Missouri State University was founded in Springfield in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School. During its early years, the school's primary purpose was the preparation of teachers for the public school systems in southwest Missouri. The School's first name change came in 1919, when it became the Southwest Missouri State Teachers College, reflecting the institution's regional mission. By the mid-1940s, it had expanded beyond teacher education to include instructional programs in the liberal arts and the sciences; as a consequence, in 1945, the Missouri Legislature authorized an official name change to Southwest Missouri State College. In the ensuing decades, with the implementation of more programs at the undergraduate level and the development of a graduate education program, the College became an educationally diverse institution. Recognition of its further growth and development resulted in yet another name change in 1972, to that of Southwest Missouri State University. Finally, on March 17, 2005, the 100th anniversary of Founders' Day, Governor Matt Blunt signed Senate Bill 98, which included changing Southwest Missouri State University's name to Missouri State University. T...oday, Missouri State University is a multipurpose, metropolitan university providing a broad array of instructional, research, and service programs.