Truman State University

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Established: 1867
Type: Public, secular
President: Barbara Dixon
Faculty: 370
Undergraduates: 5,700
Postgraduates: 250
Location: Kirksville, Missouri, USA
Campus: Rural, 140 acres (57 ha)
Athletics: NCAA, MIAA
Mascot:
Bulldog
Website: http://www.truman.edu

Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences university in Missouri and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. About 5,700 students attend Truman, pursuing degrees in 43 undergraduate and 9 graduate programs. It is located in the city of Kirksville in northeastern Missouri and is named after President Harry Truman, the only President born in the state. Until 1996, the school was known as Northeast Missouri State University. The name was changed, along with its mission statement to better reflect the change toward a statewide mission.

Contents

[edit] Campus

The campus is located on the south side of Kirksville. Truman's main campus is situated around a slightly wooded quadrangle, also known as the "Quad." It is two blocks south of the town square which includes an eight screen movie theatre and various eateries.

The quad in Spring
The quad in Spring

Notable buildings on campus include, Pickler Memorial Library, the Kirk Memorial(the oldest building on campus, built in 1922), and the new science building Magruder Hall. Pickler Memorial Library, was named after Samuel M. Pickler, who donated funds to rebuild the library after it was destroyed by fire in 1924. Renovated in 1993, it is now houses the main computer lab, as well as approximately 450,000 volumes of various works. The front lobby area of Pickler Memorial Library is known as "the Cage" or "the Bubble". Kirk Memorial is a small, domed structure near the center of campus. The structure is dedicated to John Kirk, the fifth president of the university. It formerly housed Truman's debate team and a few administrative offices although now it is closed completely.

[edit] History

Truman State University was founded in 1867 by Joseph Baldwin as the First Missouri Normal School and Commercial College. Baldwin was considered a pioneer in education, and his school quickly gained official recognition in 1870 by the Missouri General Assembly, which designated it as the first public teaching college in Missouri. The {{Joseph Baldwin Academy]] for Eminent Young Scholars, a summer program serving gifted 8th-10th graders, is also housed at Truman.

Joseph Baldwin statue on the Truman State University campus
Joseph Baldwin statue on the Truman State University campus

A region of 25 Missouri counties was designated as the school's college district. The counties are as follows: Adair, Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Chariton, Clark, Howard, Knox, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Macon, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, St. Charles, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan and Warren.

As the school continued to grow, Basil Brewer wrote the school song "The Purple and White" in 1902. The song's popularity prompted the university to adopt the school colors as purple and white. Thirteen years later, in 1915, the bulldog became the official mascot of the college (two bulldogs are currently the "mascots" of the university, Spike and Simone).

In 1924 a fire destroyed Old Baldwin Hall and the library. Both Baldwin Hall and the library were rebuilt, with $25,000.00 allotted for the new library donated by Samuel M. Pickler, a member of the first graduating class of 1870, former faculty member, and a local merchant. The broad pond in the quadrangle (a prominent feature in pre-1924 photographs of the campus) was pumped dry in a futile attempt to put out the fire. The depression was filled in with debris from the ruined buildings and covered with grass, which now serves as the quadrangle ("Quad") of the campus.

The college was renamed Northeast Missouri State University in 1972, and in 1983, the university was awarded the G. Theodore Mitau Award for Innovation and Change in Higher Education by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Northeast Missouri State continued pushing for excellence. On June 20, 1985, Governor John Ashcroft signed a bill that designated the university as Missouri's only statewide public liberal arts and sciences university. This changed the school's mission to a state-wide rather than a regional (northeast) objective. As such, nearly 100 programs were dropped in the span of six years, including all two-year programs and included those that did not fulfill the liberal arts mission.

The school continued to win praise from such publications as US News and World Report and the university's reputation continued to spread. By the 1990s, the university was no longer solely a teachers' college. The college now had a nationally-known accounting division, schools of science, mathematics, computer science, and literature. Ten years after Governor Ashcroft's designation, Governor Mel Carnahan signed legislation renaming the school Truman State University. Several schools had petitioned for the Truman name. Truman State University is designated by statute as Missouri's premier public liberal arts and sciences institution.

Years Name
1867-1868 North Missouri Normal and Commercial School
1868-1870 North Missouri Normal School
1870-1918 North Missouri Normal School of the First District
1918-1968 Northeast Missouri State Teachers College
(Commonly called Kirksville State Teachers College)
1968-1972 Northeast Missouri State College
1972-1996 Northeast Missouri State University
1996-Present Truman State University

[edit] Campus lore

  • The weather vane atop Kirk Memorial is welded in place so that it will always point northeast, in honor of the school's previous name and its location.[1]
  • "The Ghost of Centennial Hall" is named "Joan," who has been said to be a student killed in an auto accident in the 1970s. In addition, "Charlotte" and an unnamed little boy have haunted Grim Hall for 70 years, and "Gina" watches over the women of Ryle. See external link "Truman Ghost Stories," below.
  • Students traditionally stuck their chewing gum on a redbud tree on the east side of campus.[2] This "gum tree" was decorated in colorful wads, and at times, it even sported students' names. The tree was vandalized and knocked down by an unknown party in 2000, but students quickly adopted another tree.
  • For many years, an irregularly-shaped portion of sidewalk (which had previously been home to a tree) was called the "sacred potato," and it has been the focus of a number of rituals and superstitions: one should never step on it if one had a test that same day; sticking a knife into a potato on the spot at midnight warded off a failing grade. Else stepping on the sacred potato had been rumored to cause one to either fail their next test or become pregnant. Around 2002, campus facilities replaced the sidewalk, sparking student complaints.
  • The sunken garden, site of many student weddings, is actually the cellar left from the Baldwin Hall fire of 1924.
  • Due to the frequency of student weddings in the sunken garden, a campus myth came into common circulation. It is alleged that if a new couple has their first kiss at midnight on one of the two benches located in the sunken garden, the couple will eventually get married.
  • A brass plaque beneath a peach tree just north of Baldwin Hall honors the senior euphonium and bass trombone performer, known as "Smarsh," who was killed in a car accident July 3, 1994. He is also remembered with the Robert Scott Marshall Memorial Scholarship.
  • A row of large, clapperless bells is fixed in a brick wall on the quad. According to legend, the "virgin bells" ring when chaste undergraduates pass by (officially known as the Bell Wall, the monument dates from the 1967 centennial celebration, and was donated by local businessman Joe Burdman).
  • The statue of President Truman in Pickler Memorial Library is said to bestow good fortune on any student who borrows a penny from his hat for a test. Beware, however, for any good fortune might be negated if the penny is not returned the same day. These 'Truman Pennies' are placed by students studying for tests in the library, and it is also considered good luck to place a penny in the hat.
  • The annual football game against Northwest Missouri State University was established in 1930 when Northwest president Uel Lamkin sent Fair a polished hickory stick from the farm where the former president Eugene Fair was born. The "Hickory Stick" has since been contested annually. [3]

[edit] Leadership

[edit] University presidents

[edit] Board of Governors

Truman State's Board of Governors consists of ten members. Each member is appointed by the Governor of Missouri to serve a four-year term, with a student representative serving for two years. The ten members must meet residential requirements defined by Missouri law as follows:

  • Four voting members from inside Truman's regional boundary, provided that not more than one person from the same county is selected.
  • Three voting members from in-state, provided that not more than one person is from the same college region defined by Missouri state law.
  • Two non-voting members from out-of-state. Current U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary Alphonso Jackson, a graduate of Truman, served on the board in this capacity for two terms.
  • One non-voting member who is a current full-time Truman student. Student groups have lobbied the state to allow this member to vote. The Truman Student Senate recently passed a unanimous resolution calling for a student to become a voting member of the Board of Governors and sent the resolution to every member of the Missouri Legislature.

The current Board of Governors includes the following members:

  • Chair - Mark S. Wasinger, Hannibal
  • Vice Chair - Cheryl J. Cozette, Columbia
  • Secretary - Matthew W. Potter, St. Louis
  • Mike Greenwell, Shelbina
  • Karen Haber, Kansas City
  • Kenneth L. Read, Kirksville
  • John W. Siscel, III, St. Louis

Board Members - Nonvoting - Out-of-State

  • John Hilton, Alexandria, Virginia
  • Peter T. Ewell, Boulder, Colorado

Board Member - Nonvoting - Student Representative

  • Cody Sumter, Warrensburg

The Board of Governors also includes two committees: the Audit Committee, and the Truman State University Foundation Board of Directors.

[edit] Residence Halls

In the 1960s the university built Dobson Hall (1961), Ryle Hall (1963), Missouri Hall (1965) and Centennial Hall (1967). There are three other residence halls on campus: Blanton-Nason-Brewer (1948, Brewer added in 1959), Ezra C. Grim Hall (1923), and West Campus Suites (2006).

The residence halls are maintained by ResLife, an administrative body of professionals and students who live in the halls and act as advisors/directors ("SA's"). Incoming freshmen arrive a week earlier than the other students and spend this orientation time in friendly competition against the other halls. Themed door decorations, movie nights, games, and dorm-specific t-shirts are an ongoing part of ResLife's goal to foster a sense of community in residential living at Truman.

[edit] Dobson Hall

Dobson Hall is coed by wing and houses roughly 400 students who share community bathrooms. As of the spring semester of 2006, keypads have been installed on the bathroom doors and will be used as opposed to keys. Each floor is equipped with a lounge and a kitchenette (except first floor). There is a pool table and foosball table on the first floor, with a recently added ping-pong table. Mail is distributed in a common mail-box area and packages are picked up by residents at the hall desk. The hall houses a computer lab and in-house laundry facilities. It does not have a cafeteria, so students usually travel to nearby Ryle Hall for meals, though some travel to Missouri Hall or to Centennial Hall. Dobson is set to undergo renovations during the 2008-2009 academic year.

[edit] Ryle and Centennial Halls

Ryle Hall is the second largest hall and Centennial Hall (or "C-Hall") is the largest. These two coed dorms each house nearly 600 students in suite-style rooms. The standard arrangement is two rooms, or four people, sharing one bathroom. Floors, three, four, and five feature kitchenettes, and every floor except the first has a lounge. Ryle also has a spacious main lounge that is often used for small on-campus events. Each dorm features a cafeteria, computer labs, mailboxes, vending machines, ATM machines, laundry rooms, and also house a classroom used by the Residential College Program (RCP). The primary difference between the two dorms is that Ryle's cafeteria is located on the first floor, beneath its large lounge area. Centennial's cafeteria bisects the second floor, and the lounge area sits directly below with a pool table, ping pong, a large television, and piano for entertainment purposes.

[edit] Missouri Hall

Missouri Hall (aka "MO Hall") is a coed residence hall that houses 518 students, making it the third largest on campus. Missouri Hall is made up of seven different wings. On both the north and south sides of the building, three wings join with a common lounge. The two common lounges are linked by a seventh "crossover" wing. From overhead, the building is shaped like an elongated asterisk. While each wing is either male or female, each "house" (the north or south side of a single floor) includes both male and female wings. The building also houses a large cafeteria, study rooms, laundry facilities, and many public kitchens.

Missouri Hall opened its doors in 1965 as an all-male residence hall. Construction delays prevented the entire building from being ready for the 1965 season. Because only the north side had been finished, many students who were originally supposed to be housed on the south side instead had to share beds with other students in the on-campus apartments. Eventually those men were permitted to move into the building as construction was completed. Truman's Residential College Program, in its earliest manifestation, was located in Missouri Hall. With a high percentage of first year students each fall term, more students get their start at Truman in Missouri Hall than any other place on campus. During the mid 1990s, Missouri Hall was converted from an all-male dorm to the current coed facility.

A renovation of Missouri Hall began in the summer of 2006. This extensive renovation and addition project left the building unoccupied for the 2006-2007 academic year. In addition to behind the walls and cosmetic upgrades, the building now features retrofitted air conditioning, renovated bathrooms, wiring upgrades, and improved community spaces. Both laundry and kitchen facilities are located on each floor. With only minor tasks left to complete, the building opened on time this fall. While traditionally a building of predominately first year students, Missouri Hall had a strong upperclass renewal rate last year. The building does feature two houses available only for first-year students, but the majority of the students will be upperclassmen for the first time in many years.

[edit] Blanton-Nason-Brewer

Blanton-Nason-Brewer (aka BNB), offers three floors of suite-style living arrangements to students, but is currently closed for renovations and will reopen as a co-ed building upon completion. Originally three separate buildings it will, upon completion of the renovation, appear as one building with integrated crossovers. The north wing, Brewer Hall, is primarily populated by members of Greek organizations. The east and south wings, respectively Nason Hall and Blanton Hall, will be single sex by suite. The residence hall is slated to re-open in the Fall of 2008.

[edit] Grim Hall

Grim Hall is the smallest residence hall on campus, with a capacity of 68 residents. It is also unusual in its hardwood flooring and house-like appearance. Originally a dormitory for nurses at the adjacent Grim-Smith Hospital, it was later acquired by the University in the 1930s. For many years Grim was also the "International Dorm" by striving to maintain a population of at least one third foreign students. Because of its small size, Grim Hall sometimes feels more like a coed fraternity than a large housing complex; much of its personality comes from its residents differentiating it from the large dormitories.

[edit] West Campus Suites

The West Campus Suites, just northwest of Centennial Hall, opened its doors to 416 students in Fall 2006. The first three floors house mostly upperclassmen, and the top floor in the four-story building houses first-year students. Each room (with the exception of single rooms for eight student advisors and apartments for the hall director and community coordinator) consists of two bedrooms attached to a central living room, sink, kitchen cabinets, large bathroom, and independent climate control systems. Each floor has its own dedicated lounge, study rooms, laundry facilities, trash and recycling center, campus events bulletin board, and end-of-the-hall study carrels containing computers with internet access.

[edit] Other Living Options

[edit] Apartments

Truman offers the option of three campus-owned apartments for student living: Randolph, Campbell, and Fair. Randolph and Campbell Apartments provide residents with a kitchen area, while students living in Fair Apartments use their meal plan to eat on campus. Fair is located across the street from Violette Hall, Campbell is located next to the tennis courts, and Randolph is located behind Dobson Hall.

[edit] Farm Hall

Located at the University Farm, only a handful of students, often majors in agricultural science, live here each year. Their work on the farm helps them gain useful first-hand experience, as well as help pay for room and board.

[edit] Student organizations

Truman is host to a variety of student organizations. The Greek community contains almost 20% of the campus in nineteen fraternities and eleven sororities[4]. There are numerous other professional, religious, honorary, cultural, and special interest organizations on campus [5].

[edit] Bulldog Party

The Bulldog party is a student advocacy group at Truman State University.[1][2] Since 1999] the Bulldog Party nominee for student government president has won 4 times (in 2001,2004,[3]2005,2006[4]).[5][6] The Bulldog Party has been lobbying the Missouri government since to secure a voting student representative on the governing board of all Missouri universities.[7]

[edit] Greek Life

There are sixteen on-campus fraternities and eleven sororities. The fraternities are governed by the Interfraternal Council (IFC), which includes the twelve nationally recognized Greek fraternities on campus: Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Kappa Lambda, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Tau Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Kappa Theta, Phi Kappa Tau, Phi Lambda Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa. The sorotities are governed by the Panhellenic Council, which is made up of five internationally recognized sororities on campus: Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Zeta, Sigma Kappa, and Sigma Sigma Sigma, and several local sororities: Sigma Chi Delta, Beta Omega Beta, Tau Lambda Sigma, Alpha Sigma Gamma, The Primroses, and Phi Delta. The organizations do service around the community, provide leadership on campus, and provide a social outlet for students. In addition to these organizations, Truman also boasts an honor fraternity for nearly every major on campus.

[edit] Debate

A notable feature of Truman State University is its debate team. With a history of excellence stretching back to the late 1800s, Truman has won two national titles in parliamentary debate, competing in the National Parliamentary Debate Association national tournament. Truman won the 2000 NPDA final round on a 7-0 decision, as well as the 2004 NPDA final round on a 9-0 decision.

Truman also won the 2001 and 2004 Point Loma Nazarene University Round Robin, the MAFA state debate tournament in 2007 (taking first speaker award at this point as well), 2002, 2003, and 2004, and had the first and second speaker at the 2004 NPDA national tournament.

[edit] Quiz Bowl

After two years, Truman finally won the College Bowl (CBI) Region 11 Championship in 2004, and placed 7th at Nationals. ACO won its first outright NAQT ICT Division I invitation in 2005, and repeated as College Bowl Regional Champions that same year. At the CBI National Championship, Truman placed fourth and senior Matt Magruder became the first All-American College Bowl player. ACO successfully hosted its first high school quiz bowl tournament in the Fall of 2006 and has continued this tradition every semester since.

Truman State ACO is restarting its tradition of hosting the college tournament, Brainal Leakage, which this year was a mirror of Princeton's PARFAIT tournament. The 2007 event saw 10 teams from Illinois, WashU, Drake, Minnesota, UMR, and Kansas State compete in Violette Hall with Illinois A emerging as the champion with a perfect 9-0 record. On January 26th, 2008, ACO is set to host a mirror of Penn Bowl, another important national tournament that promises to bring many top schools to compete in Kirksville.

[edit] Campus media

Publications include Detours, a travel magazine published each semester, the Index, the weekly newspaper distributed every Thursday, and the student literary annual, Windfall. Academic periodicals include the quarterly Sixteenth Century Journal, and GHLL, the Green Hills Literary Lantern, an annual venue for fiction and poetry, recently moved from print to online format. Broadcast media include two radio stations—the alternative format KTRM 88.7 FM "The Edge" and 89.7 FM, and Dobson Radio 107.5 FM, as well as a National Public Radio feed of KBIA-FM in Columbia. Its range extends roughly ten miles (15 km) from campus. The University maintains an information channel, where News 36, a half-hour television news program, airs twice a week.

Alternative media options include The Monitor, an alternative newspaper which has been around since 1995, and is published bi-weekly, as well as Gadfly, a cultural magazine.

[edit] A Cappella Groups

Truman's a cappella groups carry a strong cult following due to their ability to energize a crowd with their voiced versions of contemporary songs. True Men, the all-male a cappella group was the first to be founded on campus, followed by Minor Detail, the all female group, and Sweet Nothings, the co-ed group on campus. Each group now carries their large fan bases and maintain good relations with each other.

[edit] Yearbook

The Echo yearbook, whose funding was reallocated by the administration in March 2007, will be published through spring 2007. The Echo has been published continuously on campus since 1909.

[edit] Athletics

The school mascot is Spike the bulldog.

Truman is a member of NCAA Division II and plays in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference. The athletic department sponsors 21 teams (11 men's and 10 women's) more than any other school in Missouri. Among Truman's most recent successes include: four regional championships for women's volleyball, a regional berth for men's basketball in 2006, and undefeated regular seasons for both men's and women's soccer. In March 2006, the women's swim team won their sixth consecutive national title, beating rival Drury University after losing to them earlier in the year. The team holds the record for most national titles won in their division.[6] [7]

Indoor sports are played in the Pershing Arena (named for general John J. Pershing who attended Truman the 1880s). Indoor sports include: Men and women's Swimming, Wrestling (M), Volleyball (W), and Basketball (M/W). Outdoor offerings are; Soccer (M/W), Golf (M/W), Football, Baseball, Softball, Track (M/W), Cross-country (M/W), and Tennis (M/W). Stokes Stadium is the site for home football games and track meets.

In addition to intercollegiate athletics, recreational teams exist for lacrosse, rugby union (Bulls and Bullets), roller hockey, Ultimate (JujiTSU and TSUnami), men's volleyball and men's and women's soccer.

Truman students passed a resolution in the Spring of 2007, adding a $50/semester fee to all students taking six or more credit hours to help support athletic facilities on campus. The addition of lights to Stokes Stadium was one of the first projects completed with the help of the student athletic fee.

[edit] Notable People Associated With Truman

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bulldog Party Alumni Association
  2. ^ Bulldog Party
  3. ^ http://index.truman.edu/PDF/2003-2004/April22/Page%2011.pdf
  4. ^ Elections bring new members, issues to Senate - News
  5. ^ Alliance party dominates elections - News
  6. ^ ONLINE UPDATE Szewczyk wins Student Senate presidency - News
  7. ^ Groups lobby for BOG student vote - News

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
v • d • e
Public Colleges and Universities in Missouri
4-Year Universities
2-Year Colleges