Unions' Public Art Blog

Mizzou plays host to one of the oldest and largest Homecomings in the country.  While other schools had informal Homecomings of sorts, it was not until Mizzou's 1911 football game against KU that the athletic director asked all alumni to "come home" and Homecoming, as we know it, was born. Homecoming Through the Decades Exhibit in the Traditions Lounge on the second floor of the MU Student Center While Homecoming at Mizzou has changed over the years, there are certain traditions that still hold strong.  Alumni Come Back Every year alumni come back to take part in the activities of Homecoming. Alumnus and former twirler Warren Bass returned to Mizzou in 1982 to lead the Marching Band at Homecoming. ( Missouri Alumnus 1983). Blood Drive Mizzou students organize one of the largest blood drives every year during Homecoming events. Greek organizations compete to solicit other Greek members and community members to donate blood. Student gives blood at th...

Come visit our exhibit in the Lower Lair of the MU Student Center! Mizzou celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15- October 15 every year.  A week celebrating Hispanic heritage was established in 1968 under U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and was later expanded in 1988 under U.S. President Ronald Reagan to a full month.  National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the culture, history, and contributions of Americans with heritage who are descendants of the peoples of Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.  The Spanish Club in 1965 ( Savitar 1965) The University of Missouri recognized the importance of Hispanic heritage at an early date. The Spanish Club was first organized at MU in 1920. While many students in the early years joined the club as a way to practice Spanish as a second language, some were native Spanish speakers.  In 1932 Don Juan Francisco de Cardenas, Ambassador of Spain to the United States visited...

In celebration of Truman the Tiger's 30th birthday this September, there is an exhibit honoring Mizzou's mascot in the Traditions Lounge on the second floor of the Student Center.  Truman's 30th Birthday Exhibit located in the Traditions Lounge at the MU Student Center   Truman the Tiger, the furry, tail-swinging tiger, has served as the mascot for the University of Missouri since 1986.  Before Truman, Mizzou's mascot was a pair of tigers, one male and one female, that were unnamed and inconsistent in appearance.   The University of Missouri tiger mascots prior to Truman's introduction in 1986.  Here the female and male tiger at the Homecoming game in 1974. (Image courtesy of MU Archives, C:1/139/1)   Joe Castiglione, the athletic director of the University of Missouri in the 1980s, decided to reinvent the university's mascot.  In 1984 the Mizzou cheerleaders organized a contest for naming the new mascot.  The name "Truma...

A recent exhibition at the MU Student Center explored the history of the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri. The next chapter in our continuing series detailing the history of each college within the university is on display in the Traditions Lounge. Beginnings The Engineering Building ( Savitar , 1912) In 1849, the University of Missouri presented “Surveying, Leveling and Classical Topography,” the first engineering course offered at an educational institution west of the Mississippi River. William Wilson Hudson, chair of the astronomy and natural history department, lead the course. In 1856, Hudson was named to the short-lived position of chair of civil engineering and two students received degrees in engineering. The events of the Civil War made apparent the need for military education and MU responded by establishing the Department of Military Engineering in 1868.   Thomas J. Lowry , a graduate of MU, served as the first dean of...