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===Entertainers===
===Entertainers===
*[[Jim Bohannon]], coast-to-coast radio talk show host for [[Westwood One]]
*[[Jim Bohannon]], radio talk show host, [[Westwood One]]
*[[John Goodman]], actor
*[[John Goodman]], actor
*[[Tess Harper]], actor
*[[Tess Harper]], actor
*[[Derek Ingram]], Radio Announcer Chicago Cubs Minor Leagues
*[[Derek Ingram]], Radio Announcer, Chicago Cubs Minor Leagues
*[[Kendra Kassebaum]], Broadway actress/singer
*[[Kendra Kassebaum]], Broadway actor/singer
*[[Kathleen Turner]], actress
*[[Kathleen Turner]], actor
*[[Kevin Brockmeier]], author
*[[Kevin Brockmeier]], author


Revision as of 21:41, 12 October 2008

Missouri State University
File:Missouri State University logo.gif
TypePublic state university
EstablishedMarch 17, 1905
Endowment$55.8 million [1]
PresidentDr. Michael T. Nietzel
ProvostDr. Belinda R. McCarthy
Students21,688 (Fall 2008)[2]
Location
Springfield
,
MO
,
USA
CampusUrban, 225 acres (911,000 m²)
ColorsMaroon and White            
Nickname
File:Missouri State bear logo.svg
Bears
MascotBoomer the Bear
Websitewww.missouristate.edu

Missouri State University is a state university located in Springfield, Missouri. It is the state's second largest university in student enrollment, second only to the University of Missouri. From 1972 to 2005, Missouri State was known as Southwest Missouri State University (initialized as SMS). MSU was granted a statewide mission in Public Affairs in 1995. The name was changed in 2005 to reflect this mission. In addition to its main campus, it has a two-year branch campus in West Plains, a research campus in Mountain Grove, and various programs in China.

Mission

Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs, whose purpose is to develop educated persons while achieving five goals: democratizing society, incubating new ideas, imagining Missouri’s future, making Missouri’s future, and modeling ethical and effective behavior.

History

Missouri State University was first founded under the name Fourth District Normal School on March 17, 1905. Like other normal schools of the day, the school's primary purpose in its early years was the preparation of teachers for the public school system.

The original campus was composed of a single building, Academic Hall, which was constructed on National Avenue in 1908. The building is now known as Carrington Hall, named after William T. Carrington, the first president of the State Normal School, and serves as the University's administrative center.

The Fourth District Normal School became Southwest Missouri State Teacher's College in 1919 to reflect its regional and academic emphases. Throughout the interwar period, the College's programs expanded to include liberal arts and sciences in the curriculum, thus facilitating a name change to Southwest Missouri State College in 1945. A burgeoning student population throughout 1950s and 1960s resulted in the establishment of residence halls such as Wells, Freudenberger, Blair-Shannon, and Woods (all named for one-time professors at the school), accompanied by a growth in post-graduate studies. This led to a third name change in 1972, to Southwest Missouri State University.

By 1985, SMSU had grown into the second-largest public university in the state, leading administrators to support a bill to change the name to Missouri State University, which eventually died in committee in the Missouri General Assembly. Further attempts throughout the 1990s and early 2000s also failed. In 2004, legislators took it upon themselves to back a new name change attempt. It was opposed by the University of Missouri System (which operates the four campuses of the University of Missouri), which feared that the name change would lead to duplication of academic programs and ongoing battles for students and state funding. In 2005 the name-change bill was passed, following a late-night compromise between University of Missouri System President Elson Floyd and then-Southwest Missouri State President John Keiser, stating that Missouri State University would not duplicate certain programs offered by the University of Missouri. The bill to rename the University finally passed the Missouri Senate (25-7). On March 1st, 2005, after more than seven hours of debate, the bill passed the Missouri House (120-35) before the Governor signed it into law. The signing took place on March 17th, 2005—the centennial anniversary of the University—at the Plaster Student Union where several student leaders and state leaders were present.

Academics

Missouri State University's academic divisions include:

The average ACT score of entering freshmen remains above both the state and national averages. The average ACT score for first-time freshmen is 24.2 for the fall 2008 class, up from 24.0.

Residential life

Missouri State University campus contains nine residence halls. Woods House, a 10-story residence hall, provides 376 men and women with single-gender floors. Freudenberger House, a five-story, U-shaped residence hall, is designed with 2-, 3- and 4-person rooms to accommodate 740 men and women on single-gender floors. Wells House, the first residence hall, houses 490 men and women. Kentwood Hall, formerly a luxury hotel that once housed President Harry S. Truman and Groucho Marx, accommodates 136 upper-class men and women and non-traditional students in a co-ed environment. Scholars House is made up of 115 students who are members of the honors program or presidential scholarship recipients. Hammons House is an eight-story residence hall that accommodates 584 men and women on single-gender floors. A twin dormitory of Hammons House, Hutchens House is an eight-story residence hall offers housing accommodations for 605 men and women on five single-gender floors. Blair-Shannon House accommodates 729 men and women in a suite-style format with the living areas on single-gender floors. Sunvilla Tower is an 18-story apartment facility that houses 186 upper-class men and women in a coed environment.

Student organizations, groups and activities

There are over 300 student organizations. These organizations range from ethnic to political, religious to special interest.

The Student Government Association (SGA) SGA Website is the official voice of the student body at Missouri State University. SGA strives to improve every student's college experience by finding solutions to issues that students really care about and by making policy recommendations to the Administration. SGA is the forum for problems, concerns, questions, suggestions, and ideas as they relate to student life on campus. SGA serves as the governing body for all students and the 250+ student organizations on campus.

SGA was established in 1921 and has been active on campus ever since. There have been 87 presidents elected as of 2008. Since SGA was established, it has worked hard to represent and to be advocates for each and every student at Missouri State as well as provide an extensive range of services for the wider campus community.

As of 2005, SGA is funded completely by student dollars (as opposed to University general funds), which means the students have direct control over their governing body. There is no conflict-of-interest about who controls student government.

Meetings are held each Tuesday night in Plaster Student Union Room 313 (The Traywick Parliamentary Room) at 5:30pm. They're open to the public.

The Student Activities Council (SAC) provides diverse activities and programs in the Plaster Student Union and around campus. SAC is a student-run programming board dedicated to enhancing the college experience at Missouri State. By effectively utilizing the Student Involvement Fee, SAC aims to provide educational, entertaining, cultural, and leisure opportunities to complement the students' academic experience. As a student voice, they encourage involvement and improve the sense of campus community.

Intramural sports are also popular on campus. A large intramural field is located next to Hutchens House and Scholars House.

The Pride Band is the university's marching band. The Pride consists of 300 student musicians. The band plays at every home football game and has made trips to London, England and various festivals around the country. The PRIDE led the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA.

The Standard is the university's student-run newspaper. It is published every Tuesday and Thursday (formally Friday) during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper's content is entirely created and edited by the student staff.

The Growl (a.k.a. The Growl Student e-Radio) is the university's student-run internet radio station. It is the first radio station in Southwest Missouri to offer a netcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is still the only one exclusively on the Internet. Students develop the programming which has focused on student audio projects, campus news, regional entertainment, and sporting events such as volleyball home/play-off games.

The Army ROTC program has 10 alumni who attained General rank in the Army. A number that is, per-capita, higher than that of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster at Missouri State was one of the first official chapters to be formed at a university. It was founded by a small group of students in the fall of 2005.

Greek life

Sororities

Fraternities

Campus

Missouri State University’s main campus is located on 225 acres in central Springfield. National Avenue forms the eastern boundary, South Holland Avenue to the west, Cherry Street to the north, and Grand Street to the south. John Q. Hammons Parkway bisects the campus, running north and south. Greenwood Laboratory School, a K-12 school, is located at the north end of campus. Duane G. Meyer Library, which was constructed in 1980 and named after the former president of the University, was renovated in 2002 and the Jane A. Meyer Carillon added, one of only 500 carillons in the nation. The Plaster Student Union provides a place for students to dine, study, shop, see movies and guest speakers in the theatre, and socialize. A bronze bear statue was dedicated to the University in 1999 and stands at the front entrance of the student union.

Athletics

File:Missouri State bear logo.svg
Main article: Missouri State Bears

The Missouri State University Bears are members of the Missouri Valley Conference for all sports except football, men's swimming, and field hockey. Football competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly Gateway), men's swimming in the Sun Belt Conference, and field hockey in the Mid-American Conference. Their colors are maroon and white. Sports sponsored include men's and women's basketball, golf, and swimming; men's baseball and football; and women's cross country, field hockey, track, and volleyball. The school has had great athletic success in recent years: the men's basketball reached the Sweet Sixteen in 1999, women's basketball made the Final Four in 1992 and 2001, baseball made the College World Series in 2003, and volleyball earned their 1000th win Nov. 17, 2006 (only the second team in NCAA history to do so). In 1974 the women's softball team won the AIAW national championship.

Football games are played at Plaster Sports Complex. Men's and women's basketball games are contested at the Hammons Student Center. In 2006, alum John Q. Hammons announced a gift of $25 million USD (which later increased to $30 million USD to accommodate increasing costs) to go toward the building of the new JQH Arena. JQH Arena will seat 11,000 spectators and will be located next to the current Hammons Student Center, with a walkway linking both structures. The Bears baseball team shares Hammons Field with the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League. Hammons Field is considered to be one of the top minor league facilities in the country. [citation needed]

In 2001 Missouri State started a club ice hockey team, Missouri State University Ice Bears Hockey, that plays at Jordan Valley Ice Rink. The team is not an official sport of the university.

Missouri State University is one of only four schools since 1999 to reach the Division I Men's basketball Sweet 16, the Women's basketball Final Four, and College World Series.

Men's and Women's swimming have so far been the only team on campus to win a Conference title in 2008. They won by over 170 points, over Southern Illinois University. The other teams in the conference were University of Northern Iowa, University of Evansville, Illinois State University and SIU.

Traditions

Fight song

Uphold tradition, our school we hold so dear,
We will be loyal throughout our college years,
Fight for victory as we stand up and cheer,
Let's hear it for the Bears,
B-E-A-R-S-Bears,
M-I-S-S-O-U-R-I-State

The Fight Song is sung after every home football win.

Alma Mater

Sing we praises
Now to our Alma Mater,
All hail Maroon and White
Missouri State, we pledge devotion
May you live ever in truth and right,
May you live ever in truth and right.

Notable alumni

Main category: Missouri State University alumni

Athletes

Businesspeople

Entertainers

Public officials

Issues

There was a heated controversy over whether the university should modify its nondiscrimination policy to include "sexual orientation" as an officially protected status. The addition reads: "...the University does not discriminate on any basis (including, but not limited to, political affiliation and sexual orientation) not related to the applicable educational requirements for students or the applicable job requirements for employees." Former University president Dr. John Keiser had firmly opposed the change as did the Student Government Association during 2004. However, the policy was quietly changed on September 18, 2006 during a meeting outside of Springfield held for the first time in St. Louis. It is generally believed this move was to avoid the mostly conservative citizens of Springfield and add this policy "under the radar" of the critics of the change.[3] Opponents of the addition believe the meeting being held in St. Louis for the first time in school history was Dr. Nietzel and the Board of Governors way to amend the policy "in a backdoor fashion to avoid critics." Missouri Governor Matt Blunt quickly released criticism of the policy calling it "unnecessary and bad." Also saying the decision "bows to the forces of political correctness".[4]

Dr. Michael T. Nietzel, formerly provost at the University of Kentucky, was introduced on March 4, 2005 as the ninth president of Missouri State University. He also will be a tenured professor in the psychology department. Nietzel, 57, began his duties July 1, 2005.

Missouri State University is also considering moving its grading system into a plus or minus system instead of the standard A,B,C,D, and F system. It will adopt a plus or minus to the standard 4 point grading system.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "NACUBO Endowment Survey - Public NEWS Tables (2006)". NACUBO. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060916/NEWS01/609160373/1007
  4. ^ http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060916/NEWS01/609160374/1007

External links

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