Missouri Valley College

Missouri Valley College was founded in 1889. The history of Missouri Valley College began during a conference at Sarcoxie, Missouri , on October 27, 1874, where the representatives of the several Presbyterian synods in the state of Missouri met to discuss founding the school. The school is affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church . The college's original building, Old Main or Baity Hall (Old Main was renamed to honor the Rev. Dr. George P. Baity, an early graduate and president of the Board of Trustees from 1918 to 1947) was built in 1889 as a sprawling three-storey brick building with towers, turrets, gables, and Gothic adornments in the Victorian style of the era. It housed all functions of the college: classrooms, offices, gymnasiums for men and women, a chapel, dining hall, library, museum, dorms, and laboratories. Still presiding over the campus today, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places . The Victorian era building is notable for its wooden staircase, vaulted wooden ceilings and stained glass windows located throughout the building, most notably on the third floor. A large room on the south wing's third floor is cruciform in shape with glass windows and vaulted wooden ceilings, it has served as a chapel and gymnasium. Renovated in the summer of 2002, it now serves a "student success" or "Learning Center". In 1890, students planted 1,200 evergreen and deciduous trees on the campus. The arboretum has specimens of many species, including ginkgo biloba trees, American chestnuts , a sycamore, and the state's largest catalpa tree, which stands 89 feet high and 215 inches around with a crown spread of 65 feet. [ citation needed ] Presidents William H. Black, 1890–1926 George H. Mack, 1927–1938 Thomas H. Bibb, 1938–1943 J. Ray Cable, 1944–1948 Harold Roe Bartle , 1948–1950 M. Earle Collins, 1951–1968 W. L. Tompkins, 1968–1974 Donald C. Ziemke, 1975–1979 Robert J. Glass, 1979–1983 Earl J.

Reeves, 1983–1994 J. Kenneth Bryant, 1994–2001 Chadwick B. Freeman, 2001–2004 Bonnie L. Humphrey, 2005–2023 Joseph A. Parisi, 2023-Present

From 1945 to 1952, Harold Roe Bartle served as president of Missouri Valley. [ 4 ] In 1948 Bartle founded and contributed $100,000 toward establishing the American Humanics Foundation, [ 5 ] now the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, a philanthropic organization intended to prepare young people for careers in professional youth leadership in such organizations as the Boy Scouts , Camp Fire Girls , and the YWCA . [ 6 ] As of 2018, the Alliance had programs at more than 40 college campuses, where students could earn the Certified Nonprofit Leadership credential. [ 7 ] Harold Roe Bartle , later served as mayor of Kansas City, Missouri , and is namesake of Bartle Hall . George Miller was also instrumental in the founding of the AHF.

The college has over 25 majors. Recently added are a nursing program, the college's first master's degree in community counseling , and various online courses.