Truman State University history

Baldwin was a pioneer in education, and his school quickly gained official recognition in 1870 by the Missouri General Assembly, which designated it as the First District Normal School, the first public teachers' college in Missouri.

The Normal Building, later renamed Baldwin Hall in 1905, is the first building erected on the site of the current campus.

In 1919, the school was renamed Northeast Missouri State Teachers College.

In 1924, a fire destroyed old Baldwin Hall and the library.

Reflecting this, it was renamed Northeast Missouri State College in 1968.

In 1972 the institution was renamed Northeast Missouri State University.

The signing of House Bill 196 on June 20, 1985, changed Truman’s mission from an open enrollment, regional, multipurpose university to the statewide, public, liberal arts and sciences institution.

In March 1993 Truman became the first public university in Missouri opting to achieve the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education’s highly selective mission category.

On June 15, 1995, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the mission change to a statewide university, Gov.

The new name became official on July 1, 1996, and the university remains designated by statute as Missouri's premier public liberal arts and sciences institution.