HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
The first publicly supported institution of higher education
established in the Louisiana Territory, the University of Missouri
was shaped in accordance with the ideals of Thomas Jefferson, an
early proponent of public higher education.
The origin of the University of Missouri can be traced to a clause
in the Act of 1820, which admitted Missouri to the Union. Federal
legislation authorized the sale of two tracts of public lands with the
proceeds to be for the use of a seminary of learning. By the 1830's
the legislature sold the land and sentiment mounted for the
establishment of a university. By 1839 the fund amounted to about
$100,000, and the state General Assembly passed two acts that
provided for the establishment and location of the University of
Missouri. One of the acts passed specified that the university be
located in one of six centrally located counties. The decision on the
final location was to be based on who could offer the greatest
inducements in land and money. The citizens of Boone County
worked aggressively to obtain the university, against stiff
competition from the other counties. All the citizens of the county,
which had a population of over 10,000, were approached to donate.
Many gave generously. Boone County won the bid with $82,300 in
cash plus land valued at $36,000, and in 1839 the University of
Missouri was founded in the frontier town of Columbia, making it
the first state university west of the Mississippi River. Classes
began at the University in April of 1841, less than a year after the
cornerstone was laid in the main administration building. In 1843
the University's first commencement was held. The first Master's
Degrees were awarded in 1846.
The first few years were difficult ones, as the state legislature did
not appropriate any funds for the University until 1867. Sources of
income were the interest from the seminary fund and donations,
and the sale of the donated land, which seldom brought its
appraised value.
The year 1870 marked two momentous changes for the University.
Under the terms of the Morrill Act of 1862, the University was
accorded land-grant status, prompting the legislature to authorize a
School of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts for Columbia and to
open a second campus to house the School of Mines and
Metallurgy at Rolla. The first Doctor of Philosophy Degree was
awarded in 1899.
The campus is divided historically and architecturally into the
White Campus and the Red Campus. The Red Campus, centered
around Francis Quadrangle, dates to before the turn of the century
and features buildings of red brick manufactured at local
refractories.
Dating from 1900, the White Campus spreads east and south of the
Red Campus and derives its name from the exterior building walls
of locally quarried white limestone. More recently constructed
buildings in each campus area have maintained these architectural
styles and colors. Many of the older buildings have been renovated
to house modern and efficient classrooms and laboratories but
retain their exterior character.
The University of Missouri System was created in 1963 with the
addition of campuses in the two urban areas of Missouri. An
entirely new campus was started in St. Louis, and the private
University of Kansas City became the University of MissouriKansas City. MU remains the largest of the four institutions in
terms of enrollment, course selection and degrees offered.
In 1963 the University again expanded to better serve Missouri. In
that year the University of Kansas City, which had been a private
institution, was acquired by the University and a new campus was
created in St. Louis.
SIGNIFICANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF MU
1839 - The University of Missouri, the first state university west of
the Mississippi River, was established in Columbia.
1841 - The College of Arts & Science was officially founded.
1843 - The University s first commencement was held. There were
only two graduates (Robert L. Todd and Robert B. Todd), but the
ceremony lasted three hours.
1845 - The School of Medicine was founded.
1846 - The first Master's Degrees were awarded.
1862 - The Civil War forced the University to close for most of the
year.
1867 - The University received its first state appropriation,
$10,000, to build a president's home, repair war-ravaged Academic
Hall and establish a normal school. Women were admitted for the
first time. The College of Education was founded.
1870 - The University was accorded land-grant status under terms
of the Morrill Act of 1962. The legislature authorized a School of
Agriculture and Mechanical Arts for Columbia and a School of
Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla. The College of Agriculture was
founded.
1872 - The School of Law was founded.
1877 - The College of Engineering was founded.
1888 - The University's Board of Curators established the Missouri
Agricultural Experiment Station under the authority of the Hatch
Act. Agricultural experiments were initiated on Sanborn Field in
Columbia, where they continue today.
1890 - MU played its first intercollegiate football game against
Washington University of St. Louis.
1892 - Academic Hall, the first and main building, was destroyed
by fire. The building's famous columns remain. Academic Hall's
replacement, Jesse Hall, was completed in 1895.
1896 - The Graduate Interdisciplinary School was established.
1899 - The first Doctor of Philosophy degree was awarded.
1908 - The world's first School of Journalism was founded.
1910 - The University established its Extension division.
1914 - The College of Business and Public Administration was
established.
1917 - The country's first soil erosion experiment was carried out
in Columbia. It became the basis of the U.S. Soil Conservation
Service's national program.
1920 - The School of Nursing was founded.
1948 - The School of Social Work was founded.
1949 - The Schools of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife and
Veterinary Medicine were founded.
1950 - The University admitted its first Black students.
1954 - KOMU-TV was dedicated in January. It is the only
university-owned-and-operated commercial television station in
the country.
1956 - The construction of the University Hospital was completed.
This facility quickly became a statewide referral center.
1960 - The College of Home Economics was founded. In 1988 it
was renamed the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
1963 - The University became a four-campus system by acquiring
the University of Kansas City (now the University of MissouriKansas City) and by creating a St. Louis area campus (University
of Missouri-St. Louis).
1965 - The College of Public & Community Services was founded.
In 1988 the College was disbanded and the departments were
distributed to the College of Agriculture and Home Economics.
1966 - The School of Library and Informational Science was
established.
1975 - The School of Accountancy was founded as a separate
entity.
1984 - The Board of Curators approved a 10-year, long-range plan
to improve the quality of the University s teaching, research,
extension and public service programs.
1987 - The Jesse Hall dome was refurbished and lighted in
preparation for the Sesquicentennial.
1989 - MU celebrates it Sesquicentennial.
1995 - MU celebrates the 100th anniversary of Francis
Quadrangle.