Crowder College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Neosho, Missouri Neosho (; originally or ) is the most populous city in Newton County, Missouri, United States, which it serves as the county seat. With a population of 12,590 as of the 2020 census, the city is a part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Area, ...

. It serves the Community College District of Newton and McDonald counties in southwestern

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and other outlying areas. The school enrolled 3,864 in 2023. Established in 1963 on the grounds of the former Fort Crowder, the college grants

certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...

diplomas A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

, and

associate degrees An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

. Its name honors General Enoch Crowder, a prominent Missourian, soldier, and statesman, as well as the veterans of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, who received their training at Fort Crowder.

Accreditation and affiliation

Crowder College 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 ...

and approved by the

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is the administrative arm of the Missouri State Board of Education that works with school officials, legislators, government agencies, community leaders, and citizens to mainta ...

and Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Specific programs are approved or accredited by the Missouri State Board of Nursing, Teacher Education Certification, through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the

National Institute for Automotive Excellence National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(ASE). Graduates of the

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

programs are admitted without examination to junior standing in all public universities and colleges in Missouri and many outside the state of Missouri. Crowder is a member of the Missouri Community College Association and the

American Association of Community Colleges The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), headquartered in the National Center for Higher Education building in Washington, D.C., is the primary advocacy organization for community colleges at the national level and works closely wit ...

Longwell Museum

The Longwell Museum, located in the Crowder College Elsie Plaster Community Center, has many displays and artifacts from the Fort Crowder days, when over 50,000 soldiers were stationed there. The museum also holds artwork by artists associated with Neosho, including Thomas Hart Benton and

James Duard Marshall James Duard Marshall (September 29, 1914 – January 26, 2010) was a painter, lithographer, museum director, and art conservator who lived most of his life in Kansas City. Duard ronounced "doo-erd"was a student of Thomas Hart Benton (paint ...

. In 1989, the Longwell Museum hosted the "Benton and Friends" exhibition in honor of the centennial of Thomas Hart Benton's birth. That exhibition brought together more than 80 works by Benton,

John Steuart Curry John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...

Charles Banks Wilson Charles Banks Wilson (August 6, 1918 – May 2, 2013) was an American artist. Wilson was born in Springdale, Arkansas in 1918; his family eventually moved to Miami, Oklahoma, where he spent his childhood. A painter, printmaker, teacher, le ...

, and

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...

Recognition

Crowder's solar team designed and built the first solar powered vehicle to successfully complete a coast to coast journey across the United States in 1984. Since then Crowder has continued to distinguish itself in world and national solar energy competitions, most recently the

Solar Decathlon The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition, comprising 10 contests, that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners are se ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where the solar house entry from Crowder was selected as the "People's Choice" and placed 6th overall in the competition. Crowder was the only community college in the competition. This award-winning house is now located on the Crowder campus. The Crowder campus includes a

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

ed turbine supplying energy to the MARET (Missouri Alternative & Renewable Energy Technology) Center. * 1984—designed and built the first solar-powered vehicle to successfully cross the United States. * 1987—competed in the first World Solar Challenge, Australia; finished second, behind General Motors. * 1990—competed in the first GM Sunrayce in America; finished fifth. * 1990—placed eighth out of 32 international teams in the second World Solar Challenge. * 1992—traveled to Japan for the Grand Solar Challenge. * 1994—finished second in an electric vehicle race in Phoenix, AZ. * 1996—working with Upward Bound students, placed third at the Grand Solar Cycle Challenge in Japan. * 1998—competed in the first Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. * 1999—competed in the World Solar Cycle Challenge in Australia. * 2000—placed first in the fuel-efficiency category of the second Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. * 2001—placed first in class and second overall; Solar Bike Race USA. * 2002—only community college entry to compete with 13 universities in the 2002 Solar Decathlon project.

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1963 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Buildings and structures in Newton County, Missouri Education in Newton County, Missouri 1963 establishments in Missouri Community colleges in Missouri Two-year colleges in the United States Neosho, Missouri