The University of Missouri-Kansas City was spawned by a city built at the origin of the Oregon and Santa Fe trails. These roadways to the west began at Old Westport, just a few miles from the present UMKC campus.

As Kansas City grew in the 1890s, there was talk of founding a university; but it was not until the 1920s that talk turned to action. Plans were being formulated for a denominational university, but proponents of a non-political, non-sectarian institution began their own undertaking.

By 1929, the University of Kansas City was chartered; and the UKC Board of Trustees started in earnest on a citywide drive for funds. Raising a large endowment in the middle of the Great Depression seemed impossible, but the board persisted.

William Volker, a local philanthropist for whom the 93-acre Volker campus is named, donated 40 acres in Kansas City's Rockhill district. Volker also provided funds to purchase the former home of Walter S. Dickey, a Kansas City manufacturer. The ivy-covered stone mansion, now known as Scofield Hall and situated in the center of the campus, was the fledgling university's first main building. 

In 1933, the University of Kansas City announced that classes would begin in October if at least 125 qualified students enrolled.  Seventeen instructors were hired, and on Oct. 2, 1933, 264 students entered the University of Kansas City.

The Dickey mansion, renamed the Administration Building, housed all classrooms, the library, a cafeteria, and the business and administrative offices. Just two years of coursework were offered at first, but soon third and fourth years of classes were added. A geology-physics building was added in 1935, and the University Library in 1936.  Duncan Spaeth, president-elect, gave the first commencement address On June 9, 1936, to 80 graduates and guests.

Several existing professional schools joined the University’s College of Arts and Sciences:

Kansas City School of Law, 1938 - http://www.law.umkc.edu/

Kansas City-Western Dental College, 1941- http://dentistry.umkc.edu/

Kansas City College of Pharmacy, 1943 - http://pharmacy.umkc.edu/

Conservatory of Music, 1959 - http://conservatory.umkc.edu/

Other divisions and departments were established later:

School of Education - http://education.umkc.edu/

School of Medicine - http://www.med.umkc.edu/

Continuing Education - http://www.umkc.edu/ce

School of Nursing - http://nursing.umkc.edu/

School of Biological Sciences - http://sbs.umkc.edu/

School of Computing and Engineering - http://www.sce.umkc.edu/

Administration and Business Schools were merged, and in 1986 became the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration - http://www.bloch.umkc.edu/index.aspx.

On July 25, 1963, The University of Kansas City became the University of Missouri-Kansas City, part of the University of Missouri System http://www.umsystem.edu/ with campuses in Columbia http://www.missouri.edu/, Rolla http://www.umr.edu/ and St. Louis http://www.umsl.edu/.

The Hospital Hill campus in midtown Kansas City, Mo., is adjacent to Truman Medical Center, UMKC's primary teaching hospital.  This campus is home to the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and the Institute for Human Development. In March 2005, construction began there on the Pharmacy and Nursing Building http://lifesciences.umkc.edu/hsb.cfm, future home of the pharmacy and nursing schools.

Oak Street Residence Hall opened on the Volker Campus in 2004, adding 550 "suite-style" living units. Slated to open for the Fall 2008 semester, Oak Street West development – complete with computer labs and a fitness center – will house 500 additional students.

All campus residents will have easy access to local coffee houses and eateries, parks and museums, and the Country Club Plaza shopping and restaurant district.

More than 14,000 students are currently enrolled at UMKC, attracted in part by the University’s academic focus on the health sciences, visual and performing arts, and urban engagement.  A noticeable ambiance is evolving, too, as more and more students live on or near the Volker campus. No longer a small, quiet school housed in one building, the transformation into a full-fledged university in one of America's smartest cities is complete.

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