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Dates in Northwest History


September

Day Year Event
Sept. 1 1909 The Board of Regents elected Henry Kirby Taylor as the Normal School's third president in a span of three years, but his predecessor, Homer Martien Cook, refused to relinquish the office, resulting in the institution having two presidents for the next four months.
Sept. 1 1920 The College took over the Maryville Conservatory of Music and its equipment and began offering courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree.
Sept. 1 1924 The Newman Club, which was established two years earlier at the school, opened a house on Third Street.
Sept. 1  1929 Henry Iba – who went on to sustained success with Oklahoma State University, coached the U.S. Olympic basketball team to two gold medals and is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – came to coach at Northwest; his 1932 Bearcat basketball team finished second in the nation.
Sept. 1  1932 Donald Valk joined the industrial arts faculty; the Baptist Student Union was formed.
Sept. 1  1940 The College High School moved to the Horace Mann building.
Sept. 1  1947 Mabel Cook joined the faculty for home economics.
Sept. 1 1949 The school officially became Northwest Missouri State College after the Board of Regents voted in July to change its name from Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College.
Sept. 1 1951 The music department completed a move to its new quarters on the fourth floor of the Administration Building, and the fine arts department was temporarily located on the building's second floor after 40 years on the fourth floor.
Sept. 1 1952 Sororities began renting chapter rooms in the basement of Residence Hall.
Sept. 1 2015 Northwest celebrated the grand opening of its School of Health Science and Wellness at Martindale Hall. The new school was designed with a multi-disciplinary structure to help the University strengthen health and wellness programming by consolidating existing programs and adding new and innovative programming that mapped to regional and national needs.
Sept. 4 2019 The Northwest community gathered to celebrate the completion of a new farm manager’s house at its R.T. Wright Farm. The 1,300-square-foot home was constructed in partnership with the Maryville R-II School District’s Northwest Technical School and its building trades program.
Sept. 5 1928 Chloe Millikan and Nell Martindale joined the faculty.
Sept. 5 1935 The College's first Scoop Dance occurred.
Sept. 5 1935 W.P.A. projects approved by the Board of Regents included graveling the roads, remodeling the industrial arts building, painting inside the Administration Building and work on the right-of-way north of the College farm.
Sept. 5 1945 Faculty voted to change the period between classes from five minutes to 10 minutes.
Sept. 5 2007 University President Dean Hubbard cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the Northwest St. Joseph Center in downtown St. Joseph. 
Sept. 5 2012 University President John Jasinski flew with the Blue Angels as one of three “key influencers” selected for the flight and representing the higher education sector.
Sept. 6 1929 The college opened a kindergarten under Chloe Millikan.
Sept. 6 1984 Northwest became a "dry" campus.
Sept. 7 1906 The Board of Regents adopted plans presented by J.H. Felt & Co., Architects, of Kansas City, to construct the Academic Hall, which is known today as the Administration Building, as well as the heating and power house, and for landscaping on the campus.
Sept. 7 1973 Alan Peterson, a 1970 graduate, married LaRay Carlson under the Memorial Bell Tower, the first such ceremony conducted at the site, which had been completed two years earlier.
Sept. 8 1952 The semester system went into effect.
Sept. 8 1995 Northwest President Dr. Dean Hubbard presided over a ceremony renaming the University’s rodeo facility to the Edward Phillips Memorial Arena. Phillips, who was advisor of the Rodeo Club, died suddenly Aug. 23.
Sept. 9 1991 Warrant, one of the year's hottest rock bands, performed in Lamkin Gymnasium for a crowd of nearly 3,000 students and residents. Approximately 115 people were treated for heat exhaustion and minor injuries amid the muggy heat of the late summer night.
Sept. 9 2009 Gov. Jay Nixon spoke at dedication ceremonies for Northwest's new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, known today as the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation.
Sept. 10 1950 Family-style meal service resumed at Residence Hall after a long period of cafeteria service only.
Sept. 10 2005 The centennial sculpture, located on the east plaza of the J.W. Jones Student Union was unveiled. Installed during the summer, the bronze sculpture created by Georgia artist Gregory Johnson depicts two students -- one from 1905 and one from 2005 -- studying on a bench.
Sept. 10 2020 Northwest paid tribute to the firefighters and other emergency workers who perished in the 9/11 attacks on the United States during its inaugural stair climb event at Bearcat Stadium.
Sept. 11 1928 The College's first Freshman Orientation class met.
Sept. 11 1993 Ellen DeGeneres performed her standup comedy act at Northwest.
Sept. 11 2001 After terrorist attacks on the United States rocked the campus community and world earlier in the day, students, faculty and staff gathered that evening under the Memorial Bell Tower to comfort each other and hear President Dean Hubbard address the impacts.
Sept. 12 1905 The Board of Regents of the Fifth District Normal School met for the first time.
Sept. 12 1922 The Newman Club was organized.
Sept. 12 1923 Miss Beatrix Winn of the English department sailed for Europe for a year of study at the University of London.
Sept. 12 1967 The Maryville Chamber of Commerce sponsored its second annual "Night on the Town" to acquaint students and faculty with the city's merchants.
Sept. 12 2017 U.S. News and World Report released its list of “2018 Best Colleges,” which ranked Northwest No. 21 among top public regional universities in the Midwest and placed it as the top moderately selective regional university in Missouri for third time in four years.
Sept. 14 1921 New President Uel Lamkin read the First Psalm at the opening fall assembly, a custom he continued at the first fall assembly throughout his presidency.
Sept. 14 1953 French is introduced in kindergarten, and Spanish is taught in the fourth grade at Horace Mann School.
Sept. 14 2011 In celebration of a remodel of the B.D. Owens Library, the campus community gathered for a grand re-opening of the building with President Emeritus Dr. B.D. Owens and former first lady Sue Owens in attendance.
Sept. 15 1945 The World War II Honor Roll was placed on the second floor of the Administration Building. It is displayed today in Veterans Commons on the top floor of Valk Center.
Sept. 15 1954 The College counts 72 student teachers at Horace Mann Laboratory School, including Alice Glynos, a student from France who taught French to kindergartners.
Sept. 15 1974 The Bearcat Marching Band, along with the Bearcat Steppers and flag bearers, performed its program, "Prescription for an Energy Crisis," at St. Louis's Busch Stadium during a NFL game between the Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles.
Sept. 16 1907 A Normal School football practice was organized.
Sept. 16 1940 The Board of Regents accepted President Uel Lamkin's recommendation that the College join the majority of the other Missouri teachers colleges in asking the General Assembly to change state laws to make it possible for them to become known as State Colleges rather than State Teachers Colleges. (The college's name was not changed until 1949.)
Sept. 16 1956 President Emeritus Uel Lamkin, who headed Northwest from 1921 to 1945, passed away in his home.
Sept. 16 1977 Lamkin Gymnasium rocked as couples twisted the night away amid '50s and '60s nostalgia while Flash Cadillac and Continental Kids performed.
Sept. 16 2018 Northwest commemorated the 25th anniversary of its designation as the state of Missouri’s official arboretum by planting a golden rain tree outside the south entrance of the Garrett-Strong Science Building.
Sept. 17 1923 The Board of Regents authorized efforts to sell all of the school's land south of Fourth Street.
Sept. 17 1925 The tradition of green beanies for freshmen began.
Sept. 17 1945 The Board of Regents accepted the resignation of President Uel Lamkin to take effect Dec. 1 and named the dean, Dr. J.W. Jones, to succeed him as president.
Sept. 17 2021 The Bearcat volleyball team played its home opener in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse, the first of five matches played in the facility that fall while Bearcat Arena's roof underwent repairs.
Sept. 18 1971 Four busses transported fans to the first Bearcat football game of the season at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The cost for the bus trip was $2 per person.
Sept. 18 1996 The Board of Regents approved funding of $500,000 to construct a student health center.
Sept. 19 1917 A release by Uel W. Lamkin, the state superintendent of schools and future Northwest president, reported Maryville was the only one of the state's five normal schools showing an increase.
Sept. 19 1948 The first wedding of College faculty children occurred as Mary Garrett and Jack Dieterich were married.
Sept. 19 1996 Mainstream rock band REO Speedwagon performed at Bearcat Arena as part of the Encore performance series. 
Sept. 19 2010 Northwest's new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, known today as the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation, was recognized with the 2010 Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture from the Kansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Sept. 19 2011 Dr. Jon Rickman, Northwest’s vice president of information systems and the father of the University’s “electronic campus,” announced his plan to retire at the end of calendar year after 35 years at the University.
Sept. 19 2013 Northwest hosted a grand-opening event to celebrate a major transformation of its Campus Dining facilities, which included a new all-you-care to-eat menu in the remodeled Bearcat Commons and a suite of retail dining choices consisting of Einstein Bros. Bagels, Chick-fil-A and Zen Asian cuisine as well as a Starbucks in the B.D. Owens Library.
Sept. 20 1909 Emmett Scott was employed to coach football.
Sept. 20 1948 The Board of Regents approved a program for teaching training for vocational home economics.
Sept. 20 1962 The new Ballroom in the redesigned J.W Jones Student Union was used for the first time during the faculty reception for freshmen.
Sept. 20 2002 Although some of the honors were bestowed on alumni during commencement ceremonies in previous years, the first formal Northwest Alumni Association Awards ceremony recognized six distinguished alumni and faculty.
Sept. 20 2014 Northwest celebrated the renaming of its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in honor of President Emeritus Dr. Dean L. Hubbard.
Sept. 21 1920 Nell Hudson became secretary to President Ira Richardson.
Sept. 22 1926 An era during which literary societies were the dominant student organizations on campus ended as the Philomathean Literary Society voted to suspend meetings, the Eurekans signed "Finis" to their secretary's book and the Excelsiors disbanded.
Sept. 22 1943 The College newspaper began delivery to all servicemen and women who had been students, if their addresses were known.
Sept. 22 1988 The annual Variety Show started Northwest’s earlier-than-usual Homecoming activities, causing extra stress for organizations to prepare.
Sept. 23 1978 More than 1,800 family members of Northwest students visited the campus as the University reintroduced Parents' Day, a tradition that had been absent for many years.
Sept. 23 2020 Northwest launched its inaugural Bearcat Day of Green, a 24-hour giving event that spanned two days. Donors gave nearly $200,000 in support of a variety of Northwest programs and initiatives during campaign.
Sept. 24 1908 Work on the Administration Building was halted because of a lack of funds.
Sept. 24 2015 The Community Blood Center recognized Northwest and its Student Senate for their outstanding commitment to supporting blood donation in the region. Northwest totaled a record-breaking 745 units of blood during its 2014-2015 academic year blood drives.
Sept. 25 2009 The David "DC" Colt Athletic Training Room was unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Lamkin Activity Center and renamed after the Bearcats' head athletic trainer for 27 years.
Sept. 25 2012 “Remember the Titans” coach Herman Boone spoke at the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom as part of the Student Activities Council’s “SAC Speaks” lecture series.
Sept. 25 2018 Career Services hosted its first “Speed Networking,” an event designed to be fun, fast and give students an opportunity to try making a strong first impression with employers.
Sept. 25 2019 Northwest announced John Coffey, the long-time news director and “Voice of the Bearcats,” as the station manager of KXCV-KRNW. Coffey, also an alumnus of the University, succeeded Rodney Harris, who died unexpectedly in June.
Sept. 26 2014 Students took to Northwest's new cricket pitch at the southwest corner of the campus, near the intersection of Fourth Street and Icon Road for the first time, and the Indian Student Association organized an cricket tournament during the weekend.
Sept. 26 2020 Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the show went on as Theatre Northwest livestreamed its 30th annual Freshman/Transfer Showcase, “An Uncommon Evening: One Acts of Wendy Wasserstein.” Actors wore masks and a limited, invite-only audience was allowed inside the Studio Theater.
Sept. 27 1926 The student newspaper, which had been known as the Green and White Courier, published its first issue of the academic year under a different name, The Northwest Missourian.
Sept. 28 1907 A contract was signed with D.E. Marshall and Company of Kansas City to construct the Administration Building and heating plant at a cost of $203,464.
Sept. 28 1910 The last chapel exercise took place in the Seminary Building prior to the college's move to the Administration Building.
Sept. 28 1922 The first Student Council meeting took place with Jason Kemp as president.
Sept. 28 2012 G.I. Jobs magazine names Northwest a Military Friendly School for 2013 in recognition of the University's commitment to recruiting military students. 
Sept. 29 1910 The Fifth District Normal School began moving into the Administration Building.
Sept. 29 2020 Northwest received notification from the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division of its $1.6 million grant award, allowing the University to open a childcare center for children from 6 weeks to 3 years of age in the Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families.
Sept. 30 2009 New Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski and women's basketball head coach Gene Steinmeyer competed with other local personalities for the "Hottest Guy in Maryville" title, a hot-wings-eating contest sponsored by Maryville radio station KNIM 97.1 FM.