University of Missouri System

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University of Missouri


Established	1839
Type	Public
President	Dr. Elson S. Floyd
Faculty	7,199
Staff	16,323 (Fall 2005)
Students	63,184 (Fall 2005)
Location	Columbia, Missouri, USA
Website	www.umsystem.edu

The University of Missouri is the designated public research and land-grant university system in the State of Missouri. There are four campuses:

All four campuses are of equal standing and degrees are centrally conferred through the University of Missouri. Columbia is the flagship campus with a broad range of studies and research disciplines, while the Rolla campus specializes in engineering, science, and technology. The Kansas City and St. Louis campuses are largely composed of part-time commuter students. All four campuses are full-service, doctoral degree-granting institutions.

The generic University of Missouri title is often used in reference to the Columbia campus, especially in the context of national recognition or NCAA sports.

1 History
2 Proposed changes to system
- 2.1 Missouri University of Science and Technology
- 2.2 University of Missouri–Northwest
3 External links

The University of Missouri was founded in 1839 in Columbia. It was the first public institution of higher learning established west of the Mississippi River. In 1870, the University established the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla. The system was expanded in 1963 when the University of Kansas City (which had been a private institution) was acquired and renamed UM–Kansas City, and a new campus was created for UM–St. Louis. The School of Mines was renamed UM–Rolla in 1964.

The UM System offices are located in Columbia.

On 23 March 2007, Chancellor John Carney III announced plans to rename the University of Missouri–Rolla to the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Carney was quoted in the Associated Press noting that the current branch naming system may inadvertently diminish the perceived importance of schools other than Columbia:

"Believe me, people think we're a branch campus of Columbia," Carney said. "Some people ask if we spend two years down here and then move up to Columbia."[1]

The curators will consider the change on 5–6 April and would take effect on 1 January 2008 if approved.

In 2004, the University of Missouri entered into an agreement with Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville to make it the fifth school in the system. It was to be named the University of Missouri–Northwest. The proposal was opposed by Missouri Western State University and the enabling Missouri General Assembly legislation never passed and the deal sunset. There are no active attempts to add the school.