As we prepare to celebrate Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of Memorial Student Union Tower, we’re proud to highlight Mizzou’s renowned Military Science program and its legacy of service to our country. 

The program’s founding connects to Mizzou’s earliest days as a land-grant university. The Morrill Act of 1862 established the land-grant system and required military science education, among other fields of study. In response, Mizzou established the Missouri Military School in 1868 and became one of the first universities in the nation to adopt the act. 

Mizzou’s Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program began after the passage of the National Defense Act in 1916 and has often been recognized as one of the strongest of its kind in the nation with a proven record of preparing future leaders. After World War II, Air Force and Navy programs were also established in other departments on campus. All proudly serve today, and students can commission into five different branches of the Armed Forces, including the Marine Corps and the recent addition of the Space Force.

A pivotal early figure in Mizzou’s military legacy is Lt. Enoch H. Crowder who was appointed head of the military department in 1885. His visionary leadership still impacts our university, including through a cadet band he established that later became Marching Mizzou. After Mizzou, he continued his distinguished military career, retiring as a major general. Named in his honor, Crowder Hall was built in 1938 and serves as the home of Mizzou’s ROTC community. 

Mizzou honors the generations of Tigers who have answered the call to serve. To learn more about Mizzou’s proud military history, please visit: 

• Army ROTC

• Navy ROTC

• Air Force ROTC

— Mun