History

Oct. 15, 2024

Celebrate historic milestone, learn more about fascinating world of insects

The Enns Entomological Museum, part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) at the University of Missouri, is opening its doors (and cabinets of fascinating specimens) to the local community in celebration of its 150th anniversary.

Sep. 17, 2024

CAFNR Research Symposium and Aureomycin anniversary: Celebrating decades of discovery

Seventy-five years ago, a life-saving drug made possible by a discovery made on the campus of the University of Missouri in Sanborn Field was created. Since 1949, it has saved countless numbers of human lives and transformed veterinary care for livestock. That discovery was the antibiotic aureomycin, which was produced by a bacterium that lived within the soil of one very specific plot of land in Sanborn. The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) invites the public to join them for a celebration of this monumental discovery. The anniversary commemoration kicks off the 4th annual CAFNR Research Symposium.

Sep. 28, 2023

Charting their path

Atmospheric Science at Mizzou celebrates 75th anniversary

Sep. 25, 2020

Remembering the Legacy of Dr. William Danforth

The passing of William H. “Bill” Danforth, M.D., last week at age 94 brought to the spotlight his work in academic administration, medicine and science, and outreach in the St. Louis area. His contributions also can be felt here at the University of Missouri. Dr. Danforth, chancellor emeritus of Washington University, was the founding chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC). Mizzou, including the Division of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), and the Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG), has had a long partnership with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. In 1998…

July 31, 2020

History in Bloom

Successful efforts by a handful of energetic horticulture students in the late 1970s led to the planning and execution of an ambitious garden project located next to MU’s Agriculture Building. The space was dedicated as the Woodland and Floral Gardens in April 1980. A public celebration to mark the garden’s 40th anniversary and rededicate what remains of the original landscape as the Missouri Woodland Garden was scheduled to be held April 2020, but has been postponed until further notice. Left to right: Kevin Karel and Bill Ruppert, the horticulture students who worked to design and build the Woodland & Floral…

Sep. 25, 2018

A Culture of Collaboration

For nearly 150 years, scientists from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri have contributed to advancements around the globe. Many have heard the story of Charles Valentine Riley, an MU professor and Missouri’s first state entomologist, who saved the French wine industry from decimation by an insect, the grape phylloxera. The aphid had destroyed nearly one-third of French wine grapes in 25 years and threatened to annihilate the entire industry within another decade. Riley’s rescue involved grafting French vines onto resistant American rootstock. Others know that Aureomycin, one of the world’s first antibiotics…

Oct. 25, 2017

60 Years of Advice

What exactly does an Advisory Council do? If we look at the dictionary definition: “offering suggestions about the best course of action to someone”; “recommend”, or, “inform (someone) about a fact or situation, typically in a formal or official way”. The School of Natural Resources Advisory Council has done all of that and more. As the Advisory Council nears celebrating its 60th anniversary, a history lesson is needed to appreciate where it came from and look ahead to where it’s going. A history lesson The Advisory Council* had its origin in 1951 as the forestry subcommittee of the College of…

Oct. 12, 2016

All in the Family

Everything in John Clay’s office has a story. In one corner, there’s the dictionary that dates back to 1934 that was used primarily for Scrabble word challenges by his great aunts and uncles. “It looked this new when I was a baby,” Clay quips of the giant book that rests on a stand that was once in the foyer of his family’s former homestead, built in 1892 by his great grandfather, John Moore Clay, and known as “El Moro.” The house accidentally burned down in recent years. John Clay stands with his family’s crest outside of his office at Clay…

Sep. 1, 2016

Looking Back 40 Years — And Beyond

It began 40 years ago with what could best be called a “grand experiment.” For decades, faculty at the University of Missouri’s Department of Biochemistry had one collective goal — to study life at the molecular level — but were in two separate units, one housed in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources under the name agricultural chemistry and one in the School of Medicine under its current name. It is about a 15-minute walk from Schweitzer Hall, located on the northeast corner of campus, to the medical school. The first merged department chair, Jim Gaylor, had the cross-campus walk…

Feb. 13, 2015

Computers Come to CAFNR

CAFNR had a hand in the first MU computer, and was a pioneer in its role in research.