Missouri State University history

June 11, 1906 The first class of 543 students starts classes in off-campus facilities.

August 10, 1907 The cornerstone is laid for the first building on campus.

January 1909 Academic Hall (now Carrington Hall) is completed, making it the first building on the Springfield campus.

Northeast Missouri State Teachers College May 20, 1919 Governor Fredrick D. Gardner signs legislation that changes the name of all the state’s teacher-education schools from “state normal schools” to “state teachers colleges.”

1945 The institution’s name changes for a second time to Southwest Missouri State College, displaying the school’s expansion beyond teacher education to liberal arts and sciences.

In 1946, he established the first support for federally funded education, which would help ensure this access.

On July 21, 1949, the Board of Regents changed the name to Northwest Missouri State College.

1963 A residence center is established in West Plains, Mo., for students taking first- or second-year classes.

The final name change occurred August 14, 1972, when the Board of Regents, recognizing the evolution of the school into a comprehensive institution, changed the name to Northwest Missouri State University.

1973 Enrollment exceeds 10,000 for the first time.

In 1985, when the passage of House Bill 196 changed the University’s mission from an open enrollment, regional, multipurpose university to Missouri’s only statewide public liberal arts and sciences institution, the name of the University was Northeast Missouri State University.

In 1987, Northwest unveiled its unique Electronic Campus program that was designed to accelerate student learning and enrich faculty teaching and research by placing a computer terminal in every student residence hall room and faculty office.

1990 Enrollment exceeds 20,000 for the first time.

The Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing was founded at Northwest in 2000.

The state-of-the-art 46,679-square-foot Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which opened on the campus in 2009, is a mixed-use business incubator and an academic facility that fuels high-tech enterprise and creates jobs while providing academic opportunities and career paths for students.

Roy Blunt Roy Blunt, American politician who was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 2010 and began representing Missouri in that body the following year.