Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students in six master's programs and 1,279 students in the College of Continuing Professional Studies. In 2013, the Drury Panthers men's basketball team won the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. The Drury men's and women's Panthers have accumulated 22 NCAA Division II National Championships between them, in addition to numerous NAIA titles before moving to the NCAA.

History

Drury was founded as Springfield College in 1873 by Congregationalist church missionaries in the mold of other Congregationalist universities such as

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. Nathan Morrison, Samuel Drury, and James and Charles Harwood provided the school's initial endowment and organization; Samuel Drury's gift was the largest of the group and the school was soon renamed as Drury College in honor of Drury's recently deceased son on December 10, 1874. The early curriculum emphasized educational, religious, and musical strengths. Students came to the new college from a wide area including the Indian Territories of Oklahoma. The first graduating class included four women. When classes began in 1873, they were held in a single building on a campus occupying less than . Twenty-five years later the campus included Stone Chapel, the President's House and three academic buildings. Today, the university occupies a campus, including the original historic buildings. On April 28, 1960, Drury College was the setting for an episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford''.

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for h ...

sang his trademark "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliff ...

" and the hymn "

Take My Hand, Precious Lord "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (a.k.a. "Precious Lord, Take My Hand") is a gospel song. The lyrics were written by Thomas A. Dorsey, who also adapted the melody. Origin The melody is credited to Dorsey, drawn extensively from the 1844 hymn tune, " ...

". Drury College became Drury University on January 1, 2000.Drury University: Drury History
The current president is J. Timothy Cloyd, formerly president of

Hendrix College Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college offers a secular curriculum and has a student ...

in Conway, Arkansas. Cloyd was elected to serve as the 18th president of Drury University in 2016.

Religious affiliations

Drury, like Dartmouth and Yale, was founded by Congregationalist missionaries. It remains affiliated with the Congregationalist church and its successor, the United Church of Christ. It has also been affiliated with the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

since the founding of the Drury School of Religion in 1909.

Academics

Drury is accredited by

the Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. The university offers 54 undergraduate majors and several professional degrees through the Hammons School of Architecture, Breech School of Business Administration, and School of Education & Child Development. Drury is a residential university. Full-time day school students live on campus until they are a minimum age of 21 at the start of an academic year, unless they meet specific criteria to be exempt from the housing policy. First-year student live in one of the three residence halls: Smith, Wallace, and Sunderland halls. Upperclassmen may choose to live in university-owned apartments, houses, fraternity houses, or the Summit Park Leadership Community.

Study abroad

Drury's study abroad program is an integral part of the college experience. Almost half of the student body studies overseas at some point in short-term, semester, or year-long programs. Foreign learning is a requirement for most students with majors in the schools of Business and Architecture. Drury also maintained a satellite campus in Aegina, Greece that was home to several of the university's most distinctive courses. The center is scheduled to close by May 2021.

Athletics

Drury's

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

intercollegiate athletic teams compete in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's Track and Field, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's baseball, men's wrestling, women's softball, women's volleyball, men's bowling, and women's bowling, women's triathlon and soon to be men's triathlon. The school was a founding member of the Heartland Conference. In the fall of 2005, the Drury Panthers joined the

Great Lakes Valley Conference The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its thirteen member institutions are located in the U.S. states of Illinois ...

Greek organizations

Drury currently has four sororities and four fraternities. Sororities: *

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan Breed, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Tri Delta part ...

Kappa Delta Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university, whic ...

* Pi Beta Phi *

Zeta Tau Alpha Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its International Office is located in Carmel, Indiana. It ...

Fraternities: * Sigma Nu * Kappa Alpha Order * Sigma Pi *

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

Notable alumni

* Bob Barker, former game show host and executive producer of ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'' *

Ernest R. Breech Ernest Robert Breech (1897–1978) was an American corporate executive. Although he is best remembered for his work in revitalizing Ford Motor Company in the years following World War II, he served similar roles at Trans World Airlines and other co ...

, chairman of

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

and Trans World Airlines * Charles H. Brown, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1957 to 1961 * Mike Carter (born 1955), American-Israeli basketball player *

David Clohessy David G. Clohessy (born c. 1956) is known as an American activist and leader for victims of clergy abuse. He served for more than two decades, until December 2017, as the executive director and spokesman for the Survivor's Network of those Abused b ...

, director of

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, established in 1989, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization support group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters in the United States. Barbara Blaine, a survivor o ...

(SNAP) * David Crabtree, film critic and celebrity blogger *

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

, film and television actor *

Danny Dark Danny Dark (December 19, 1938 – June 13, 2004) was an American voice-over artist. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser ("This Bud's for you"), Raid Ant & Roach Killer ("Raid - Kil ...

, voiceover for TV commercials as well as the voice of Superman in the ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

'' TV series * Bob Dixon, former member of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...

and current

Greene County, Missouri Greene County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 298,915. making it the fourth most-populous county in Missouri. Its county seat and most-populous city is Springfield. The county was organized ...

Presiding Commissioner * David Kershenbaum, iconic platinum record producer and record company executive - Hollywood California * Dan Glass, former president of Kansas City Royals * Dabbs Greer, actor * Durward Hall, member of the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1973 * Frederic Aldin Hall, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1913 to 1923 *

Lauren Holtkamp Lauren Holtkamp (born November 24, 1980) is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA), wearing number 7. Holtkamp became the third woman to be a full-time NBA referee. Holtkamp also played college basketball at ...

, NBA referee * Mary Ellen Hopkins, quilter and author *

Edna Kenton Edna Kenton (March 17, 1876 – February 28, 1954) was an American writer and literary critic. Kenton is best remembered for her 1928 work ''The Book of Earths,'' which collected various unusual and controversial theories about a hollow earth, Atl ...

, feminist writer * Drew Kifer, Actor, Clorox commercials * J. Paul Leonard (1901–1995), American university president, educator * Michael Mallory, author and journalist * Miranda Maverick, MMA Flyweight fighter in the UFC and formerly

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

* Susan Montee, State Auditor of Missouri * John Morris, founder and majority owner of

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass P ...

* Larry O'Reilly, Rosalie O'Reilly Wooten, & David O'Reilly, founders of O'Reilly Auto Parts * Ismael Ortiz, Panamanian swimmer * Todd Parnell, banker and former president of Drury University * Trevor Richards, Major League Baseball pitcher for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

* Jeanie Riddle, Republican member of the

* James Edward Ruffin, member of the United States House of Representatives from 1933 to 1935 * Si Siman, music industry executive *

Heidi Strobel Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers ( ...

, Survivor: The Amazon contestant * David E. Sweet, founding president of

Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

and later president of Rhode Island College * Bill Virdon, professional baseball player and manager * Tom Whitlock, songwriter and lyricist best known for his

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and Golden Globe winning song

Take My Breath Away "Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film ''Top Gun'', performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best ...

* John William Yettaw, The Suu Kyi swimmer

References

External links

*
Drury Athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Church of Christ Universities and colleges in Springfield, Missouri Educational institutions established in 1873 1873 establishments in Missouri Private universities and colleges in Missouri