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Drury University
Former name
Springfield College (1873–1874)
Drury College (1874–2000)
TypePrivate university
Established1873; 150 years ago (1873)
Religious affiliation
United Church of Christ
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Endowment$93.3 million (2020)[1]
PresidentJohn Beuerlein (interim)[2]
Students1,741[3]
Location
Springfield, Missouri
,
U.S.

37°13′11″N 93°17′09″W / 37.2196°N 93.2857°W / 37.2196; -93.2857
CampusUrban, 88 acres (35.6 ha)
Colors    Scarlet & grey
NicknamePanthers
Websitewww.drury.edu

Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related".[4] It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students in six master's programs and 1,279 students in the College of Continuing Professional Studies.[5][3] In 2013, the Drury Panthers men's basketball team won the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. The Drury men's and women's Panthers have accumulated 22 NCAA Division II National Championships between them, in addition to numerous NAIA titles before moving to the NCAA.[citation needed]

History

Drury was founded as Springfield College in 1873 by Congregationalist church missionaries in the mold of other Congregationalist universities such as Dartmouth College and Yale University. Nathan Morrison, Samuel Drury, and James and Charles Harwood provided the school's initial endowment and organization; Samuel Drury's gift was the largest of the group and the school was soon renamed as Drury College in honor of Drury's recently deceased son on December 10, 1874.

The early curriculum emphasized educational, religious, and musical strengths. Students came to the new college from a wide area including the Indian Territories of Oklahoma. The first graduating class included four women.

When classes began in 1873, they were held in a single building on a campus occupying less than 1+1⁄2 acres (0.61 ha). Twenty-five years later the 40-acre (16.2 ha) campus included Stone Chapel, the President's House and three academic buildings. Today, the university occupies a 115-acre (46.5 ha) campus, including the original historic buildings. On April 28, 1960, Drury College was the setting for an episode of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang his trademark "Sixteen Tons" and the hymn "Take My Hand, Precious Lord".[6]

Drury College became Drury University on January 1, 2000.[7]

Currently, John Beuerlein serves as interim president. This comes following the departure of his predecessor, J. Timothy Cloyd, who resigned in March of 2023 citing family health concerns.[2]

Religious affiliations

Drury, like Dartmouth and Yale, was founded by Congregationalist missionaries. It remains affiliated with the Congregationalist church and its successor, the United Church of Christ. It has also been affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since the founding of the Drury School of Religion in 1909.[8]

Academics

Drury is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.[9] The university offers 54 undergraduate majors[10] and several professional degrees through the Hammons School of Architecture, Breech School of Business Administration, and School of Education & Child Development.

Drury is a residential university. Full-time day school students live on campus until they are a minimum age of 21 at the start of an academic year, unless they meet specific criteria to be exempt from the housing policy. First-year student live in one of the three residence halls: Smith, Wallace, and Sunderland halls. Upperclassmen may choose to live in university-owned apartments, houses, fraternity houses, or the Summit Park Leadership Community.

Study abroad

Drury's study abroad program is an integral part of the college experience. Almost half of the student body studies overseas at some point in short-term, semester, or year-long programs.[5] Foreign learning is a requirement for most students with majors in the schools of Business and Architecture.

Drury also maintained a satellite campus in Aegina, Greece that was home to several of the university's most distinctive courses. The center is scheduled to close by May 2021.[11][12]

Athletics

Main article: Drury Panthers

Drury's NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic teams compete in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's Track and Field,[13] men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's baseball, men's wrestling, women's softball, women's volleyball, men's bowling, and women's bowling, women's triathlon and soon to be men's triathlon.

The school was a founding member of the Heartland Conference. In the fall of 2005, the Drury Panthers joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference

Greek organizations

Drury currently has four sororities and four fraternities.

Sororities:

Fraternities:

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Drury University names John Beuerlein as interim president". 23 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Trends in Headcount Enrollment, 2013-2019". Missouri Department of Higher Education. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. ^ https://www.drury.edu/about/ About Drury University and Mission Statement
  5. ^ a b "Drury University: Drury at a Glance: Fast Facts". Drury at a Glance: Fast Facts.
  6. ^ "The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford". ernieford.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  7. ^ Drury University: Drury History Archived February 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Drury's Church Affiliation". Drury University. Archived from the original on 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  9. ^ "Drury University: Drury's Accreditation". Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  10. ^ "Drury University: Discover Academics: Areas of Study". Archived from the original on 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  11. ^ "Drury University: The Drury Center in Greece". The Drury Center in Greece.
  12. ^ "Drury Center in Aegina, Greece set to close by 2021: Concern over impact on the Architecture program". The Drury Center in Greece. 15 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Home". drurypanthers.com.
  14. ^ Who's Who In the South and Southwest. Vol. 5. Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who. 1956. p. 68 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ "J. Paul Leonard, TC Educator, India Expert, Is Dead at Age 93". Columbia University Record. Vol. 20, no. 22. March 31, 1995. ISSN 0747-4504. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  16. ^ "John Morris". Forbes. Retrieved 9 January 2015.

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