
| School of
Journalism |
1908 |
| Trulaske College of
Business |
1914 |
| Sinclair School of Nursing |
1920 |
| College of Veterinary Medicine |
1946 |
| School of Social Work |
1948 |
| School of Music |
???? |
| School of Health Professions |
???? |
| School of Accountancy |
1975 |
| School of Natural Resources |
1989 |
| College of Human Environmental Sciences |
1960 |
| School of Information Science & Learning Technologies |
1997 |
| Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs |
2001 |
Presidents and chancellors
Each campus of the
University of Missouri System
is led by a
chancellor, who
reports to the
president of the UM System.
Prior to
the formation of the system in 1963, the Columbia campus and its
offshoot in Rolla
were led directly by the president and the position
of chancellor did not exist. See
University of Missouri
System#Presidents for a list of presidents from 1963–present.
This list does not include
interim
presidents or chancellors. John Lathrop is the only president or
chancellor to have served separate terms.
Presidents, 1841–1963 and
Chancellors,
1963–present
- John Hiram Lathrop
(1841–1849)
- James Shannon
(1850–1856)
- William Wilson Hudson
(1856–1859)
- Benjamin Blake Minor
(1860–1862)
- John Hiram Lathrop
(1865–1866)
- Daniel Read
(1866–1876)
- Samuel Spahr Laws (1876–1889)
- Richard Henry Jesse
(1891–1908)
- Albert Ross Hill
(1908–1921)
- John Carleton Jones
(1922–1923)
- Stratton Brooks (1923–1930)
- Walter Williams
(1931–1935)
- Frederick Middlebush
(1935–1954)
- Elmer Ellis† (1955–1963)
- John W. Schwada (1964–1970)
- Herbert W. Schooling (1971–1978)
- Barbara Uehling (1978–1987)
- Haskell Monroe (1987–1993)
- Charles Kiesler (1993–1996)
- Richard L. Wallace (1997–2004)
- Brady J. Deaton (2004–present)
† Elmer Ellis became president of the University of Missouri System
upon its creation, serving until 1966.
From its inception in 1839 until the creation of the
University of Missouri System
in 1963, the university in Columbia was known simply as the
University of Missouri. Upon creation of the system, each
university was renamed with its host city; thus, the university in
Columbia became the University of Missouri–Columbia. In the
proceeding decades, colloquial and verbal usage of the generic name
in reference to MU continued. There were various attempts to drop
Columbia from its name by students, faculty, alumni, and
administrators who felt it might cause the university to be
perceived as a regional institution. This change was long resisted
by the UM System and the other universities on the basis of
uniformity and fairness. However, after a renewed effort for "name
restoration", the Board of Curators voted unanimously on 29
November 2007 to allow MU to drop Columbia from its name for
effectively all public purposes. Continued use of the name
University of Missouri–Columbia is not incorrect but is being
phased out by MU, except as required on official internal documents
within the UM System. Its use also continues to be advocated by
some faculty, administration, and alumni of UMKC, UMSL, and
Missouri S&T.
Student life
Residential Life
Dobbs
Area
Residence Halls:
Dining Halls:
Convenience Store:
|
|
Pershing/Mid-Campus
Area
Residence Halls:
Dining Hall:
Convenience Store:
- Mizzou Market: Hitt Street
|
|
College Avenue
Area
Residence Halls:
Dining Halls:
|
|
Rollins
Area
Dining Halls:
|
|
Mark Twain
Area
Residence Halls:
Dining Halls:
|
- * Indicates currently being constructed or closed for
renovation
Groups and activities
Tap Day is an annual spring ceremony in which the identities of the
members of the six secret honor societies are revealed. The
participating societies are
QEBH,
Mystical Seven,
LSV,
Omicron
Delta Kappa,
Mortar Board, and the
Rollins Society. The ceremony, first
held in 1927, takes place at the base of the Columns on Francis
Quadrangle.
Greek Life
MU is home to one of the oldest and largest Greek systems in the
nation. The University is home to the first chapter of an existing
national fraternity founded at a public institution west of the
Mississippi. Currently, more than 70 Greek-letter organizations
remain active at MU.
Athletics
The Missouri Tigers are members of the
Big 12 Conference. Mizzou is the only
school in the state with all of its sports in the
NCAA Division I, the nation's
highest level of college sports. Their colors are black and gold.
Athletic sports include men's and women's
basketball,
baseball,
cross country,
football,
golf,
gymnastics,
lacrosse,
swimming
&
diving,
softball,
track,
tennis,
volleyball,
women's soccer, and
wrestling. Former football coach
Dan Devine holds the record for most wins
on the gridiron. Additionally, former basketball coach and alum
Norm Stewart maintains the record for
most wins on the hard court. The current head coach of the men's
basketball team is
Mike
Anderson.
Gary Pinkel is the current
head football coach. Coaches of other sports include women's
basketball coach
Cindy Stein, women's
golf coach Stephanie Priesmeyer, men's golf coach Mark Leroux,
baseball coach Tim Jamieson, softball coach Ehren Earleywine, cross
country coach Jared Wilmes, men's swimming and diving coach Brian
Hoffer, track and field coach Rick McGuire, wrestling coach Brian
Smith, gymnastics coach Rob Drass, soccer coach Bryan Blitz, tennis
coach Blake Starkey, and volleyball coach Wayne Kreklow.
Tiger logo
MU
football games are played on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Built in 1926, the
stadium has an official capacity of 68,349, and features a nearly .
wide "M" behind the north end zone.
Men's and women's basketball games are
played at the Mizzou
Arena, located just south of the football stadium.
The
Hearnes
Center hosted men's and women's basketball from 1972 to
2004 and is still used for other athletic and school
events.
The Missouri Tiger men's basketball team has 22 NCAA tournament
appearances all time. However, this is the second most NCAA
Tournament appearances without a final four. The Tigers have
appeared in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament (elite
eight) six times, two under legendary coach Norm Stewart. The
Tigers in their history have won 15 conference championships from
their days in the Missouri Valley, to the Big 6, and the big 8
conference. In 1994 the Tigers did not lose a Big 8 game to take
the regular season title. In 2009 Missouri won its only Big 12
Championship over Baylor. A few standout players from the Mizzou's
basketball team include,
Anthony
Peeler, John Brown,
Jon Sundvold,
Steve Stipanovich,
Kareem Rush,
Doug Smith, Willie Smith,
Norm Stewart,
Linas
Kleiza,
Derrick Chievous, and
DeMarre Carroll. The official
mascot for Missouri Tigers athletics is
Truman the Tiger, who was created
on September 16, 1986. Truman was named following a campus-wide
naming contest in honor of
Harry S.
Truman, the only U.S. president from
Missouri. Previously MU had two mascots, a male and a female, but
neither had an identity. Truman was acclaimed the "Best Mascot in
the Nation" for the second time, in national competition in
2004.
Today, Truman can be seen cheering on the Tigers and mingling with
supporters at Mizzou athletic events as well as pep-rallies, alumni
association functions, and frequent visits to Columbia area
schools.
On November 24, 2007 the Mizzou football team played its biggest
rival,
Kansas. At that time
KU was ranked #2 and MU was ranked #4 nationally. At the end of the
game Mizzou defeated KU, 36–28. The
following day MU was ranked #1 in the country for only the second
time in its history (November 14, 1960, 1 week).On December 1,
2007, the Mizzou football team lost the Big 12 Championship game in
San Antonio, Texas to Oklahoma 38–17 falling out of national title
and Bowl Championship Series contention. They played in the Cotton
Bowl January 1, 2008 at Dallas, Texas defeating the
Arkansas Razorbacks 38–7. However in the
final Associated Press Top 25 football poll of the 2007 season,
Mizzou was ranked #4 in the country—its highest finishing position
in the team's history.
Traditions
Alma Mater
The Alma Mater for the University is
Old Missouri. It was
written in 1895 and is sung to the tune of
Annie Lisle and has two verses. Before and after
athletic events, sometimes only the first verse is used. The first
and second verses are more commonly sung at student orientation,
commencement/graduation ceremonies and Mizzou Alumni Association
events. Both verses are followed by the chorus.
First Verse:
Old Missouri, fair Missouri
Dear old Varsity.
Ours are hearts that fondly love thee
Here's a health to thee.
Chorus:
Proud art thou in classic beauty
Of thy noble past
With thy watch words: honour, duty,
Thy high fame shall last!
Second verse:
Every student, man and maiden
Swells the glad refrain.
'Till the breezes, music laden
Waft it back again.
Chorus:
Proud art thou in classic beauty
Of thy noble past
With thy watch words honour, duty,
Thy high fame shall last!
Homecoming
MU is credited with establishing the tradition of
Homecoming in the United States, which was
subsequently adopted by most colleges and high schools across the
country. The tradition began in 1911 when athletic director Chester
L.
Brewer
invited alumni to "come home" for the big football game against
KU. A spirit rally and parade were planned as
part of the welcome home celebration for alumni. MU's homecoming
celebration has been named the best Homecoming in the nation and a
model homecoming program by the Council for Advancement and Support
of Education. Since 1999, the homecoming blood drive has earned the
Guinness Record as the nation's largest.
Notable faculty and alumni
See also
Notes
- georgekessler.org - Retrieved July 13,
2008
- Mizzou Homecoming history
- "MU awards law degree to kin of rights pioneer"
by Alan Scher Zagier, Columbia Daily Tribune, May 14,
2006, retrieved on August 15, 2006
- http://www.colotime.com/pdf/University%20of%20Missouri.pdf
- History of the School of Health Professions
- Facts about the Libraries
- The Heart of the University: MU Libraries
- JLib affiliated libraries
- http://education.missouri.edu/about/history/index.php
- http://www.missouri.edu/about/history/cafnr.php
- http://www.snr.missouri.edu/about/history.php
- http://education.missouri.edu/SISLT/
- http://truman.missouri.edu/about/index.asp
- University of Missouri Leaders
- Former presidents of the University of
Missouri
- UM Curators recognize historic status of
MU
References
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