MISSOURI, University of, a higher edu cational institution established by an act of the general assembly of the State of Missouri, ap proved 11 Feb. 1839, two days after the ap proval of the act establishing the public school system of the State. In June of the same year the university was located at Columbia, Boone County, which is near the State's geographical centre. Boone County was selected as the home of the State's highest educational insti tution because its people offered the most lib eral bid of the six central Missouri counties. The cornerstone of the main building was laid 4 July 1840, and in the following spring, April 1841, instruction in academic courses was be gun. The first class, consisting of two mem bers, was graduated in 1843. Something of the growth of the university is indicated by the fact that in 1917 it awarded 838 degrees and cer tificates. Women were admitted to the teacher training department of the university in 1869. Since that time all other departments have been opened to them on the same terms as to men, and gradually the proportion of women stu dents 4o men has grown, until in 1917 women numbered about one-third of the total enrol ment. The government of the University of Missouri is vested in a board of curators, con sisting of nine members appointed by the gover nor of the State, the terms of three members expiring every two years. The student enrol ment in 1916-17 was 4,349. The faculty con sisted of 208 members of the rank of instructor or higher. Its foundation was made possible by the enlightened policy of the national gov ernment with reference to Territories seeking admission into the Union. In admitting Mis souri in 1820, Congress set aside two townships of land — 46,080 acres— for the support and maintenance of *a seminary of learning.* From the income of this national grant, from the gifts of Boone County people and from student fees, the university received its entire support for the first 28 years of its existence. The first State aid was given in 1867, when $10,000 was appropriated by the general as sembly for building and repairs. The univer sity is now supported and maintained by appro priations from the State treasury, by Federal appropriations, income from its endowment funds and by the fees and deposits received from students. Tuition is free to residents of Missouri; students from other States pay a tui tion fee of $10 a semester.
The national character of the early Univer sity of Missouri has been strengthened by the continuing Federal appropriations and the coming each year of students from more than three-fourths of all the States and nearly all the non-contiguous possessions of the United States. In its former student body of 7,000 graduates and about 25,000 non-graduates, every State and nearly every leading nation of the world has representatives. The university
has extended its educational scope to include in the curricula of its various schools and colleges theoretical instruction and practical training in all the leading activities of its constituents. Starting in 1841 with only an academic depart ment, it is now composed of the following col leges and schools: College of Arts and Sci ence, College of Agriculture, School of Edu cation, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Engineering, School of Mines and Metallurgy, School of Journalism, School of Business and Public Administration, Graduate School and the Extension Division.
The School of Mines and Metallurgy is at Rolla, Phelps County, Mo.• . the other divi sions are at Columbia. In addition to the work of the above schools and colleges, emphasis is given in particular lines of study by the estab lishment of minor divisions, chief of which are the Agricultural Experiment Station, the Engi neering Experiment Station, the Missouri State Military School and the Mining Experiment Station at Rolla. The also holds a summer session. In all the divisions of the university the laboratory method is followed. The university grounds at Columbia cover more than 800 acres. The main divisions are in the West Campus, the East Campus, the athletic fields and the university farm. A 20-acre tract of timber land near the university is used for experimental work in forestry and a demon stration forest. About five miles south an 80 acre tract is used for experimental work in horticulture. On a 90-acre tract two miles north of the university is a new plant for the manufacture of hog cholera serum. The uni versity also has a forest of 50,000 acres in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. On the grounds at Columbia are about 50 univer sity buildings. The libraries of the university are the general library; law library; medical library; engineering library; agricultural li brary; collections in the observatory, chemical, geological and zoological buildings; and the library of the School of Mines at Rolla. These libraries contain about 200,000 volumes and pamphlets, and 1,400 publications are received currently in Columbia. The general library is now housed in a separate building, erected in 1915.
Students' expenses average $300 a year for men and $375 for women. Material reductions from these figures may be accomplished by liv ing at the university dormitories and eating at the Commons.
Scholarship at the university is promoted by the offering of a large number of fellowships, scholarships and prizes. These yield from $50 to $400 a year. Each school and college also has its honorary organizations, and there are local branches of several national, scientific and professional societies.