University of Missouri – Ranking, Notable Alumni and Football

The University of Missouri, commonly referred to as Mizzou or simply as MU, is a public land-grant research university which is located in Columbia, Missouri. The University of Missouri is the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System, and the university also maintains campuses in Rolla, Kansas City and St. Louis. Mizzou was originally established in 1839 and was the first public institution of postsecondary education located west of the Mississippi River. The university was established when the Missouri Legislature passed the Geyer Act, an act that established funding for a state-ran university. To ensure that the campus was built in Columbia, the citizens of the town and Boone County pledged a total of $117,921 in cash and land, beating out five other potential central-Missouri counties. MU was given the designation as a land-grant university in 1870 under the Morrill Act of 1862, which led to the founding of the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy as an offshoot of the university’s main campus.

The University of Missouri is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as being a Research University with a Very High Research Activity rating. The university is one of 34 public universities which are members of the Association of American Universities, which is an international organization comprised of the leading research universities that are devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education and which consists of 60 total public and private member institutions. The university also operates The University of Missouri Research Reactor Center, which is most powerful university research reactor in the world. Additionally, MU is one of only six public universities located within the United States that is home to schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, agriculture and law that are all located on a single campus.

The area of Columbia holds many must-visit spots for attending Mizzou students and area visitors to enjoy. Two such spots are:

The Museum of Art and Archaeology:
The Museum of Art and Archaeology is the art museum of the University of Missouri and is open to the public and does not charge an admission fee. The museum’s five galleries have more than 14,000 works of art and archaeological objects permanently on display and many more temporary displays which are on loan from other art institutes and private collections. The collections represent many time periods and cultures, with pieces of Greek, Roman and Near Eastern artworks having the strongest representation throughout the galleries.
The Missouri Theatre:
The Missouri Theatre is a concert and entertainment venue which is home to the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and which hosts multiple arts education programs, events and organizations, such as the MOSS Youth Orchestra, the MOSS Children’s Choir, the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the True/False Film Festival. The theater opened in 1928 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The University of Missouri took over ownership of the theater in 2014 and has been commonly used by Mizzou students ever since.

University of Missouri Online Degrees and Programs:

The University of Missouri has numerous fully online academic programs from which distance learning students can choose. Some of the available programs are:

Certificates:

Undergraduate Degrees:

Graduate Degrees:

What Makes University of Missouri Unique: David R. Francis Quadrangle

David R. Francis Quadrangle is the historic center of the University of Missouri’s main campus. The Quadrangle–which is just referred to as The Quad–is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features eighteen buildings which are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Quad and five buildings are some of the best surviving examples of the work of famed architect Morris Frederick Bell. Thomas Jefferson’s original tombstone stands on the east side of The Quad, having been a gift to the university from Thomas Jefferson’s heirs in 1883 due to the university being the first to be founded within Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase. The Quad also features many prominent buildings such as the Memorial Union, Switzler Hall, and Jesse Hall.

Other University of Missouri Facts:

Some notable University of Missouri alumni includes:

Stephen Morehouse Avery – screenwriter;
Brad Pitt – actor;
George C. Scott – actor;
James T. Blair, Jr. – former Missouri Governor and;
Lieutenant Stephen W. Thompson – the first person in the United States military history to shoot down an enemy aircraft

Some notable current and past University of Missouri faculty members include:

Albert Lewin – film director and producer;
George Caleb Bingham – artist;
William Duane Benton – federal judge;
James William Abert – explorer in charge of the detachment that mapped the Canadian River and;
Edgar Allen – anatomist and physiologist; discovered estrogen

University of Missouri’s Website: http://missouri.edu/

University of Missouri’s Accreditation: The Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

University of Missouri’s Values and Mission Statement: http://missouri.edu/about/mission.php

University of Missouri’s Motto: Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto – “Let the Welfare of the People be the Supreme Law”

University of Missouri’s Mascot: Truman the Tiger

University of Missouri’s Colors: Black and MU Gold