Pride points

Top students

For 10 consecutive years, the University of Missouri has welcomed a record-breaking enrollment with large increases in ethnically diverse, high-ability, out-of-state and low-income students. The current enrollment is 33,805 students from every Missouri county, every state and 120 countries.

MU is the No. 1 college choice for Missouri high school seniors. In fact, one-third of the state's college-bound high school graduates join the Mizzou family each year.

Mizzou Athletics ranked No. 3 in The Daily Beast’s 2011 list of top college sports programs that excel academically and had a record 81 percent Graduation Success Rate for 2010-11.

The 2011 freshman class boasts an average ACT score of 25.7, compared with the national average of 21.1 and the state average of 21.6. Twenty-five percent of MU freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes.

Mizzou has twice as many Bright Flight Scholars — students who score in the top three percent of all Missouri students taking the ACT or SAT — as any other college or university in the state. More valedictorians and Curators Scholars attend MU than any other Missouri institute of higher education.

MU graduate students perform many of the hands-on aspects of research and go on to top-level work throughout society. Mizzou’s 7,781 graduate and professional students make up 23 percent of the university’s enrollment.

MU’s Division I-A athletics program has more than 500 student-athletes in 20 sports, many ranked in the top 25 nationally.

MU retains 85 percent of its students for their sophomore year, higher than the national average of 78 percent and state average of 75.3 percent for four-year public institutions.

MU’s graduation rates far exceed national and state averages for four-year public institutions. The six-year rate for Mizzou is 68.9 percent compared to state (54.7 percent) and national (53.6 percent) rates, and it has increased substantially since 1997 when the rate was 57.7 percent.

MU students have high pass rates on licensing exams. Recently, 97.4 percent of law students passed the bar exam on the first try while 99 percent of teacher education students, 92 percent of nursing students and 100 percent of health professions students passed their national licensure and certification tests.

The quality of entering Mizzou freshmen continues to rise. The 2011 class boasts an average ACT score of 25.7, compared with the national average of 21.1 and state average of 21.6. Twenty-five percent of MU’s 6,138 freshmen come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes.

In fall 2011, student-athletes earned a collective 3.01 overall GPA for the first time in Mizzou history. During the previous academic year, 13 of MU’s sports achieved a team GPA above 3.0, and 342 individual student-athletes had a 3.0 GPA or higher.

Global university

Based on quality of teaching, research and scholarship, MU is one of only 34 public U.S. universities — and one of only two institutions in Missouri — invited to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU).

MU is one of only five universities nationwide with law, medicine, veterinary medicine and a nuclear research reactor on one campus.

Many states fund separate research and land-grant universities, but Missouri combines those roles at its flagship institution. MU is both a land-grant university with a statewide mission of service to citizens and Missouri’s largest public research university.

Classified with American universities that offer the most educational opportunities and highest level of instruction, MU is designated “Research University/Very High” and “Community Engaged” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Mizzou is one of only five universities nationwide with law, medicine, veterinary medicine and a nuclear research reactor on one campus.

MU has formal agreements with more than 200 universities and government agencies around the world and welcomes an estimated 1,000 international visiting scholars and researchers each year.

Many MU faculty, staff and students work around the globe to improve our quality of life. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed MU Chancellor Brady Deaton as chair of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, which advises the U.S. on how best to use university research to feed the hungry.

Economic power

MU is a $2 billion enterprise that accounts for 72 percent of the research dollars flowing to Missouri public universities, generating new knowledge and jobs to power the state and national economies.

Since 2007, Columbia has been listed in the top 10 “Best Small Places for Business and Careers” published annually by Forbes, one of many national media that consistently rank CoMo at the pinnacle of U.S. cities for an excellent quality of life.

MU boosts the economy by performing research, generating jobs, improving graduates’ earning potential, and creating and commercializing businesses.

MU plays an important role in preparing the work force. For example, more Missouri physicians receive medical training from MU than from any other university. Three-fourths of Missouri veterinarians earned their veterinary degrees at MU, and law school alumni practice in every Missouri county and serve at all levels of the state judiciary.

The heart of economic growth, MU’s research enterprise includes sponsored research, instruction and public service contracts and grants, and commercial services. During fiscal year 2010, university expenditures in these areas totaled $434.8 million.

In fiscal year 2010, MU received $9.5 million in licensing revenue and filed 67 U.S. patents. To date, companies that have licensed products invented by MU scientists have received about $1 billion in sales revenues.

The MU Life Science Business Incubator helps launch startup companies based on faculty and student innovations and also recruits young companies to Columbia to collaborate with MU researchers. For example, Shasun, an international pharmaceutical company based in India has joined MU nanomedicine experts in developing a cancer treatment that uses gold nanoparticle technology. Their new company, Shasun-NBI, is located at the incubator.

During fiscal years 2009-11, MU’s Extension Business Development Program generated $2.4 billion in economic impact for the Missouri economy, helping clients increase sales by $885 million, gain $978 million in government contracts and create 27,153 jobs.

Using $1.5 million a year in federal funds, MU Extension teaches families about nutrition and saves an estimated $13.1 million in future medical costs.

MU’s Biodesign and Innovation Program, the second of its kind in the nation, selects a physician, an engineer and a business professional and guides them through the medical invention process. Since 2007, the program has produced three new businesses and eight patents.

Since fiscal year 2008, MU has filed 278 U.S. patents and signed 204 options and licenses for new technologies developed at the university. This represents a six-fold increase in deals to commercialize faculty innovations compared to fiscal year 2004-07.

Mizzou’s licensing income from the commercialization of new technologies has reached more than $33 million in the past four years, an 87 percent increase compared to fiscal years 2004-07. To date, companies that have licensed products invented by MU scientists have received about $1 billion in sales revenues.

MU is a $2 billion enterprise that operates 24/7 and accounts for 72 percent of the research dollars flowing to Missouri’s public universities, generating new knowledge and jobs to power the state and national economies.

Every week Missouri’s economy benefits as MU brings in an average of $1.7 million in private donations and grants, spends almost $17 million on payroll and wins about $3 million in federal research awards.

Groundbreaking discoveries

MU is a national leader in confronting the challenges of autism and other developmental conditions through integrated research, training and services at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, the most comprehensive autism center in Missouri.

In 2011, James Birchler was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and Dr. Michael LeFevre to the Institute of Medicine, joining the world’s most distinguished scientists, physicians and researchers. They are two of six MU faculty members in the National Academies.

For decades, Mizzou plant scientists have paved the way for today’s sustainable agriculture and plant genomics. MU ranks third in the U.S. in funding from National Science Foundation plant research programs, employs more than 100 plant scientists and is a founding partner of the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.

Researchers at MU’s Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory performed the first surgeries to regenerate damaged tissue in dog knees. The procedure is now ready for human clinical trials.

MU has 17 research farms, research centers and forests, covering more than 14,500 acres.

MU’s inventors and creators share discoveries with students and link Missouri industry, agriculture, emerging businesses and innovative ideas. MU has about 3,500 active grants and contracts; faculty submit nearly 2,400 new project proposals each year.

More than 1,000 life scientists at MU are working to improve human and animal health, food and the environment. Mizzou ranks No. 8 in the nation and No. 15 in the world for the influence of its plant and animal sciences research from 1999 to 2009 (Thomson Reuters).

Interdisciplinary research is MU’s hallmark. Examples of first-rate collaborative environments include the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition, the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Health Activity Center.

MU operates one of five U.S. centers funded by the National Institutes of Health to lead interdisciplinary research on botanicals, part of a $25 billion dietary supplement industry.

Mizzou has the nation’s most powerful university research reactor and is the largest U.S. producer of radioisotopes for diagnosing and treating cancer.

Mizzou is home to some of the world’s best nanoscientists, who work with particles at the nearly unimaginable scale of one billionth of a meter.

MU has delivered the benefits of research for decades. MU faculty conducted landmark studies in crop rotation that led to advances in sustainable agriculture and developed Mo17, the basis for much of today’s hybrid corn; discovered aureomycin, the first tetracycline antibiotic, on MU’s Sanborn Field in 1948; performed the world’s first pediatric angioplasty to correct heart defects in babies; invented Therasphere® for liver cancer, Quadramet® for bone cancer pain and CeratecTM for brain imaging; developed transgenic pigs, some with organs that could one day be transplanted into humans, and others that produce omega-3 fatty acids to help scientists better understand heart disease; invented a photo-acoustic technique that can detect a single skin cancer cell in a blood sample; and improved the quality of life of arthritis sufferers by showing that regular exercise is the best treatment for the condition.

As the state’s major public research university, MU spends about $240 million annually on scientific research. The university also conducts more than 400 drug-development trials and is the nation’s largest supplier of radioisotopes for diagnosing and treating cancer.

MU orthopaedics is a global leader in the convergence of human and animal medicine that turns research discoveries at the molecular level into breakthrough treatments for patients who have injuries or arthritis.

MU’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital treats 16,000 animal patients annually, a service that also benefits humans. The One Health/One Medicine area at Mizzou expands groundbreaking collaborations between veterinarians and physicians to understand and conquer diseases.

In 2011, MU received the $3.4 million Coulter Translational Research Partnership designation, reflecting prowess in advancing biomedical innovations that benefit patients.

History, tradition and spirit

MU’s founding in 1839 as the first public university in Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase territory started a long tradition of firsts. Mizzou has the world’s first School of Journalism (founded in 1908), Missouri’s first and only College of Veterinary Medicine (founded in 1946), the first engineering program west of the Mississippi River (founded in 1849) and that nation’s first College of Education at a public university (founded in 1868).

The Tiger, MU’s mascot since about 1890, comes from the nickname of a group of Columbians who protected the town during the Civil War. Now, Mizzou Tigers are protecting wild tigers through partnerships with the Saint Louis Zoo, the Kansas City Zoo and the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo.

The Mizzou Alumni Association sponsors one of America's oldest and largest Homecoming events. MU celebrated the 100th year of this honored tradition in 2011.

MU engineering students in 1903 were the first to call St. Patrick the patron saint of engineers, launching a popular annual celebration.

In honor of MU’s fallen soldiers, people whisper when walking through the Memorial Union archway; tradition calls for men to tip their hats.

The MU campus features numerous treasures, including six ionic Columns in the center of Francis Quadrangle and the original cornerstone from MU’s first building, Academic Hall, destroyed by fire in 1892; 18 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places; 600-year-old Chinese stone lions; a bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson’s original tombstone; the Joy of Discovery, a four-story suspended sculpture in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center; a bronze Bengal tiger statue and fountain on Tiger Plaza; Sanborn Field, the site of landmark crop studies; and electric dynamos and incandescent lamps from Thomas Edison at the College of Engineering.

One-of-a-kind education

As Missouri’s flagship university, MU has 19 schools and colleges and more than 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their career and personal goals.

MU’s nationally prominent faculty scholars and scientists bring discoveries into the classroom, publish more than 1,500 books and scholarly articles each year, and attract multi-million-dollar research grants that bring new money and jobs to the state. They also lead international organizations, are inducted as research fellows in professional organizations, serve as editors of important journals and win major honors.

MU’s General Education Program is designed to give students the skills they need to become informed citizens and find solutions for complex problems beyond their academic fields. Mizzou’s research and professional schools take the program beyond what liberal-arts colleges can provide.

MU offers students unmatched real-world experiences, including managing a bed and breakfast (The Gathering Place) operating a floral shop (Tiger Garden), preparing income taxes for families, representing domestic violence victims in court, providing health care, working at the country’s only university-owned TV network affiliate (KOMU), performing at Carnegie Hall and co-authoring articles in leading scientific journals. Mizzou students also hold patents and help create startup companies.

For more than a decade, U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” has listed Mizzou’s Campus Writing Program and Residential Life learning communities as excellent programs that lead to student success.

Annually hundreds of undergraduate students participate in formal research, and many others engage in research for pay or academic credit. MU has 14 major undergraduate research programs funded by the university and by external grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and others. MU also has seven summer undergraduate research programs for students from other institutions.

The MU Office of Service Learning formally integrates community service into student instruction and learning. In 2011, 3,841 undergraduates volunteered 150,000 hours for 290 community and government partners through 250 courses. In fact, the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation named Mizzou a 2009 Honor Institution for encouraging students to pursue careers in public service.

About 25 percent of MU students come from another state or another country, and a strong international community thrives in Columbia. At the same time Mizzou sends more students to study abroad than any other college or university in Missouri. Currently 1,200 students participate, and 22.8 percent of graduating seniors have earned credit toward their degrees abroad. MU offers more than 400 programs in 58 countries. A new program allows students to complete a service activity while studying overseas.

MU’s Honors College combines the advantages of a small liberal arts college and a major research university.

Mizzou offers many strong programs on its 1,250-acre campus. Some courses in the sciences are taught in collaboration with MU’s medical school, and humanities classes include such areas as music composition and creative writing, in which students frequently win national awards.

MU students participate in annual campus competitions, including one for freshman-created short films, another for music composers and one where journalism, business and engineering students invent mobile communication applications.

Eighty percent of MU students participate in campus activities, including more than 700 student organizations and the 1,000 educational, social and cultural programs offered annually.

Solutions for a better life

MU’s nationally recognized power plant is a real-world laboratory for researchers and students. In 2012 the plant will unveil a new boiler that runs only on biomass, including Missouri-grown corncobs and switch grass.

The Missouri Taxpayer Education program at MU helped 3,833 households receive $4.3 million in 2010 income tax refunds and saved taxpayers about $766,000 in tax preparation fees.

Every year more than 1 million people turn to MU Extension programs to improve their lives, communities and economies. And MU’s statewide health system treats patients from every Missouri county, educates future health professionals, conducts life-saving research and provides policy expertise.

The MU Health System is one of the most comprehensive health care networks in Missouri. In fiscal year 2011, staff handled 540,835 clinic visits and 22,011 inpatient admissions, performed 21,281 surgeries and delivered 1,634 babies. The system also educated 4,680 students, residents and fellows via the School of Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and the School of Health Professions.

MU Extension delivers research-based educational programs to meet specific needs of local residents in Missouri’s 114 counties, including both rural and urban communities. For example, in fiscal year 2011, Human Environmental Sciences faculty secured $11 million in federal, state and private grants and contracts to reach 500,000 Missourians with housing, personal finance, nutrition and health information.

One in four Missouri youth ages 5 to 18 gains critical life skills through MU Extension 4-H school enrichment programs. Recent studies show that girls who are active in 4-H have a greater likelihood of choosing science-related careers, which is critical to America’s economic future.

MU’s Community Emergency Management Program has teams throughout the Missouri that provide training and education in disaster readiness, mitigation and recovery. In fiscal year 2011, the Fire and Rescue Training Institute provided 15,173 firefighters and emergency responders with hands-on instruction in firefighting, rescue and hazardous materials while the Law Enforcement Training Institute taught 504 public safety professionals from 46 counties about firearms, domestic violence, racial profiling and more.

Faculty and students at MU centers and institutes analyze and make contributions to state and national public policy. Examples include the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, the Institute of Public Policy, the Rural Policy Research Institute and the Economic and Policy Analysis Research Center.

MU’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory conducts more than 200,000 diagnostic tests annually to help determine the cause of death and disease in animals. The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital treats 16,000 animal patients annually.

Mizzou has won many international, national and state awards for innovations in energy management. In 2010 MU received an Energy Star CHP Award from the Environmental Protection Agency for significant pollution reduction and energy efficiency.

In fiscal year 2011 MU recycled 2,498 tons of waste, up from 1,869 tons in 2007. Recycling efforts include the annual Tiger Treasures sale of items donated by students and Tiger Tailgate Recycling, a program that encourages fans at home football games to recycle. Both programs diverted 39 tons of waste from the landfill last year.

Mizzou’s student-run Homecoming Blood Drive, now in its 25th year, anchors a campus blood donation effort that nets about 8,400 units a year, making it one of the top three college-based programs nationwide.

MU Extension saves farmers millions of dollars each year. For example, the Missouri Beef Project, a new agricultural extension program based on research findings from MU’s Thompson Research Center, offers the potential to increase the value of steer calves by $100 per beef cow per year. This represents $200 million of added value annually for Missouri beef producers.

The MU Environmental Assistance Center has a pollution prevention internship program funded by the Environmental Protection Agency that trains engineering students to help businesses and industries reduce energy, cut waste and conserve water. The companies that have participated in the program are jointly saving about $1 million per year.

Supportive environment

In fiscal year 2011, alumni and friends made 52,992 gifts to MU totaling $49.8 million. Of these, 40,777 were gifts of $250 or less.

Four out of five Mizzou students receive some form of financial aid. In fiscal year 2011, MU provided $100 million in student aid from its own budget, including scholarships, grants, graduate tuition and fee waivers (does not include loans). Mizzou spends an additional $51.8 million on student employment.

Almost 2,000 MU students participate in more than 100 small groups called Freshman Interest Groups, or FIGs. They live in the same residence hall and attend classes together, resulting in higher rates of retention and graduation.

Named a veteran-friendly school by G.I. Jobs and Military Times EDGE, MU was the first of three institutions in the country to open a full-service center for veterans and their dependents.

The Mizzou Botanic Garden covers the campus landscape with 42,000 plants and trees, 11 thematic plots, three tree trails and seven special plant collections. It is an important outdoor laboratory for 10 academic programs.

MU’s library collection is Missouri’s largest. Ellis, University Archives and eight specialized libraries hold 3.6 million volumes, 8.1 million microforms, 1.7 million government documents and 45,438 journal subscriptions.

MU’s Museum of Art and Archaeology holds the state’s third most-extensive art collection and hosts 30,000 visitors annually. It is among the 4.5 percent of 17,500 U.S. museums accredited through the American Association of Museums

Eighty percent of MU students participate in campus activities, including more than 650 student organizations and the 1,000 educational, social and cultural programs offered annually. Many of these activities take place in Mizzou’s new $64 million Student Center.

The Mizzou Student Recreation Complex is one of the 10 largest facilities of its kind in the country. It includes a 50-meter competitive pool and diving well, a club pool with a 17-by-9-foot TV, a high-tech fitness club, a heavy-lifting gym and a new climbing and bouldering wall.

MU’s Museum of Anthropology has 5,000 annual visitors, 80 million artifacts and the world’s largest archery collection. It is the only anthropology museum in Missouri.

MU’s Wellness Resource Center provides more than 200 ongoing student activities and events in such areas as nutrition, self-esteem, stress reduction, alcohol and other drug abuse, eating disorders, smoking, and more. Mizzou has received awards from the U.S. Department of Education, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues and the National BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network for having one of the top prevention programs in the country.

MU has offered distance education for more than 100 years. In 2010-11, Mizzou offered 57 online degree options and more than 550 online courses. The university’s 8,385 online learners comprised 37 percent of master’s degree enrollments, 76 percent of education specialist enrollments and 6 percent of doctoral enrollments.

Mizzou Advantage

MU is one of only five universities nationwide with law, medicine, veterinary medicine and a nuclear research reactor on one campus.

The Mizzou Advantage program reflects MU’s major strengths and collaborative culture in four interdisciplinary areas: Food for the Future, Sustainable Energy, Media of the Future and One Health/One Medicine.

Researchers at MU’s Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory performed the first surgeries to regenerate damaged tissue in dog knees. The procedure is now ready for human clinical trials.

MU has 17 research farms, research centers and forests, covering more than 14,500 acres.

Mizzou researchers are creating healthy new food products, including a soy chicken substitute and ice cream with nutrients, such as fiber, antioxidants and pro-biotics.

As of 2011, 17 members of MU’s Interdisciplinary Plant Group have been named fellows to the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science. The group brings together scientists in molecular biology, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology, evolution, ecology and computer science to produce innovative research on plant biology.

Founded by Mizzou alumni, the online video news agency Newsy.com gives journalism students the chance to monitor, analyze and present the world’s news coverage while learning anchoring and video-editing skills.

The Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects (PRIME) Lab studies how audiences mentally process media content and evaluates the effectiveness of media messaging across multiple platforms.

The Reynolds Journalism Institute is home to MU’s Futures Lab, a real-world testing venue for new journalism and advertising methods and technologies. The lab offers students, faculty and visitors prototype journalism innovations for delivery to media audiences.

MU’s Biodesign and Innovation Program, a collaborative effort between the College of Engineering and the School of Medicine, provides fellowships for projects that connect surgeons and biological engineers with entrepreneurs and angel investors, enabling scientists to invent and market new medical technologies.

Since its inception in 2009, Mizzou’s Interdisciplinary Innovations Fund has awarded over $400,000 in grants to support student-centered, interdisciplinary projects that use information technology to develop innovative approaches to teaching, research and service.

Founded in 2001, the University of Missouri Digital Library provides a repository for digitized items. More than 20 text collections and 23 image collections have been added, including collections from 15 libraries in Missouri.