University of Missouri
Encyclopedia
The University of Missouri System is a state university system
State university system
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country...

 providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses. The health care system operates several hospitals and clinics in central Missouri, while the extension program provides distance learning and other educational initiatives statewide.

The UM System was created in 1963 when the University of Missouri (founded in 1839 in Columbia) and its offshoot, the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (founded in 1870 in Rolla), were combined with the formerly private University of Kansas City (founded in 1929) and a newly created campus in suburban St. Louis.

Components

Universities

All four campuses are comprehensive, separately accredited
Educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...

, land-grant
Land-grant university
Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....

/research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

-intensive institutions offering undergraduate
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...

, graduate
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...

, and professional degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

 programs.
  • University of Missouri
    University of Missouri
    The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

     (Mizzou or MU) is the oldest campus, founded in Columbia
    Columbia, Missouri
    Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

     in 1839. It is the largest university in the state with over 30,000 students. MU is considered the flagship
    Flagship
    A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

     of the system and offers over 270 degree programs through 20 schools and colleges, and is the only public university in Missouri that is a member of the American Association of Universities. Its Tigers
    Missouri Tigers
    The Missouri Tigers athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Missouri, located in Columbia, Missouri, United States...

     athletic programs compete in the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference
    Big 12 Conference
    The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...

    .

  • Missouri University of Science and Technology
    Missouri University of Science and Technology
    Missouri University of Science and Technology is an institution of higher learning located in Rolla, Missouri, United States, and part of the University of Missouri System...

     (Missouri S&T or Rolla) was founded in 1870 in Rolla
    Rolla, Missouri
    Rolla is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States, midway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. The population in the 2010 United States Census was 19,559.It is the county seat of Phelps County...

    . Currently enrolling over 7,000 students, it is the smallest campus in the system. 75 degrees and emphases are offered across a comprehensive range of programs in sciences, mathematics, liberal arts, humanities, and business, but most are focused on engineering. Its Miners
    Missouri S&T Miners
    The Missouri S&T Miners athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of Missouri University of Science and Technology, located in Rolla. The name comes from the University's history as a mining school. Missouri S&T is a part of the University of Missouri System. The...

     athletic programs compete in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference
    Great Lakes Valley Conference
    The Great Lakes Valley Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes at the NCAA's Division II level. Member institutions are located in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin....

    .

  • University of Missouri–Kansas City
    University of Missouri–Kansas City
    The University of Missouri–Kansas City is a public university located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is a branch of the University of Missouri System. Its main campus is in Kansas City's Rockhill neighborhood east of the Country Club Plaza...

     (UMKC), founded in 1929, is the largest school in the Kansas City
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

     area with over 14,000 students. It offers over 150 degree programs through 12 schools and colleges, but is best known for its programs in health sciences (including Missouri's only School of Dentistry
    Dentistry
    Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

    ), entrepreneurship programs, and its Conservatory of Music and Dance. Its Kangaroos
    UMKC Kangaroos
    The UMKC Kangaroos are the 16 intercollegiate teams representing the University of Missouri–Kansas City that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I...

     athletic programs compete in the NCAA Division I Summit League.

  • University of Missouri–St. Louis
    University of Missouri–St. Louis
    The University of Missouri–St. Louis is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System. Established in 1963, it is the newest university in the UM System. , it is the largest university by enrollment in the St. Louis area with 16,548 students...

     (UMSL) was founded in 1963 in suburban St. Louis County
    St. Louis County, Missouri
    St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...

    . With over 15,500 students, it is the largest school in the St. Louis
    St. Louis, Missouri
    St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

     area and third largest in the state. Over 80 degree programs are offered through nine schools and colleges, including Missouri's only College of Optometry
    Optometry
    Optometry is a health care profession concerned with eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans. Optometrists, or Doctors of Optometry, are state licensed medical professionals trained to prescribe and fit lenses to improve vision,...

    . Its Tritons
    UMSL Tritons
    The University of Missouri–St. Louis Triton athletic programs compete in NCAA Division II and are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.Athletic activities for students, including intercollegiate athletics, campus recreation, and intramurals, support the University of Missouri–St. Louis's...

     athletic programs compete in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Health care

The University of Missouri Health Care
University of Missouri Health Care
University of Missouri Health Care is an academic health system located in Columbia, Missouri. It is owned by the University of Missouri System...

 system operates several facilities in central Missouri, including University Hospital
University of Missouri Hospital
University Hospital is located in Columbia, Missouri. It has the only Level I trauma center and helicopter service in mid-Missouri, and the only burn intensive care unit in Mid-Missouri. It also has an accredited chest pain center cardiology program and a multidisciplinary digestive disease program...

 (the only Level I trauma center in central Missouri) and Ellis Fischel Cancer Center
Ellis Fischel Cancer Center
Ellis Fischel Cancer Center is a member of University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, Missouri. It was the first free-standing cancer center west of the Mississippi River and the second such institution of its kind in the United States...

 (the only hospital in Missouri specializing in cancer treatment). It is also closely affiliated with MU's School of Medicine
University of Missouri School of Medicine
The University of Missouri School of Medicine is located in the southern part of the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri. It was the first publicly supported medical school west of the Mississippi River. The school offers a program that emphasizes a medical education founded on...

 and Sinclair School of Nursing
Sinclair School of Nursing
The Sinclair School of Nursing is a nursing school affiliated with the University of Missouri and University of Missouri Health Care. First established in 1920, the program is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education .-History:...

.

Extension

Using science-based knowledge, University of Missouri Extension engages people to understand change, solve problems and make informed decisions.

MU Extension makes university education and information accessible for:
  • Economic viability
  • Empowered individuals
  • Strong families and communities
  • Healthy environments.


University of Missouri Extension is a partnership of the University of Missouri campuses, Lincoln University, the people of Missouri through county extension councils, and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

MU Extension offers distance learning, Mizzou Online, continuing education, evening classes,. Programs in agriculture, natural resources, lawn and garden, home and consumer life, nutrition and health, families and relationships, community and leadership, business and careers, and emergency management are available through offices throughout the state.

Research and technology parks

As part of its economic development mission to support high-tech growth in Missouri, the UM System owns and operates five research parks throughout the state.
  • Missouri Research Park is a 200 acres (80.9 ha) park in Weldon Spring
    Weldon Spring, Missouri
    Weldon Spring is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,270 at the 2000 census. The city is named for its first settler, North Carolina frontiersman John Weldon, who in 1790 built a log home overlooking the spring which bears his name.-Geography:Weldon Spring...

     created in 1985. It is home to over a dozen high-tech companies and helped catalyze a high-tech corridor along US-40/I-64.

  • Technology Park at Fort Leonard Wood in St. Robert
    St. Robert, Missouri
    St. Robert is a city in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,760 at the 2000 census. It is a gateway community to the United States Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Fort Leonard Wood. It is named after the local Catholic parish, whose patron saint was an...

     is the first technology park in the nation to be located on an active Army post. It houses the MRP Business Center, which was created to be a catalyst for partnerships between the military, corporations, and academia.

  • Discovery Ridge, near Columbia
    Columbia, Missouri
    Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

    , was established in 2005 on 114 acres (46.1 ha) of MU's South Farm, a 1452 acres (588 ha) agricultural experiment station operated by MU's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. The park is jointly operated by the UM System's Office of Research and Economic Development and MU.

  • Innovation Park in Rolla
    Rolla, Missouri
    Rolla is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States, midway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. The population in the 2010 United States Census was 19,559.It is the county seat of Phelps County...

     was announced in April 2007. The 56 acres (22.66 ha) former golf course will be "a research, development and office park project" jointly operated by the UM System's Office of Research and Economic Development and Missouri S&T.

  • UMSL Research Park is a 100 acres (40.5 ha) park on UMSL's north campus. It is home to Express Scripts' new 315000 square feet (29,264.5 m²) corporate headquarters, which opened in June 2007. The park is jointly operated by the UM System's Office of Research and Economic Development and UMSL.

Press

The University of Missouri Press
University of Missouri Press
The University of Missouri Press is a university press founded in 1958 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.-External links:*...

 was established in 1958 and today publishes over 70 titles per year, including several series such as the Missouri Biography Series. It also distributes books for the Missouri Historical Society Press.

Students organization

The Associated Students of the University of Missouri is a student run organization that represents the students of all four UM system campuses in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. It was created in 1975 by the Missouri Students Association. ASUM has an internship program that lobbies the Missouri General Assembly
Missouri General Assembly
The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate, and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits...

 on a regular basis pertaining to student issues including equalizing the Access Missouri tuition grant, increasing funding for the Bright Flight Scholarship, and giving the student representative to the UM Board of Curators a vote.

Organization

The UM System is governed by a board of curators, consisting of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Missouri Senate
Missouri Senate
The Missouri State Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 160,000...

. Curators serve six-year terms, staggered by three positions expiring every two years. Not more than one curator can be appointed from the same congressional district, and no more than five curators can belong to the same political party. In addition, there is a non-voting student representative to the board, likewise appointed and confirmed, who serves a two-year term. The post is rotated among the four universities. Presently, the post is held by Laura Confer of the Rolla campus.

The board of curators selects the president of the system, who reports to the board along with the general counsel
General Counsel
A general counsel is the chief lawyer of a legal department, usually in a corporation or government department. The term is most used in the United States...

. Each university is led by a chancellor who reports to the president, as does the senior associate vice president/chief of staff, the University of Missouri Health System advisory board (which the president also chairs) and the six vice presidents in charge of systemwide departments. In addition, an associate vice president of strategic communications has an indirect reporting line to the president with a direct reporting line to the senior associate vice president/chief of staff.

Presidents

There have been nine presidents of UM System since its inception in 1963. Prior to the formation of the system, the position of president was more akin to what is now chancellor of the Columbia campus. However, the UM System counts presidents who served before the system was created, therefore the numbering starts at 14. See University of Missouri#Presidents and chancellors for a list of presidents from 1841–1963 and chancellors from 1963–present. This list does not include interim
Interim
Interim is an album by British rock band The Fall, compiled from live and studio material and released in 2004. It features the first officially released versions of "Clasp Hands", "Blindness" and "What About Us?" — all of which were later included on the band's next studio album Fall Heads Roll —...

 presidents.


  1. Elmer Ellis
    Elmer Ellis
    Elmer Ellis was an American educator and fourteenth president of the University of Missouri and first president of the University of Missouri System. He was instrumental in the expansion of the university to include the University of Missouri–Kansas City and University of Missouri–St. Louis...

     (1963–1966)
  2. John C. Weaver (1966–1970)
  3. C. Brice Ratchford (1971–1976)
  4. James Olson (1977–1984)
  5. C. Peter Magrath
    C. Peter Magrath
    Claude Peter Magrath is a higher education administrator who has served as provost or president at multiple American universities. He was born on April 23, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York and received political science degrees as an undergraduate at the University of New Hampshire and as a Ph.D. at...

     (1985–1991)
  6. George A. Russell (1991–1996)
  7. Manuel T. Pacheco (1997–2002)
  8. Elson Floyd
    Elson Floyd
    Elson S. Floyd is an American educator who took office as the 10th president of the four-campus Washington State University on May 21, 2007. He succeeded V. Lane Rawlins as the leader of Washington State’s land-grant research university...

     (2003–2007)
  9. Gary D. Forsee
    Gary D. Forsee
    Gary D. Forsee was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sprint Nextel Corporation and served as President of the University of Missouri System from 2007-2011. Forsee resides in Columbia, Missouri, the headquarters of the UM System.-Early life:Forsee was born in Kansas City, Missouri and...

     (2008–2011)

History

The University of Missouri was founded in 1839 in Columbia. It was the first public institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River. It became a land-grant university after passage of the Morrill Act of 1862. In 1870, the University established the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla.

The UM System was created in 1963 when the University of Kansas City, which had been a private institution, was acquired and renamed UM–Kansas City. That same year, a new university named UM–St. Louis was created. In 1964, the School of Mines ‡ was renamed UM–Rolla, and the original university in Columbia was renamed UM–Columbia. Effective January 1, 2008, UM–Rolla became the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Naming

Since its founding in 1839 until the formation of the system in 1963, the institution in Columbia was known simply as the University of Missouri. When the University of Missouri System was established, the existing institutions—the University of Missouri in Columbia and its offshoot, the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla were renamed the University of Missouri–Columbia and the University of Missouri–Rolla. The formerly private institution acquired by the system, the University of Kansas City, was renamed the University of Missouri–Kansas City. The newly created institution in St. Louis was suitably named the University of Missouri–St. Louis, thus creating a uniformly named system of institutions.

The original generic name, the University of Missouri, was not officially assigned to any of the schools or the system. However, it has been commonly used both formally and informally to mean the original Columbia campus or the system. It has also been used to mean any of the other three campuses, though this is most often done in a casual manner at the campus in question, or by persons unfamiliar with the system. All four campuses have felt their regional designations potentially cause them to be mistaken as second-tier regional institutions. Considerable controversy over use of the generic name has been caused by the Columbia campus claiming de facto ownership, further marginalizing the other three campuses.

The Rolla campus was first to enact a break from regional designation. On 6 April 2007, the Board of Curators approved a proposal to rename the school the Missouri University of Science and Technology, effective 1 January 2008. In addition to ridding itself of a regional designation, it also emphasizes the school's technological research mission. This quickly catalyzed a long-dormant "name restoration" campaign at the Columbia campus to drop its regional designation. This proposal met with considerable criticism, mainly from the Kansas City and St. Louis campuses, who saw this as unnecessary or unfair and an intentional detriment to their campuses. On 29 November 2007, the Board of Curators voted unanimously to allow the Columbia campus to use the generic University of Missouri name for essentially all public purposes, but not when dealing with "official business" such as budget documents, legal contracts, and other internal UM System documentation, or whenever clarification from the system or other campuses is needed. Use of the generic name is not compulsory and the Columbia designation may continue to be used in any context. The decision also stipulates that the UM System utilize the "System" designation in most instances. Proponents of the change say that it simply provides clarification and recognizes what has always been common usage, but the issue remains controversial.

Southwest Missouri State University sought and eventually was granted permission to drop its regional designation and become Missouri State University
Missouri State University
Missouri State University is a public university located in Springfield, Missouri, United States and founded in 1905. It is the state's second largest university, with an official enrollment of 20,802 in fall 2011...

. This change was initially vehemently opposed by the UM System, as it saw this as a threat to its funding and its stature as the premiere public institution of higher learning in Missouri. It also would create historic entanglements, as the University of Missouri had interchangeably used the Missouri State University name at times in its history. This resulted from MU being designated as both a land grant and a research institution, unlike states such as Iowa where separate institutions (University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 and Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

) were created.

Proposed merger

In April 2003, Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....

 in Maryville
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2000 census. The town, organized on February 14, 1845, was named for Mrs. Mary Graham, wife of Amos Graham, then the county clerk. Mary was the first Caucasian woman to have lived within the boundaries...

 approached the UM System with the possibility of becoming the fifth school in the system. Name proposals for the university after the merger, such as the University of Missouri–Northwest, were to reflect the school's separate heritage. The Maryville institution would have become a doctoral degree-granting research university of equal stature with the existing UM System universities. However, the enabling legislation before the Missouri General Assembly
Missouri General Assembly
The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate, and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits...

 never passed and the deal sunset
Sunset provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law...

. There have been no further attempts at a merger.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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