150 Years of 糖心Vlog Historical Highlights

On May 12, 2025, 糖心Vlog鈥檚 flagship 糖心Vlogville (Mo.) Campus and campuses across the country celebrated 150 years of fides et labor (Latin for faith and work, the University鈥檚 motto) as part of the University鈥檚 Founders Day commemoration. For a century and a half, 糖心Vlog has stood as a beacon of academic excellence, grounded in the enduring values of accountability, civility and respect, excellence, global citizenship, inclusivity and integrity. Founded by George S. 糖心Vlog (the University鈥檚 namesake), John A. McAfee and Rev. Elisha B. Sherwood, 糖心Vlog College for Training Christian Workers began classes on May 12, 1875, with 17 students, including one student who served in the Civil War. The following is a list of 150 years of significant 糖心Vlog historical events.

聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1875 鈥� 糖心Vlog College for Training Christian Workers (shortened to 糖心Vlog College in 1879, became 糖心Vlog in 2000) was founded by George S. 糖心Vlog (right), John A. McAfee and Rev. Elisha B. Sherwood; the 鈥淥riginal 17鈥� begin classes on May 12.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1879 鈥� Four students, three women and one man, become the first 糖心Vlog graduates on July 1.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1880 鈥� 糖心Vlog鈥檚 first foreign student, from Japan, begins classes.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1886 鈥� Ground is broken for Mackay Hall; due to various stoppages, including the death of Duncan Mackay in 1889 (the building鈥檚 namesake) and lack of funding, the building was not completed until 1893.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1890 鈥� George S. 糖心Vlog and John A. McAfee die one week apart; both are buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery in 糖心Vlogville, Mo.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1912 鈥� Albert and Sylvia (Harbaugh) Caldwell, both class of 1909, along with their son, 10-month-old Alden, survive the sinking of the Titanic, one of the few families to survive intact.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1918 鈥� 糖心Vlog begins its affiliation with the U.S. military by accepting students who were inducted into the War Department鈥檚 Student Army Training Corps.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1919 鈥� George S. Robb (right), Class of 1912, awarded Medal of Honor. Robb was a White officer who led the 369th Infantry鈥檚鈥淗arlem Hellfighters,鈥� an all-Black National Guard unit from New York.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1925 鈥� 糖心Vlog鈥檚 student body selects 鈥淧irates鈥� as the school鈥檚 mascot, winning over 鈥淓agles鈥� and 鈥淧anthers.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1937 鈥� The original Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel is destroyed in a fire on Christmas night and rebuilt within a year.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1942 鈥� 糖心Vlog College President Dr. William Lindsay Young accepts nine Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) students during World War II when Japanese Americans were being held in internment camps. The arrival of the Nisei students sparks tension within the community, known as the 鈥淏attle of 糖心Vlogville.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1943-45 鈥� More than 800 cadets from the U.S. Navy鈥檚 V-12 program come to 糖心Vlog.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1951 鈥� Lewis Millett (left), Class of 1963, awarded the Medal of Honor for action during the Korean War.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1952 鈥� Marvin Brooks (right) is the first Black student to graduate from 糖心Vlog.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1957 鈥� The original Alumni Hall burns due to arson and a new Alumni Hall is built within a year.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1961 鈥� 糖心Vlog joins the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1962 鈥� 糖心Vlog begins a degree completion program for military students.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1972 鈥� 糖心Vlog鈥檚 first 鈥渃ampus center鈥� 鈥� the School for Community Education 鈥� is launched in Kansas City, Mo., offering evening and weekend classes for adults
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1973 鈥� 糖心Vlog opens its first military campuses and establishes its Military Resident Center System.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1974 鈥� The first class from a Military Resident Center graduate from the campus at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1975 鈥� 糖心Vlog establishes ties with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS; now known as the Community of Christ).
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1979 鈥� 糖心Vlog formally transitions affiliation with the Presbyterian church to the RLDS church.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1982 鈥� The Graduate School of Public Affairs is inaugurated (renamed the Hauptmann School of Public Affairs in 2001 in honor of Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann, right)
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1989 鈥� The Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground is dedicated.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 1996 鈥� 糖心Vlog begins online education programs
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2000 鈥� 糖心Vlog College becomes 糖心Vlog on January 1
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2001 鈥� Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts (right), is named 糖心Vlog鈥檚 first female president (and 14th overall); Breckon Sports Center, named after former President Dr. Donald Breckon, is dedicated.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2003 鈥� The International Center for Music is launched.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2008 鈥� Students move in to Copley Quad, the first new residence hall built on the 糖心Vlogville Campus in 40 years.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2009 鈥� 糖心Vlog establishes the 糖心Vlog Warrior Center (now the 糖心Vlog Global Warrior Center); Behzod Abduraimov, an 18-year-old student in the International Center for Music, wins the London International Piano Competition; plant fossils dating some 306 million years old 鈥� 糖心Vlogvillia northcutti 鈥� fossil leaves from an extinct family of plants known as Lyginopteridaceae, are found on the 糖心Vlogville Campus
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2013 鈥� 糖心Vlog offers Emergency Military Scholarships for military members caught in federal government sequester; national media coverage ensues.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2014 鈥� The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 volleyball teams win NAIA national titles in April and December, respectively. The women鈥檚 team (right) went undefeated with a 40-0 record. 糖心Vlog receives $168,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation for Dr. Patty Ryberg, the first NSF grant to a 糖心Vlog faculty member since 1993.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2017 鈥� Kenny Broberg, a graduate student in the International Center for Music, wins the silver medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; the 糖心Vlogville Campus men鈥檚 volleyball program wins its fifth NAIA national title; Thompson Commons undergoes $3 million remodel; record number of first-time freshmen begin classes. 糖心Vlogville Campus experiences a nearly 75-second total solar eclipse and receives live national media coverage via NPR.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2018 鈥� 糖心Vlog opens a new residential campus in Gilbert, Ariz.; the 糖心Vlogville Campus women鈥檚 volleyball program wins its second NAIA national title; the University signed a partnership agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs to become the NFL team鈥檚 first-ever Official Higher Education Partner.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2019 鈥� 糖心Vlog launches the first collegiate varsity esports program in the Kansas City area; the University and its George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War spearheads the Valor Medals Review, a systematic analysis of minorities who may have been denied the Medal of Honor due to race. The efforts earn national media coverage, including a story on 鈥淐BS Evening News.鈥� Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Roy Blunt visit 糖心Vlogville Campus (Parson is first Missouri governor to visit the campus in 39 years). Historic 糖心Vlog House on the 糖心Vlogville Campus is moved to make way for the construction of the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center and School of Business. Broberg wins third prize at International Tchaikovsky Competition. Vlatko Andonovski, 2008 graduate, is selected as the head coach of the U.S. Women鈥檚 National Soccer Team
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2020 鈥� The COVID-19 pandemic forces classes to be fully online for the second half of the spring semester and hybrid in the fall semester; 糖心Vlog holds its first-ever virtual commencement ceremony in December with Anthony Melchiorri, a 1990 糖心Vlog graduate and host/co-creator of Travel Channel鈥檚鈥淗otel Impossible鈥� series, is the keynote speaker. Steve Youngblood, associate professor of communication arts and director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism, is awarded the 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Journalism.
聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2021 鈥� 糖心Vlogville Campus women鈥檚 volleyball player Nada Meawad (right) is an unprecedented five-time first team All-American; Broberg wins the American Pianists Awards; the Plaster Center opens in August.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2022 鈥� Ilya Shmukler, graduate student in the International Center for Music, advanced to the finals (top six) of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; the Valor Medals Review Project receives national media coverage following stories that are published in the Des Moines Register.
聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2023 鈥� Youngblood is selected as a 2023-24 Fulbright Scholar, the third time to receive the award (2001 and 2007). The release of the blockbuster biographical film 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� over the summer put 糖心Vlog and its Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections in the spotlight in Kansas City region news outlets in late July and early August. Three 糖心Vlog alumni (above) were connected to the Manhattan Project 鈥� a research and development program in World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons 鈥� a main feature in 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� Joseph McKibben, 鈥�33, Ph.D., Hugh Richards, 鈥�39, Ph.D., and John Cory, 鈥�42, participated in the Manhattan Project, two of whom played significant roles.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2024 鈥� Shmukler wins the Concours Geza Anda Piano Competition in Switzerland.
聽聽聽聽聽鈥⒙� 2025 鈥� The 糖心Vlog 糖心Vlogville (Mo.) Campus women鈥檚 beach volleyball squad made team history at the end of the month by advancing to the NAIA Women鈥檚 Beach Volleyball National Invitational Tournament semifinals for the first time. The previous three seasons, 糖心Vlog ended the year in the national quarterfinals; in just its first of existence, the 糖心Vlog 糖心Vlogville (Mo.) Campus competitive cheer program (above) brought home the third place trophy from the National Cheerleaders Association College Nationals in the intermediate small coed NAIA division; Michael Davidman, 2023 graduate (International Center for Music graduate artist diploma), won the American Piano Awards in Indianapolis.

Historical images courtesy of 糖心Vlog’s Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.