History of UMKC

In the 1890s, there was talk of founding a university in Kansas City because of the city's growth, but it was not until the 1920s that talk turned to action. In the postwar decade, the chamber of commerce appointed a committee to consider the possibility of a university in Kansas City. During this time, Lincoln and Lee University also was being established. Named after two leaders of the Civil War (Missouri was a border state), Lincoln and Lee was to be maintained by the Methodist Church. While the plans for the denominational university were being formulated, proponents of a non-political, non-sectarian institution organized and joined a committee that was working for a united university plan. A board of trustees comprising leading businessmen was established and the board proceeded cautiously with its plans.

In 1929, a charter for the University of Kansas City was granted. The dream became a reality when William Volker, a local philanthropist for whom the 93-acre Volker campus is named, presented the board with the 40-acre nucleus of the present campus site in Kansas City's Rockhill district. Volker also provided funds to purchase the former private home of Walter S. Dickey, a wealthy 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.

With a charter and a campus site, the Board of Trustees started a citywide drive for funds. Raising a large endowment in the middle of the Great Depression seemed an impossible goal, but the board persisted, encouraged by the fact that many universities had started with one building, no larger than the handsome Dickey mansion. In 1933, the University of Kansas City announced that classes would begin in October. The board had decided that if 125 students who were qualified to enter either the University of Missouri or the University of Kansas applied to the University of Kansas City, it would mean there were a sufficient number of students in Kansas City who wanted an education at home and the University would go into operation. A faculty of 17 was hired, and on Oct. 2, 1933, 264 students were enrolled. The University of Kansas City, a private, independent university, had begun.

The Dickey mansion, called the Administration Building and eventually named Scofield Hall for a former chancellor, had been prepared for classes. For several years it housed all the University classrooms, the library, a cafeteria, and the business and administrative offices. Only two years of coursework were offered during the first year, but soon the third and fourth years of classes were added. On June 9, 1936, Duncan Spaeth, president-elect, gave the first commencement address to an audience that included 80 graduates.

By this time the University had begun to grow. The geology-physics building was completed in 1935, and the University library was scheduled for completion in 1936. In the eventful decades since the opening, the University has developed rapidly and gained strength. Impetus for growth was provided by the affiliation of several professional schools with the University, which added to the prestige already established by a strong College of Arts and Sciences.

The first was the Kansas City School of Law, which merged with the University in 1938. That was followed by the Kansas City-Western Dental College in 1941 and the Kansas City College of Pharmacy in 1943. The Conservatory of Music joined the University in 1959. Also during this period, the School of Administration (1953), the School of Education (1954), the Division for Continuing Education (1958), the School of Graduate Studies (1964), the School of Medicine (1970) and the School of Nursing (1980) were established. The School of Basic Life Sciences was created in 1985, and was renamed the School of Biological Sciences in the 1990s.

On July 25, 1963, the University of Kansas City became a part of the University of Missouri System, joining three other campuses located in Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis. At that time, the Board of Trustees of the University of Kansas City transferred assets estimated at $20 million to the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri.

The University's name was changed to University of Missouri-Kansas City and since 1963, the Kansas City campus has experienced steady growth while expanding on urban connections. By fall 2002, the total number of students taking classes at UMKC was more than 13,800 students.

In addition to the Volker campus, UMKC operates the Hospital Hill campus, located in midtown Kansas City, Mo. This campus is adjacent to Truman Medical Center, UMKC's primary public teaching hospital, and is home to the UMKC School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, the School of Nursing, and the Institute of Human Development.

From 1974 to 1997, UMKC operated the Truman Campus, home to the University's Coordinated Engineering Programs until 1994, when engineering programs moved to temporary quarters while awaiting completion of Flarsheim Hall. The Truman Campus was leased to the Independence, Mo., school district.

Many offices for UMKC's student services moved to expanded space in the Administrative Center at 5115 Oak in the late 1990s. In addition, major renovations were completed during 1997-98, including the Residence Hall, Haag Hall, Newcomb Hall and Royall Hall. In fall 1999, the Robert H. Flarsheim Science and Technology Hall opened on the Volker campus. Flarsheim Hall is the largest campus building, encompassing labs, classrooms and faculty offices in a five-story building named for Robert H. Flarsheim, a longtime UMKC friend and neighbor. His estate gift of $8.7 million was the largest ever by an individual.

In 2001, the University launched a new school, the School of Interdisciplinary Computing and Engineering, now called the School of Computing and Engineering. It combined the computer science telecommuncations program and the engineering program previously offered, and will allow new degree offerings that will take advantage of emerging technologies in the 21st century.

In March 2005, construction began on a Health Sciences building on the Hospital Hill campus, which will be the future home of the schools of pharmacy and nursing.

One element of UMKC's strategic planning is to increase opportunities for students living on campus, particularly undergraduates. With that goal in mind, UMKC purchased the Twin Oaks apartments, a 600 unit, 11-story complex located on the west side of Oak Street, between 50th and 51st streets. Oak Street Hall opened on the Volker Campus in 2004, adding 550 living units using a "suite-style" arrangement. The on-campus living areas provide easy access to area coffee houses and eateries, parks and museums, and the Country Club Plaza shopping and restaurant district.

Another endeavor is UMKC Northland, seeking to bring graduate degree programs to the northland areas of Kansas City. UMKC Northland, housed in the Platte County Resource Center, offers graduate degree programs on evenings and weekends. Initial offerings include M.A. and Ed.S. degrees from the School of Education. In partnership with area organizations, UMKC also will offer continuing professional education and professional development programs at the Northland site.

The Colors