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Dates in Northwest History


November

Day Year Event
Nov. 1 1950 Max Kinney, the student body president, turned the first shovel of dirt to begin construction of the Student Union building.
Nov. 1 2013 Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski and Director of International Affairs Dr. Jeff Foot represented the University at a celebration marking the 20th anniversary of Niigata University of International Information and Studies in Japan, with which Northwest had partnered since its inception.
Nov. 1 2014 For the second consecutive year, Northwest’s student-operated radio station, KZLX LP-FM 106.7, is named the best in the nation, receiving the Pinnacle award at the College Media Association's national convention in Philadelphia.
Nov. 2 1969 Radio station KDLX finished moving into its new quarters in the southwest wing on the third floor of the Administration Building, an area vacated by the chemistry department when it moved to the new Garrett-Strong Building the previous year.
Nov. 2 2012 Northwest unveiled a virtual tour on its website to offer added views of the campus.
Nov. 2 2020 Northwest celebrated the successful launch of its esports program and unveiled a new gaming space on the second floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Nov. 3 1931 President Uel Lamkin sent a hickory cane to Kirksville to be kept until the Bearcats defeated the Bulldogs.
Nov. 3 1971 More than 900 students attended a night-time meeting in the Administration Building auditorium to air complaints regarding a lack of communication between Black students and Northwest administration.
Nov. 3 2017 Northwest announced Dr. Jamie Hooyman as its next provost, the first female to hold the chief academic officer role full-time, after Dr. Timothy Mottet resigned the previous spring to become president at Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Nov. 4 1914 The first issue of the Green and White Courier, the precursor to The Northwest Missourian, was distributed.
Nov. 4 1938 The garage at the president's residence was ordered enlarged to hold two automobiles and to have "living quarters above same, if sufficient funds are available."
Nov. 4 1997 Northwest received its first Missouri Quality Award, which the University went on to claim four consecutive times, also in 2001, 2005 and 2008.
Nov. 4 2012 A Charolais bull born and raised on Northwest's R.T. Wright Farm won Reserve Grand Champion at the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City, Missouri.
Nov. 5 2011 The Tower Choir performed at the national conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. It marked the first time a Northwest musical ensemble had been selected to perform at a national convention.
Nov. 6 1917 Seniors entertained faculty at a reception.
Nov. 7 1923 Organizations, students and faculty pledged money to buy blankets for the football team to use during its game at Warrensburg; 24 blankets were purchased.
Nov. 8 2021 For the fifth time in seven years, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) recognized Northwest with an Excellence and Innovation Award, honoring the University for its campus pandemic response.
Nov. 9 1907 The first short course in agriculture was taught, with S.M. Jordan, of Stanberry, as the director.
Nov. 10 1942 Lamkin Lake (now Colden Pond), once a joke, was declared a thing of beauty and a delightful reflecting pool.
Nov. 10 1952 Pi Omega Pi began offering remedial classes in shorthand, typing and bookkeeping.
Nov. 10 2006 Northwest formally dedicated the World War I Memorial Plaza at the corner of College Park Avenue and Memorial Drive.
Nov. 11 1919 Memorial Avenue, located west of the Administration Building, was dedicated and two trees were planted.
Nov. 11 1942 A two-week collection drive for discarded keys began as a service to United Service Organizations from the sale of scrap metal.
Nov. 11 1949 An order was given to move forward with a building program that included a men's dormitory in the Quadrangle to house 50 men, an addition to Women's Residence Hall for at least 50 women and the Student Union.
Nov. 11 2020 Gov. Mike Parson, Maj. Gen. Levon Cumpton, the adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, and Missouri Rep. Allen Andrews attended as Northwest celebrated the remodeled top floor of Valk Center and rededicated it as Veterans Commons.
Nov. 12 1931 A hickory cane President Lamkin sent on Nov. 3 to Kirksville with the instruction that it not be returned to Maryville until the Bearcats defeated the Bulldogs came back to the college after a 7-0 Northwest victory.
Nov. 13 1928 The "M" Club pin was adopted.
Nov. 13 1953 A groundbreaking ceremony for the National Guard Armory, known today as the Jon T. Rickman Electronic Campus Support Center, took place on the Northwest campus.
Nov. 13 1966 During an open house celebrating two new seven-story dormitories, known as the high-rises, President Foster announced the women's dormitory would be Franken Hall, in honor of Katherine Franken, a member of the education department from 1921 until her retirement in 1952, and the men's dormitory would be Phillips Halls in honor of Homer T. Phillips, who headed the education department for many years.
Nov. 13 1969 Northwest students and faculty joined in a two-day Vietnam Moratorium that included discussions reflecting various points of view of the war.
Nov. 13 1977 President B.D. Owens’ inauguration week began with churches participating in bell-ringing ceremonies at noon.
Nov. 15 1915 The Excelsiors were organized, creating the college's third literary society and joining a campus rivalry that included the Eurekans and the Philomatheans.
Nov. 15 2017 President Dr. John Jasinski presented University Event Coordinator Gina Bradley with a proclamation in honor of her directing her 75th commencement ceremony at Northwest.
Nov. 16 1921 The college's alumni record was revised to include more than 600 names.
Nov. 16 1995 Country singer Collin Raye performed his string of hit songs at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.
Nov. 16 1996 Legendary comedian George Carlin performed two stand-up shows at Northwest. The same night, the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house was destroyed by an electrical fire.
Nov. 17 1914 The first Normal School orchestra appeared at an assembly with W. Lee Griffin as its leader.
Nov. 17 1924 The college reported having 21 students from other states.
Nov. 17 1938 The students were left in charge of the College while faculty traveled to Kansas City to attend the Missouri State Teachers Association meeting.
Nov. 17 1988 Days after Dr. Shalia Aery, Missouri's commissioner of higher education, suggested closing Northwest, Missouri State Sen. Pat Danner said, "Read my lips: Northwest Missouri State University will not close." Aery eventually dropped her plan.
Nov. 17 2017 The Tower Choir performed in Lincoln, Nebraska, for the Nebraska Music Educators Association.
Nov. 18 1960 Theatre lovers were thrilled with the speech and music departments’ presentation of "Brigadoon," featuring the singing and dancing of Maryville’s Dan DeMott, a future New York stage performer.
Nov. 18 1977 Dr. B.D. Owens, the first alumnus to lead the school, was inaugurated as Northwest's eighth president during a ceremony in Lamkin Gymnasium.
Nov. 18 1997 The Board of Regents approved the appointments of Clarence Green, as director of Campus Safety, and Kent Porterfield, as vice president of student affairs; they had been serving in the roles on an interim basis.
Nov. 18 2010 President John Jasinski and first lady Denise Jasinski welcomed Horace Mann Laboratory School students and their parents for an unveiling of the students' artwork selected for display in the president's conference room.
Nov. 19 1915 H.E. McComb of the U.S. Coast Geodetic Survey in Washington, D.C., surveyed the grounds to determine the "exact north" of campus.
Nov. 19 1982 Seventy-seven dancers raised approximately $6,050 to benefit muscular dystrophy during the sixth annual Muscular Dystrophy Dance Marathon in Lamkin Gymnasium.
Nov. 20 1919 The Philos voted to adopt a French War orphan at the cost of $36.50 a year.
Nov. 20 2014 The Tower Choir performed at the Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the Wind Symphony also performed the next day.
Nov. 21 1945 President Lamkin gave his last message as president, saying, "New opportunities are before us. New obligations are upon us. The new president will meet them. He will have my full support."
Nov. 21 1965 The Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building was formally dedicated in honor of Professor Emeritus Olive DeLuce, an artist and teacher who chaired the fine arts department for 40 years. The building's 550-seat theater was named for Charles Johnson, who had served as acting chair until his death in 1963.
Nov. 23 1914 A week of vacation began for students while faculty visited schools in the 19-county area.
Nov. 23 1938 Virginia Benitez, from Manila, Philippine Islands, became the first foreign-speaking student to graduate from Northwest.
Nov. 23 1993 The Bearcat men's basketball team played its first game in the refurbished Lamkin Gymnasium, while a renovation and expansion of the building continued.
Nov. 24 2020 As approved by the Board of Regents the previous June due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Northwest ended in-person classes for the fall and dismissed students from campus at the Thanksgiving break. Remaining courses, including final exams, were conducted online with the semester ending Dec. 11.
Nov. 25 1963 More than 1,500 Maryville residents and Northwest students gathered for an afternoon program in the Lamkin Gymnasium to honor the memory of President John F. Kennedy.
Nov. 25 2006 Maryville Mayor Mike Thompson declared "Bearcat Green Day" and urged all Maryville residents to wear green as the Bearcat football team played in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs at Bearcat Stadium.
Nov. 26 1974 Library Technician Certificates were granted to eight St. Joseph residents after their successful completion of the 30-hour program.
Nov. 28 1972 Classes were canceled for an all-school assembly to honor the University's successful sports teams. The football, cross country and tennis teams had won MIAA championships within the year, and the women's basketball team was the Midwest Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women champion.
Nov. 28 2012 Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on the ill-fated Apollo 13 space mission, shared his experiences with a crowd at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts as part of Northwest’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
Nov. 29 1952 Roberta Steel died as a result of severe burn injuries she sustained during the 1951 explosion at Residence Hall.
Nov. 29 2010 Twelve local children portrayed munchkins and winkies in a touring production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.
Nov. 29 2011 During a ceremony with Gov. Jay Nixon at the capitol in Jefferson City, Northwest received the Annual Recycling Award from the Missouri State Recycling Program for a community recycling project it helped establish with the city of Maryville.
Nov. 30 1914 Students Mattie Dykes and Henry A. Miller participated in a Philomathean literary society program and debated the issue of women's suffrage.
Nov. 30 1985 Mike Keller, a sophomore marketing major, achieved professional status in duck calling by winning the World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
Nov. 30 2010 Dr. Joyce Piveral was named the dean of Northwest's College of Education and Human Services, succeeding Dr. Max Ruhl, who retired in spring 2010.
Nov. 30 2010 In conjunction with its second annual holiday tree lighting ceremony, Northwest announced the results of its Project Holiday Hope initiative. The University collected 68 blankets, 30 men's coats, 36 women's coats, 27 kid's coats, 102 pairs of mittens, 48 pairs of socks, 31 jackets and pullovers and 47 winter hats, for a total of 389 clothing items. Additionally, the University collected 77 pounds of food items and $352.25 to assist with energy bills.