MU Media Coverage

  • April 14, 2019 — Rude Awakenings: Invisible chains hang on our iconic columns. Source: Columbia Daily Tribune. Summary: An article noting the African-American history that goes unnoticed. For example, the columns left standing in the Quadrangle of the University of Missouri are from a building built in 1839, most likely using enslaved labor. The article notes that in 1830 nearly a quarter of the Boone County population were slaves. The article calls for making sure the history of blacks is not ignored during the bicentennial celebrations.
  • Winter 2019 — Marking 50 Years. PDF copy. Source: MIZZOU magazine. Summary: The Legion of Black Collegians is celebrating 50 years. The article notes mile markers such as the launch of the LBC, the first formal student organization focused on the black student population, 1969 the creation of the Black Studies Program, the 1974 successful advocation for the removal of Confederate Rock from campus, the 1990 sit-in to get Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday recognized as a holiday, 2013 change of the Black Studies Program into the Black Studies Department, LBC students and others form Concerned Student 1950 to demand policy changes to shift the culture at MU, 2018 the UM System pledges $8.5 million for the Missouri Compact for Inclusive Excellence, and in 2018, MU dedicates building or spaces to Lucile Bluford, George C. Brooks and Gus T. Ridgel. Note: The copy of this article is republished here with permission from MIZZOU magazine.
  • Winter 2019 — Old Field, New Ideas. Source: MIZZOU magazine. Summary: Sanborn Field, established in 1888, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964. It was named after J.W. Sanborn, director of the Missouri Agricultural Experimental Station. In 1948, William A. Albrecht found streptomyces aureofaciens there which became the basis for Aureomycin, an antibiotic widely prescribed from the 1940s to the 1980s. The Smithsonian Institute has a sample of the Sanborn soil. The copy of this article is republished here with permission from Mizzou Magazine.
  • Oct. 23, 2018 — MU recognizes civil rights trailblazers at residence hall dedication. Source: KBIA. Summary: MU named a residence hall after African American trailblazers George C. Brooks and Lucile Bluford and atrium for Gus T. Ridgel. Bluford was denied admission to MU’s School of Journalism graduate program, in the 1940s. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1989. Brooks was MU’s first African American administrator; he was the financial aid director for 17 years. Ridgel was the first African-American student at MU to earn a graduate degree.
  • Oct. 19, 2018 — Photo Gallery: MU dedicates Bluford Hall. Source: Columbia Missourian. Photo coverage of the dedication of the MU buildings for African Americans Lucile Bluford, George C. Brooks and Gus T. Ridgel.
  • July 16, 2018 — Unsafe pin oaks come down on the MU quad, Columbia Missourian. Summary: Five pin oaks are being removed. The clay soil of MU’s Frances Quadrangle limited their lifespan.
  • July 16, 2018 — Pin oak tree removal will begin on historic Francis Quadrangle this week. Source: MU News Bureau. Summary: Five, 60-year-old pin oaks will be removed. Replacing the trees will be funded by “The Legacy Oaks of the Francis Quadrangle.” The trees will be replaced with native white oaks.
  • July 16, 2018 — MU starts removal of aging oaks from Francis Quadrangle. Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune. Summary: “Age, soil conditions and overwatering have taken a toll,” on the oaks, according to this article.
  • May 28, 2018 — Columbia Cemetery comes alive for Memorial Day, KOMU.com. Summary: Re-enactors at Columbia’s oldest cemetery portrayed historical figures buried there including James L. Stephens, Victor Barth, Richard Henry Jesse, Mary Paxton Keeley, John Lange Sr., Robert Beverly Price and Brig. Gen. Oden Guitar. The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Historic Columbia Cemetery.
  • May 28, 2018 — Columbia residents learn when History Comes Alive, Columbia Missourian. Summary: Hundreds attended the second annual History Comes Alive event at the Columbia Cemetery.
  • Feb. 2, 2018 — New dorm to honor Lucile Bluford’s legacy, Columbia Missourian. Summary: MU will name a residence hall for African American journalist Lucile Bluford. The atrium of the building will be named after Gus T. Ridgel, the first African American to graduate from MU. Bluford attempted to attend MU School of Journalism graduate program but was turned down due to her race. She continued to fight that decision in court until MU closed it’s journalism graduate program in 1941 after the state Supreme Court ruled in her favor according to the State Historical Society of Missouri’s website. The School said it was due to lack of enrollment due to World War II.
  • Oct. 26, 2017 — Plotting out a century of changes, Columbia Missourian. Summary: A map of MU from 1914-1915 when MU had 3,839 students versus its current enrollment of 30,000. Highlights what’s still there and what’s missing including where MU Health is now. The coverage includes a map from 1914.

2016

  • Oct. 26, 2016 — Flashback, MU Research Reactor by Grace Vance, photo by Grace Vance. Summary: Built in 1966, the MU Research Reactor or MURR cost $4.2 million to build. In 1974, its operation was upgrades to 10 megawatts. It was expanded in 2002 and 2006. The Nobel Prize winner Dr. Glenn Seaborg spoke at its dedication, the article notes, quoting him as saying it would provide students, professors, scientists and engineers with opportunities. The article states that as of 2012 MURR employed 400 faculty and 150 graduate students and as of 2007 it had produced 41 different isotopes.

2015

  • June 2015 — Flashback, University of Missouri Research Reactor, or MURR, by Sarah Redohl, photos by Ben Meldrum, June 2015.

    Flashback, University of Missouri Research Reactor, or MURR, by Sarah Redohl, photos by Ben Meldrum, June 2015. Used with permission from the Columbia Business Times.
    Flashback, University of Missouri Research Reactor, or MURR, by Sarah Redohl, photos by Ben Meldrum, June 2015. Used with permission from the Columbia Business Times.

2014

  • August 2014 — Flashback: Brady Commons, Columbia Business Times. Summary: Brady Commons was the former student center. Opened in 1963, it was named for MU dean and history professor Thomas Allan Brady. According to this article in the Columbia Business Times, which quotes a Missouri Alumnus newsletter, it featured “innovations including color televisions, downstairs bowling alleys and a listening room in which students could play records.” The previous building that served the purpose of student center was the Memorial Student Union, which was built in 1921. But when MU’s student body increased to 15,000, MU “conferred with architectural firm Jamieson, Spearl, Hammond and Grolock and son had blueprints for the future Brady Commons,” the article states. Brady Commons was renovated in 1981 and a bookstore expansion took place in 1997, the article states.  The current student center opened in 2010 is simply known as the MU Student Center. The article notes the name Brady “attracted controversy in 2006 when a student group called Not My Brady called for it to be removed. According to this group, the building’s original namesake had been instrumental in enforcing segregationist and anti-gay policies over the course of his 37-year career at the university.”

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