Southwest Missouri State University was founded in Springfield in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School. During its early
years, the institution's primary purpose was the preparation of teachers for the public school systems in the southwest region of Missouri. The first name change came in 1919 when the school
became Southwest Missouri State Teachers College, reflecting its regional mission.By the mid-1940s, the University had expanded its instructional program beyond teacher education to include the liberal arts and sciences. As a consequence, in 1945 the Missouri legislature
authorized an official change in the institution's name to Southwest Missouri State College.In 1963 a residence center offering freshman and sophomore level courses was established at West Plains. Now, as a second
campus of the university with its own mission, the West Plains campus offers a two-year general education program which is fully
integrated with programs on the main campus as well as other specialty and skills courses.By 1972, as additional programs were implemented at the undergraduate level and with the development of graduate education,
the University had become an educationally diverse institution. Recognition of this further growth and development again resulted
in an official name change to Southwest Missouri State University. Today, the institution is a multipurpose metropolitan
university providing diverse instructional, research, and service programs.In 1995, then-Governor Mel Carnahan signed into law a bill establishing
the statewide SMSU Public Affairs Mission, which is intended "to produce citizens of enhanced character, more sensitive to the needs of community, more competent and committed in
their ability to contribute to society, and more civil in their habits of thought, speech and action."