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
Main article: History of the University of MissouriEstablishment 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."
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.
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 283,579-square-foot (26,345.4 m 2 ) Student Recreation Center that was ranked n
University of Missouri Columbia, School of Law
Enjoys a fine reputation, both in Missouri and nationwide, with lawyers active in 47 states.
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The UMC Archives is the depository of official records of the University of Missouri at Columbia as well as of the administrative records of the University of Missouri System.
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