Pilgrim's Path: Walking Tour of St. Louis University

St. Louis University recently unveiled Pilgrim's Path, a 1.6 mile walking tour of the institution's north campus. The tour includes 19 locations on SLU's campus that depict the University’s Jesuit history and Catholic identity.

Those interested can download an app with narrations that is available through the free PocketSights app in the App Store and Google Play. There is also a .pdf map and descriptions of the various tour locations.

Drury University Prepares to Celebrate 150th Anniversary

Drury University in Springfield, MO is preparing to celebrate the sesquicentennial of its founding in 1873.

The institution was initially founded as Springfield College. The name changed to Drury College within six months following gift of $25,000 from S.F. Drury of Olivet, Michigan. Drury absorbed Iberia Junior College in 1951 and changed its name to Drury University in 2000. Drury has an historical affiliation with the United Church of Christ. 

Early College Leader is Honored

 

An important early educator was recently remembered for her educational and political leadership. In "Columbia College honors founding mother Luella St. Clair Moss to delight of LWV members," 

Roger McKinney of the Columbia Daily Tribune reports on comments by Brad Lookingbill, Columbia College's distinguished history professor as he paid tribute to a college founder - Luella St. Clair Moss. She served three non-consecutive terms as college president, the first in 1893.

Central Christian College of the Bible and Saint Louis Christian College Will Merge

Trustees of Central Christian College of the Bible (Moberly, MO) and Saint Louis Christian College (Florissant, MO) are working towards a formal merger of their programs.  Both Boards gave final approval to the merger at their meetings in April 2022. 

The merger is proceeding with the assistance and approval of The Solomon Foundation (Parker, CO), which owns the campuses of both institutions.  The merged institution will be known as Central Christian College of the Bible.

CCCB has signed a lease on almost 6,000 square feet of space located at 11960 Westline Industrial Drive, in the Westport. This facility will be used to meet the needs of students in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

CCCB was founded in 1957 and StLCC in 1956. The StLCC campus will be sold and operate as a Christian boarding school.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers, and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

St. Louis College of Pharmacy Changes Name

St. Louis College of Pharmacy changed its name to the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis. The institution was founded in 1864 as the first college of pharmacy west of the Mississippi River.

You can read more about the founding of the institutional history and view a timeline of key events or information on various locations:

• 7th and Clark [1864-67]
• 18 N. 4th St. [1867-71]
• Broadway and Olive [1873-84]
• 209 N. 6th St. [1884-92]
• 412 S. 6th St. [1884-92]
• Lucas Place [1892-1927]
• 4588 Parkview Place and 1 Pharmacy Place [1927-Today]

The St. Louis Business Journal posted "St. Louis College of Pharmacy to change its name" with reporting by Vince Brennan.

Missouri University of Science and Technology Prepares for Sesquicentennial

The Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, MO is gearing up to celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of its founding in 1870 and a celebration is planned for the morning, Tuesday, February 25th, at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.

Initially known as the University of Missouri School of Mines & Metallurgy, the name changed to the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1964 and to University of Missouri-Rolla in 1968. The current name, Missouri University of Science and Technology, was approved after 2008.

You can visit the 150th anniversary pages for planned events and other information. 

A new book written by Dr. Larry Gragg, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus of history and political science, Forged in Gold will offer the institution's history, from its origins as a “country academy” to its position today as one of the nation’s top STEM-focused research universities. 

A short video interview with Dr Gragg describing the process of researching the book has been posted on YouTube.

You can also visit the web pages of the university archives for early photographs and other historical information.

The Missouri S&T Library website also includes links to several institutional histories where you can find digital versions hosted on ISSUU that are available to view or download.

William Woods University Prepares for Sesquicentennial

William Woods University in Fulton, MO is preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding as the Female Orphans School of the Christian Church in northwestern Missouri in 1870. The name changed when the institution relocated to Fulton. It was known as William Woods College after 1900 and in 1992 became William Woods University.

The Columbia Missourian published an interesting article January 14, 2020 by Tristen Rouse that weaves together institutional history and descriptions of upcoming sesquicentennial events planned for 2020, "William Woods University, once for Civil War daughters, celebrates 150th."

William Woods president Jahnae H. Barnett will join Mr. Jonathan Kemper, great-great grandson of the William Woods for a birthday party kick-ff on Friday, January 17, 2020, at Cutlip Auditorium on the campus. The sesquicentennial theme will be “The Woods at 150 Years: a 2020 Vision for the Future.” You can visit the university website for more details.

A previous College History Garden post featured In Faith and History: the story of William Woods College, an excellent institutional history written by Griffith A. Hamlin. The book was printed in 1965 as a private edition by The Bethany Press, St. Louis, MO. The post links to Abe Books where inexpensive used copies of the book can be purchased.

Cincinnati Christian University Suspends Operations

Cincinnati Christian University announced that it will cease operations in 2020 and will partner with Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, MO to offer programs in Ohio.

CCU was founded on September 23, 1924 via merger of McGarvey Bible College in Louisville, KY, and Cincinnati Bible Institute to form The Cincinnati Bible Seminary (CBS). The name changed to Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary in 1987 and to CCU in 2004.

You can read more in an article by Erin Caproni posted October 28, 2019 on the Cincinnati Business Courier website, "Cincinnati university to shutter mid-year."

Cincinnati Public Radio posted "Cincinnati Christian University Closing," by Tana Weingartner on October 29, 2019.



WCPO-TV posted "Cincinnati Christian University decides not to fight for accreditation, will close in 2020."

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Thirty Year Dream Nears Reality as Tarkio Technical Institute Plans to Open January 2020

The dreams of alumni of colleges that close and residents of small towns where they reside sometimes take a while to play out. 

Tarkio College closed in 1992 and after several false starts, efforts led by the Tarkio College Alumni Association are now bearing fruit.

Mike Peterson of KMA 960 AM radio interviewed John Davis, Tarkio Technical Institute's interim president for the Morning Line program Thursday morning, September 12th, "Rejuvenated Tarkio College aims to prepare new workforce." You can also listen to the 10-minute audio segment on the Morning Line page.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Higher Education recently approved the certification of the Tarkio Technology Institute and the institution plans to reopen the school January 6, 2020 as a post-secondary career and technical school offering diploma and certificate programs in plumbing technology and wind energy technology. 

The Tarkio College Alumni Association page offers updates on recent activities including the recent transfer of ownership of the campus from TCAA to Tarkio College.

Previous College History Garden posts focusing on Tarkio College may also be of interest:

• Thursday, March 2, 2017  Tarkio College Reopening: Interviews with Key People
• Friday, July 1, 2016  Tarkio, Missouri and Blair, Nebraska...sharing a common bond after colleges close
• Tuesday, July 1, 2014  Tarkio College (MO) Alumni Work to Reopen Institution
• Wednesday, May 25, 2016  Tarkio College: Alumni plan to reopen institution after 25 years

Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences will become part of Rockhurst University

Lily Lieberman reported in the Kansas City Business Journal on July 31, 2019 that Rockhurst University will absorb Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences, "Local university will absorb Saint Luke's nursing school."

Lieberman notes that the process requires approval from the Higher Learning Commission and officials at both institutions anticipate approval in 2020. Saint Luke's programs will move to the Rockhurst campus in 2022 following a complete renovation of Sedgwick Hall that was built in 1914.

Saint Luke's was founded by Saint Luke's Hospital as a diploma school of nursing in 1903 and offered a three-year program.  It was known as Saint Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing until 2010 when the name changed to Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences.  The last reported IPEDS enrollment was 665 students in programs ranging from associate's degrees through post-master's level certificates.

Rockhurst University was founded in 1914.  It enrolls 3,145 students in a variety of undergraduate and graduates programs.

You can learn more about the plans through statements on "The Future of Nursing at Rockhurst University" or "The Future of Health Sciences Education in Kansas City" on the Saint Luke's website.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Metro Business College Closing

The Jefferson City News Tribune reported in June that "Metro Business College to close Missouri campuses." 

Metro Business College operated three campuses in Cape Girardeau, Jefferson City, and Rolla.  Recent enrollment at all three was just over one hundred students.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Lincoln University (MO): Black Culture Mecca...Video of Lecture now Available

The State Historical Society of Missouri posted Dr. Gary R. Kremer's April 3, 2019 lecture, "Lincoln University: Black Culture Mecca of the Midwest," on YouTube. The presentation was part of historical society's African American Experience in Missouri Lecture Series.

I was fortunate to attend the lecture and Dr. Kremer provided an interesting overview of Lincoln's history and cultural importance as an African-American institution. 

You can find more about the history of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO by visiting a 2016 College History Garden post that coincided with the institution's recent anniversary in 2016, "Lincoln University in Missouri celebrates 150th Anniversary."

Stephens College: A Long and Rich History of Service to Women

Stephens College in Columbia, MO was founded as Columbia Female Academy in 1833. It became Baptist Female College in 1857, then, Stephens Female College in 1870, and finally, Stephens College in 1917. The college web site offers an historical timeline with additional key dates.

You can also view an interesting YouTube video, "Stephens College 175th," that was initially created to coincide with the institution's anniversary in 2008.  The video soundtrack features Peggy Lee's "I'm A Women" and energetically celebrates women's education at Stephens. 

A series of blog posts were created several years ago, "Stephens: A Look Back," and are still a valuable resource for learning more about the college.  The posts explore changes at Stephens from year to year using the Stephensophia yearbooks that can be accessed via the Missouri Digital Heritagecollection.

A detailed look at Stephens' history can be found in the 1970 book Stephens: A Story of Educational Innovation written by John C. Crighton and published by American Press, Columbia, MO.

There are a number of posts featuring Stephens College on the Small College Garden blog that may be of interest in learning more about more recent institutional activity:

• Sunday, July 31, 2016  Interview with President Dianne Lynch of Stephens College
• Sunday, February 19, 2017  Stephens College Offers Saturday Afternoon Science Programs
• Sunday, June 18, 2017  Stephens College Offers Innovative Summer Camping Experiences
• Monday, June 19, 2017  Esports added at Stephens College

Vatterott College Closes

Celeste Bott of the St. Louis Post Dispatch in "Vatterott immediately closes all campuses" and Wes Johnson of the Springfield (MO) News-Leader in "All Vatterott College campuses - including Springfield's - suddenly close Monday," are reporting on the immediate closure of Vatterott Educational Centers, Inc. Vatterott was a for-profit institution and with academic programs in culinary arts, automotive trades, and allied health fields. The company with roughly 950 employees, is headquartered in Olivett, MO.  Letters to students and employees are posted on the Vatterott College web site.

Vatterott campuses were located in seven states and enrolled just over 3,500 students. Vatterott College was initially founded in 1969 in St. Louis, MO as Urban Technical Centers, Inc.  It later operated as Vatterott & Sullivan Educational Center and Vatterott Educational Centers before adopting the name of Vatterott College in 1989.

Campus	City	State	Enrollment
Vatterott College-Appling Farms	Memphis	Tennessee	255
Vatterott College-Berkeley	Berkeley	Missouri	545
Vatterott College-Cleveland	Broadview Heights	Ohio	117
Vatterott College-Des Moines	Des Moines	Iowa	34
Vatterott College-Dividend	Memphis	Tennessee	689
Vatterott College-ex'treme Institute by Nelly	St. Louis	Missouri	245
Vatterott College-Fairview Heights	Fairview Heights	Illinois	238
Vatterott College-Joplin	Joplin	Missouri	140
Vatterott College-Kansas City	Kansas City	Missouri	260
Vatterott College-Oklahoma City	Warr Acres	Oklahoma	108
Vatterott College-Quincy	Quincy	Illinois	94
Vatterott College-Springfield	Springfield	Missouri	162
Vatterott College-St Charles	St Charles	Missouri	220
Vatterott College-Sunset Hills	Sunset Hills	Missouri	316
Vatterott College-Tulsa	Tulsa	Oklahoma	88
Vatterott College-Wichita	Wichita	Kansas	46
		Total	3,557

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

50th Anniversary for East Central College

East Central College in Union, MO is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1968 with the first classes in fall 1969.  It opened as East Central Junior College and changed its name to East Central College in 1979.

The 50th anniversary web page includes an event calendar and an historical timeline.

State Fair Community College Celebrates Anniversary

State Fair Community College in Sedalia, MO is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1968.    The anniversary page includes a list of activities scheduled during the 2018-2019 academic year.  A brief historical sketch is available on the college website that includes names of presidents who have served the institution,

Enrollment has grown to more than 13,758 students  and classes are offered online and through campuses in Sedalia, Boonville, Clinton, Eldon, the Lake of the Ozarks, Warsaw, and Whiteman Air Force Base.

The Sedalia Democrat published an article on the anniversary by Hope Lecchi, "A golden anniversary celebration for the community," that includes several historic photographs.

Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Open Museum

Interesting article in the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune, "Alumni salute fallen military school at museum dedication," with Tess Vrbin reporting on the opening of a museum in Lexington, MO devoted to the history of Wentworth Military Academy.  While Vrbin focused on WMA alumni and their activities after the school closed, she also incorporated details of history of Kemper Military School that was located in Boonville, MO and the Missouri Military Academy that is still operating successfully in Mexico, MO.  I enjoyed reading this context and particularly appreciated Vrbin's comments on what WMA alumni learned from the experiences of KMA alumni.

The Wentworth Military Academy Museum maintains a website where you can sign up for updates and learn more about their exhibits and the history of the institution.

You can read more about the WMA closing in another College History Garden post from April 8, 2017, Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, MO will Close.  The comments below the post include links to additional media coverage of the closure.

Another College History Garden post from December 11, 2011 focuses on Kemper Military School and College (MO)

Saint Louis University Bicentennial

Saint Louis University in Missouri is celebrating the bicentennial of its founding in 1818 as Saint Louis Academy and later, Saint Louis College.  You can visit the university web site for a variety of resources that include a timeline, an innovative app that can be downloaded for the SLU 200-Years-In-One Challenge where the broader SLU community is asked to complete 200 years of volunteer service or the equivalent of 1.75 million hours, bicentennial events, and information for ordering a bicentennial history, Always at the Frontier: Saint Louis University 1818-2018, written by Dolores Byrnes, with John Padberg, S.J. and John Waide.

Recognition for Pillars of the University at St. Louis University

St. Louis University erected a marker in honor of Jesuit Claude Heithaus, who delivered a fiery sermon at St. Francis Xavier College Church, which many credit for helping to end segregation at the school. I like the concept of honoring "pillars of the university" in this way.

Is anyone aware of another institution with a similar effort to recognize folks who played key roles on campus??  If you do, please consider posting information or a url linking to a web page as a comment below.

@JesuitsUCS passed along an image of a second marker recognizing longtime SLU faculty member, Walter Ong, S.J., who studied media ecology and the impact of writing on thought, arguing that different modes of language shape consciousness.

Remembering St. Vincent's College

Sharon K. Sanders authored a post for the Southeast Missourian, "Remembering St. Vincent's College grotto," based on three articles from the paper's archives previously published in the 1950s.

St. Vincent's College was founded in 1838 overlooking the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau, MO.
The college was an outgrowth of St. Mary's Seminary previously founded near Perryville, MO in 1819 and when St. Vincent's was founded, St. Mary's became a preparatory school. A fire in 1866 destroyed some of the building of St. Mary's and the school was moved to Cape Girardeau and absorbed by St. Vincent's.

Prior to the Civil War, most students at St. Vincent's came from the south and roughly 50% were from Louisiana each year. Enrollment from southern states declined after the war and in 1866-67 only three students were from Louisiana.

In 1893 the theology department moved to St. Louis and was renamed Kenrick Theological Seminary while the classical and commercial departments remained on the campus in Cape Girardeau. College enrollment remained a struggle and after 1910 the mission was changed with St. Vincent's serving as a college-preparatory high school until it closed in 1979. The grounds served as an evangelization center until they were purchased by Southeast Missouri State University. The university then moved its Earl and Margie Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts to what has been called the River Campus.

You can read more about the history St. Vincent's in a 1986 article for the Vincentian Heritage Journal, "Saint Vincent's College and Theological Education," by John E. Rybolt C.M., Ph.D.

The application for the National Register of Historic Places is also available online with more details on the property and history.