Missouri Western State University
Encyclopedia
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph, Missouri
Saint Joseph is the second largest city in northwest Missouri, only second to Kansas City in size, serving as the county seat for Buchanan County. As of the 2010 census, Saint Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The school enrolls 6,010 undergraduate students and 124 graduate students.
History
Missouri Western State University was founded in 1915 as a two-year institution called St. Joseph Junior College and held courses in the original location of Central High School (St. Joseph, Missouri) at 13th and Patee. In 1933 when Central High School moved to its current location it relocated to the Robidoux Polytechnic High SchoolRobidoux School
The Robidoux School in St. Joseph, Missouri was the first building used by what would become Missouri Western State University.The building is at 201 South 10th....
building at 10th Street between Edmond and Charles. In 1917 it adopted the Griffon as its mascot.
The establishment of a four-year school was a central campaign issue in the 1964 Missouri Governor's race. Warren Hearnes from southeast Missouri who was challenging Hilary A. Bush
Hilary A. Bush
Hilary Ashby Bush was a Democratic Party politician who was Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor in the 1940s and 1950s and Missouri's Lieutenant Governor in the 1960s....
who was from western Missouri for governor. Hearnes promised to transform the school into a four-year school despite the presence of another state school (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....
) less than 50 miles (80.5 km) away in Maryville, Missouri
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...
.
Hearnes narrowly won the primary and then won general election. The college became a four-year school in 1969 during Hearnes second term.
School officials saying the four-college would never have occurred without Hearnes, named the school's library for him.
Shortly after the conversion the school acquired the farm of St. Joseph State Hospital#2 on the east side of Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...
for its campus on the east edge of St. Joseph. The original plan had called for it to be built across from the hospital just west of Bishop LeBlond High School
Bishop LeBlond High School
Bishop LeBlond High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Joseph, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph.-Background:...
and closer to downtown St. Joseph.
In 1988 Shalia Aery, commissioner of higher education under Governor John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
recommended Northwest should close and leave Missouri Western as the surviving school. That plan was ultimately dropped.
Legislation in 2005 changed the institution's name to Missouri Western State University. That legislation designated Missouri Western as Missouri's Applied Learning Institution and allowed it to grant Master's Degrees. The university hooded its first 12 master's degree recipients in May 2009. In its first six years offering graduate degrees, graduate enrollment at Western has grown by 100% or more each year. As of 2011, Western has graduate programs in 14 areas.
In 2010 the Stephen Craig School of Business was accredited by AACSB.
The school's most visible corporate affiliation is with Hillyard, Inc.
Hillyard, Inc.
Hillyard, Inc. is a privately owned cleaning products company in St...
, a cleaning supplies company. The school's Spratt Memorial Stadium is named for Elliot C. Spratt, an executive at the company. Leah Spratt Hall is named for a sister of Elliot. The school hosts the Hillyard Tip Off Basketball Classic tournament.
Presidents
- M. O. Looney (1969–1983)
- Janet Gorman Murphy (1983–2000)
- James Scanlon (2001–2008)
- Robert Vartabedian (2008–present)
Athletics
Missouri Western is the home of the Griffons, MWSU competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationMid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and effective in 2012 in Oklahoma in the Midwestern United States. The conference was formerly known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic...
and is in NCAA Division II. Its highest attended football games are in the Northwest Missouri-Missouri Western football rivalry
Northwest Missouri-Missouri Western football rivalry
The Northwest Missouri–Missouri Western football rivalry between the Northwest Missouri Bearcats football team and Missouri Western State University is between two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division II rivals that are less than 50 miles apart.The schools off the field...
. The university currently fields 10 sports (Men's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
; Women's basketball, golf, soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
) as a NCAA Division II school. Missouri Western is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and effective in 2012 in Oklahoma in the Midwestern United States. The conference was formerly known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic...
.
The University currently fields teams in 11 sports, including:
Men's Sports
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
Women's Sports
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp
The school has been the summer training camp for the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
since 2010. The $15.7 million facility was paid for by $10 million from the Chiefs (from state tax credits) and $1.2 million from student fees at Missouri Western, with the rest coming from the City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County and private donations. It was designed by St. Joseph architect firm Ellison-Auxier architects, Inc., which designed the school's Spratt Hall and clock tower.
A climate-controlled, 120-yard NFL regulation grass indoor field, with a locker room, weight room, training room, classrooms and office space was completed in the summer of 2010. This facility is referred to as the "Griffon Indoor Sports Complex."
Notable alumni
- Roger Allen IIIRoger Allen IIIRoger Allen III is an American football guard for the St. Louis Rams in the National Football League...
, NFL offensive lineman - Charles BruffyCharles BruffyCharles Bruffy is a noted American choral conductor. He is artistic director of the Kansas City Chorale and the Phoenix Chorale and is Chorus Director of the Kansas City Symphony.-Education:...
, Grammy-winning artistic director of the Kansas City ChoraleKansas City ChoraleThe Kansas City Chorale is a professional 24-voice chorus conducted by Charles Bruffy. They perform an annual concert series in Kansas City and a concert in Phoenix each year with their sister choir, the Phoenix Chorale, also conducted by Mr. Bruffy. During his tenure as conductor, the chorus has...
and the Phoenix ChoralePhoenix ChoraleThe Phoenix Chorale is a professional chamber choir based out of Phoenix, Arizona, United States.The ensemble formed in 1958 as the Bach and Madrigal Society...
and chorus director of the Kansas City SymphonyKansas City SymphonyThe Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets... - Richard DurstRichard DurstRichard Durst serves as the eighth president of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. He became president in 2006.-Childhood, education, and family:...
, Baldwin-Wallace CollegeBaldwin-Wallace CollegeBaldwin–Wallace College is a liberal arts college in Berea, Ohio, founded in 1845. It is home to the Riemenschneider-Bach Institute and the Baldwin–Wallace Conservatory of Music, an internationally renowned music school. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Students receive a...
president - Esther GeorgeEsther GeorgeEsther L. George is president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.George is a native of Faucett, Missouri, U.S., received a BSBA degree in Business Administration from Missouri Western State University an MBA degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City...
, president of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas CityFederal Reserve Bank of Kansas CityThe Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mexico. The Bank has branches in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Omaha. The current president is... - Christel MarquardtChristel MarquardtChristel E. Marquardt is a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals. She has served on this court since 1995.Christel E. Marquardt is a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals. She has served on this court since 1995....
, judge on the Kansas Court of AppealsKansas Court of AppealsThe Kansas Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Kansas.-History:The Kansas Legislature crated the first Kansas Court of Appeals in 1895, to help the Kansas Supreme Court with an increasingly heavy caseload. The original statute that created the court... - Paul RhoadsPaul RhoadsPaul Rhoads is an American college football head coach at Iowa State University. Rhoads was formerly the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach of the Auburn University football team before then-head coach Tommy Tuberville was forced to resign at the 2008 season's end...
, Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa 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...
head football coach - Gijon RobinsonGijon RobinsonGijon Robinson is an American football tight end and fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Missouri Western State. He currently resides in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and attended high...
, NFL tight end - Rob Schaaf, Missouri 28th District State Rep.