Missouri Southern State University

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Missouri Southern State University
Established: 1937
Type: Public
President: Dr. Bruce Speck
Dean: Mr. Doug Carnahan
Undergraduates: 4,861
Location: Joplin, MO, USA
Campus: Urban
Colors: Green and Gold
        
Nickname: Lions
Mascot: Larry the Lion
Affiliations: NCAA DII, MIAA
Website: [1]

Missouri Southern State University is a public, state university located at 3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin, Missouri. MSSU was formerly Missouri Southern State College and is also known as Missouri Southern or MoSo for short. Established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College, Missouri Southern became a four-year college in 1968. In 2003, the Missouri General Assembly authorized the renaming of the college to Missouri Southern State University - Joplin, and in 2005 the university dropped Joplin from its name.

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[edit] Mission

MSSU's mission[1] is to provide an international education, defined by the state of Missouri as, "develop[ing] such academic support programs and public service activities it deems necessary and appropriate to establish international or global education as a distinctive theme of its mission."[2] The international mission was strongly promoted by the school's longtime president, Dr. Julio León, who served from 1982 to August 17, 2007. The international mission is supported by the selection of a country to serve as a Fall semester theme (e.g., Fall 2005 - Mexico[3]; Fall 2006 - France[4]; Fall 2007 - China[5]). During the themed semesters, lectures and programs dedicated to the selected country are held on campus. The university also hosts a biennial piano competition [6], which was held April 21-26, 2008.
MSSU has also established a distance learning program to allow individuals to take courses with few or no campus visits. The university has sought to offer the most affordable education of the state universities with low per-credit costs and a textbook rental program that lowers the costs of class materials.

[edit] History

Missouri Southern State University was founded in 1937 as Joplin Junior College.[7] At its conception, Joplin Junior College has 114 students and only 9 faculty members. In 1964, residents of Jasper County, MO approved a 2.5 million dollar bond issue to begin construction on a new campus, where the University is currently located. The new campus opened in the fall of 1967 with 2,399 students and 95 faculty members. In 1977, the school was renamed Missouri Southern State College and officially became a state assisted four-year college and part of the State of Missouri's higher education system. In 2003, the Missouri General Assembly authorized the renaming of the college to Missouri Southern State University - Joplin, and in 2005 the university dropped Joplin from its name. In 1967, the campus was home to only six buildings, the Taylor Performing Arts center was completed in 1973 and the Richard M. Webster Communications and Social Science Building opened in August of 1992.

[edit] Growth & Expansion

Missouri Southern has recently begun construction on the Beimdick Recreation Center and a health sciences building. The health sciences building, which had its groundbreaking on May 19, 2008, is to be built with money secured by MOHELA and distributed to MSSU by the State of Missouri. Also, the Missouri General Assembly has entertained the addition of the Joplin Regional Center, currently owned by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, to Missouri Southern's campus.[8]

[edit] Campus

The campus of Missouri Southern is cross divided by Duquense Road (running north-south) and Newman Road (running east-west). The main portion of the campus is located west of Duquense and includes the following buildings: Billingsly Student Center, Webster Hall, Spiva Library, Hearnes Hall, Kuhn Hall, Reynolds Hall, Thomas E. Taylor Performing Arts Center, Plaster Hall (formerly Matthews Hall), Mills Anderson Justice Center, and Gene Taylor Hall. Billingsley serves as the student union and houses a small food court and the student book shop are located. Webster Hall is the primary location for the offices and classes of the Social Sciences. Hearnes Hall is the location of offices and classes for the English Department, as well as administrative services. Science and Mathematics classes are located in Reynolds Hall; Information Technology is located in Plaster Hall; Criminal Justice classes are held in the Mills Anderson Justice Center; Gene Taylor Hall is home to the School of Education and Psychology.

[edit] Campus Life

[edit] Residential Life

The campus also has two traditional dormitories, eight apartment style housing complexes, and one suite-style dormitory. The dormitories are McCormick and Blaine Halls; the apartments are Gockel, Stegge, Dishman, Dryer, Stone, Headlee, Maupin, and Mitchell Halls; the suite-style dorms are located in East Hall. Also a part of the residence area of campus is the Mayes Student Life Center, which is home to the University's cafeteria, weight room, residence computer labs, and commons area.

[edit] Greek Life

Currently, MSSU is home to three fraternities and two sororities. MSSU has the Delta Pi chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order, the Eta Mu chapter of the Sigma Pi Fraternity and the recently chartered Pi Eta chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Missouri Southern also has the Zeta Alpha chapter of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and the Eta Upsilon chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha.

[edit] Student Organizations, Groups & Activities

Missouri Southern currently has many student organizations including Student Senate, Campus Activities Board, 34 Departmental organizations, 12 honors organizations, 9 religious organizations, and 18 special interest organizations. The University also has a school newspaper, The Chart, and an alumni magazine, Crossroads.[9]

[edit] Intramurals

Missouri Southern has a sophisticated intramural sports program. Sports included are flag football, softball, whiffleball, volleyball, 5 on 5 basketball, 3 on 3 basketball, mini-golf, soccer, hold 'em poker, bowling, table tennis, dodgeball and billiards.

[edit] Presidents

  • Dr. Bruce Speck (2008-)
  • Dr. Teri Agee (Interim) (2007-2008)
  • Dr. Julio León (1982-2007)
  • Dr. Donald C. Darnton (1979-1982)
  • Leon C. Billingsly (1967-1978)

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Athletics

Missouri Southern's mascot is the Lions. The Lions play in NCAA Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. MSSU fields 7 men's and 7 women's sports [10]. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, and track. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, track, and volleyball.

Football is played at Fred G. Hughes Stadium, men's and women's basketball is played at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center, Baseball is played off campus at historical Joe Becker Stadium, softball is played at Kungle Field, soccer is played at Hal Bodon field, and volleyball is played at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ MSSU mission statement
  2. ^ Missouri Southern State University Institute of International Studies
  3. ^ MSSU Mexico Semester
  4. ^ MSSU France Semester>
  5. ^ MSSU China Semester
  6. ^ Missouri Southern International Piano Competition
  7. ^ MSSU Welcome
  8. ^ http://www.senate.mo.gov/08info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=50632
  9. ^ Missouri Southern Registered Student Organizations
  10. ^ Missouri Southern Athletics
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Public Colleges and Universities in Missouri
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