called "Kirksville State".
In 1924, a fire destroyed old Baldwin Hall and the library. The lake that once filled the current quadrangle, or "The Quad" (a prominent feature in pre-1924 photographs), was pumped dry in a futile attempt to douse the fire. The Quad now serves as a popular gathering place where students study play games, hold events, such as small concerts and fairs, and meet with one another.
The school's mission broadened significantly over the years, and by the 1960s, it was no longer simply a teacher-training school. Reflecting this, it was renamed "Northeast Missouri State College" in 1968.
Only four years later, in 1972, it was renamed Northeast Missouri State University (NMSU). On June 20, 1985, Governor John Ashcroft signed legislation designating the university as Missouri's only statewide public liberal arts and sciences university. This changed the school's focus from regional to statewide. As such, nearly 100 programs were dropped in six years, including all two-year programs that did …
