Missouri Southern State University (Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo) is a public university in Joplin, Missouri. It was established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College. The university enrolled 4,087 students in Fall 2023. At its conception, Joplin Junior College had 114 students and only 9 faculty members. In 1964, residents of Jasper County, Missouri approved a $2.5 million 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; in 2005 the university dropped Joplin from its name.
In 1967, the campus was home to six buildings. The Taylor Performing Arts center was completed in 1973 and the Richard M. Webster Communications and Social Science Building opened in August 1992.
Missouri Southern recently finished construction on a health sciences building. The building, which had its groundbreaking on May 19, 2008, was built with money secured by MOHELA and distributed to MSSU by the state of Missouri. The Missouri General Assembly had entertained the addition of the Joplin Regional Center, owned by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, to Missouri Southern's campus in spring of 2009.
The school is about 30 blocks northeast of the worst of the devastation of the 2011 Joplin tornado which destroyed much of southern Joplin on May 22, 2011—one day after the school's graduation. Joplin High School had just completed its school graduation on the campus shortly before the tornado. The Leggett and Platt Athletic Center was used as an emergency shelter for victims. Billingsly Student Center was the headquarters for volunteer efforts run by Americorps St. Louis and was the coordination area for identifying victims and survivors. On May 29, 2011, Barack Obama, who was inspecting the damage, spoke at the Taylor Performing Arts Center.
Presidents
Missouri Southern has had seven presidents that have served since its beginning in 1967. who was a major donor and supporter of the school. Expansions to the library in 1972–1973 and 1999–2000 have tripled the size of the original structure. Prior to 1987, the social sciences department utilized some areas of the building for classrooms and offices.
Reynolds Hall (opened in 1967) is named after one of the original members of the school's board of regents, Lauren R. Reynolds (1916–1968). He served on the board from 1965 until his death. This building houses the biology and environmental health, chemical and physical sciences, and mathematics departments. On December 5, 2014, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced that he would request more than $5.2 million in funding from the state legislature for renovations to the building. The funds will allow MSSU to renovate labs, classrooms and electrical systems.
Hearnes Hall (opened in 1967) is named after former Missouri Governor Warren E. Hearnes (1923–2009) who was governor at the time of the construction of the campus and signed the law which made Missouri Southern a state institution. Hearnes Hall is the university's administration building, but was previously home to English department (now located in Kuhn Hall) and the communications department (now located in Webster Hall). Hearnes Hall has never been expanded, but underwent major renovations ending in 2012.
Fine Arts Building (opened in 1967) is the home to the music and art departments. It is also home of the Spiva Gallery and is connected to both the Taylor Performing Arts Center and the Bud Walton Black Box Theatre.
Leon C. Billingsly Student Center (opened in 1969) is named after the first president of what was then Missouri Southern College, Leon C. Billingsly (1925–1978). Billingsly served in that capacity from 1964 until his death and supervised the construction of the original buildings on the campus. The building is home to the cafeteria, book store and Keystone and Connor ballrooms. Formerly known as the College Union, it was renamed for Billingsly in 1980, two years after his death. It has been expanded multiple times, the latest in 2009 when the George S. Beimdiek Recreation Center and Willcoxon Student Health Center were added onto it.
Kuhn Hall (opened in 1969) is named after John Raymond Kuhn (1902–1986) a Joplin area doctor who encouraged more practical application medical training at the college. It was originally home to the nursing (now in the Health Sciences Building) and computer science departments (now in Plaster Hall). Today it is home to the English department. The neighboring Kuhn Annex, which was built in 1963 and also houses part of the English department, was originally a model home for a proposed housing subdivision planned by Rolla Stephens on the former Mission Hills estate. When Stephens learned of the search for a new campus for the college, he worked with George A. Spiva and Morgan Hillhouse so the land could instead be used for that purpose. It underwent a major renovation in 2011 and 2012 and had previously been used for technology and engineering courses, including automotive technology and drafting.
Thomas E. Taylor Performing Arts Center (opened in 1974) is named for former Missouri Southern board of regents member (1965–1974) and board of trustees member (1964–1975) Thomas E. Taylor (1902–1975). The 2,000-seat performing arts center was built on a $1 million bond and is home to the theatre department.
Taylor Hall (opened in 1977) also known as the Gene Taylor Education Center is named for U.S. Congressman Gene Taylor (1928–1998). Taylor had served on the board of trustees from 1964 to 1972 and was the president of that board at the time the current campus opened in 1967. Formerly known as Matthews Hall and named after Norval M. Matthews (1895–1977), an original member of the school's board of regents from 1965 until his death, the building and the school of business, which has resided in it since its construction, were renamed after Plaster in 2006 when he made the largest donation in the college's history. Prior to this building's construction, the school of business had been located in the former Mission Hills mansion, today the Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center, from 1969 to 1980.
Webster Hall (opened in 1992) is named for Richard M. Webster (1922–1990), a former speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives and a longtime state senator representing the area from 1962 until his death. The building cost $7.5 million at the time of its construction and is home to the social sciences, communications, foreign languages, and international studies departments. The W. Robert Corley Auditorium is located inside Webster Hall. It was named after William Robert Corley, a local businessman following a significant donation by him in 2009.
Bud Walton Black Box Theatre (opened in 1999) is named for Bud Walton, brother of Walmart founder Sam Walton and a financial donor for the construction of the facility. The Walton Black Box Theatre was built as a replacement for the college's previous Barn Theatre, which was destroyed by fire in 1990.
Julio S. Leon Health Sciences Center (opened in 2010) is named for Julio Leon, who served as the president of the university from 1982 to 2007. It houses programs in nursing, dental hygiene, kinesiology, medical technology, psychology, radiologic technology and respiratory therapy.
Jeremiah "Jay" Nixon Hall (opened in 2019) is named for the 55th governor of Missouri Jeremiah "Jay" Nixon, who served from 2009 to 2017. Governor Nixon campaigned and received $5.2 million that was used to construct the hall and renovate the nearby Reynolds hall. Nixon hall is used for mathematics and other STEM fields. The building is three stories and houses staff offices, study rooms, and many classrooms. It is connected to Reynolds hall via a sky bridge on the second floor and is the newest building on campus.
Alumni Center
The Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center (opened in 2011) is named after Ralph L. Gray, a major donor for the building's restoration. The building, also known as the Mission Hills mansion, is the oldest structure on campus, built in 1926 as the private home of Lucius Buchanan. When the property was purchased for use as the university's campus in 1964, the mansion was originally used by then President Leon Billingsly for his office space. It then served as the home of the school of business from 1969 to 1980 and the social sciences department between 1987 and 1992. It sat empty from 1992 until 2006, when the process of restoring and renovating it for its current use started.
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Residential life
The campus has two traditional dormitories, eight apartment-style housing complexes, and two suite-style dormitories. The dormitories are McCormick and Blaine Halls; the apartments are Gockel, Stegge, Dishman, Dryer, Stone, Headlee, Maupin, and Mitchell Halls; and the suite-style dorms are located in East Hall and The Quads. 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. These dorms house about 600 students. The Quads, opened fall of 2015, is a three-story complex that features 51 student apartments the vast majority of which will be four bedrooms.
Residence halls
Blaine Hall (opened in 1971) is named after Harry E. Blaine (1873–1955), who served as the first dean of what was then Joplin Junior College from its opening in 1937 until his retirement in 1947. This facility is all male and is arranged as a traditional style dormitory, housing 174 students, mostly freshmen.
McCormick Hall (opened in 1971) is named after Martha McCormick (1902–1987), who taught mathematics from 1939 to 1973 at what was first Joplin Junior College and then later Missouri Southern State College. This facility houses 90 students and was one of the first two dormitories built on the campus, housing only female students since it opened.
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.
Athletics
thumb|200px|upright|MSSU Lions wordmark.
Missouri Southern's mascot is the Lions. The Lions play in NCAA Division II as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. MSSU fields seven men's and seven women's sports. The program has had over 250 All-Americans in its history after starting off as a member of the NAIA and in 1989 joining the NCAA. The program was a member of the Central States Intercollegiate Conference while a member of the NAIA.
Notable alumni
- Allen Barbre, professional football player.
- Bob Beatty, high school football coach.
- Lonny Chapman, actor.
- Richard Jordan, professional football player.
- Terry Joyce, professional football player.
- Janet L. Kavandi, NASA astronaut.
- Roderick C. Meredith, evangelist.
- Gary Nodler, Missouri State Senator.
- J. Eddie Peck, actor.
- Rajindra Campbell, Olympic Bronze Medalist (2024) for Shot Put
- Ron Richard, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives and President of the Missouri Senate.
- Rod Smith, professional football player.
- Jeff Speakman, martial artist and actor.
- James Thrash, professional football player.
- Dennis Weaver, actor.
- Brandon Williams, professional football player.
- Logan VanWey, professional baseball player.
Notes
References
External links
- Athletics website