Founding the Future

In 1867, Joseph Baldwin founded the North Missouri Normal School to train young men and women of the area to teach in the new public schools being established throughout the state. Baldwin believed that teachers must not only be highly trained in their particular field, but must also have a solid general education. Over the next decades the school continued to focus on training teachers for the public schools, but also developed a general education programme. Gradually, the curriculum expanded into other fields of study and professional training. Balancing tradition and innovation, the college built a strong foundation by providing a superior liberal arts and sciences education in a student-centred learning environment. In 1987, Northeast Missouri State University was given a new mission at the state's premier public liberal arts and sciences institution. This change in mission was reinforced a decade later when the name was changed to Truman State University.

David C. Nichols joined the music faculty at Truman State University in 1966, later serving as director of the graduate program in music until his retirement in 2001.