The state of Missouri founded the Fourth District Normal School in April of 1905. Since its founding, the school has had this name and four others, currently Missouri State University as of 2005. The former school was a private teacher and business school that began classes in 1906 with an enrollment of 173 students. The campus was approximately 40 acres in the center of Springfield back then, and it was located in a wooded area with large elm, ash, and catalpa trees. The campus has been growing in enrollment and size consistently ever since. The university reached the 1,000-student level in 1924 and has continued to increase enrollment. Current enrollment in the university is over 19,000 students, enjoying a main campus of 190 acres plus a 125-acre experimental farm and equine center on the southwest edge of the city, the State Fruit Experimentation Station at Mountain Grove, the West Plains Campus, and a branch campus in Dalian, China. The Springfield campus is home to nine residence halls and has a thriving campus environment with over 300 student organizations. Missouri State University also has a very strong emphasis on Public Affairs, with a purpose to develop educated persons in three main areas: community engagement, ethical leadership, and cultural competence. The Springfield campus has seen NACURH in 1990 and MACURH in 2003, and is definitely ready and excited for another opportunity to host a conference for the region's leaders.

Missouri State University has a very active Residence Hall Association (RHA) chapter on campus. RHA is a place where students can communicate concerns to the Department of Residence Life and Services, plan campus-wide programs, and connect the leadership of the nine hall councils. RHA has also successfully recommended changes to update the students' campus living environment, including implementing a battery recycling program, providing laundry facilities at no additional charge to students living on campus, and suggesting changes for the Residence Life budget. In Spring of 2011, RHA will be implementing a trial run of the Green Bike Program which will allow students to check out a bike from their residence hall front desk and ride around campus for a small fee to promote sustainability. In addition to policy changes, RHA is a large programming body, sponsoring programs such as Texas Hold 'em tournaments, Halloween in the Halls, Craft Night, RHA Olympics, Residence Hall Family Feud, Project Greenway, and the Becoming Educated About Diversity (BEAD) Project.
In addition to working heavily within the campus community, RHA has also sponsored multiple delegations to regional and national conferences. For NACURH 2010, Missouri State had a delegation of 7; for MACURH 2009, a delegation of 20; and for NACURH 2009, a delegation of 10. At every conference, Missouri State students are extremely excited about presenting programs and networking with other leaders. Boardrooms are no different with our NCCs, NRHH representatives, Programmers, and Presidents all contributing successfully to the betterment of the bid process, both by providing insight to the boardrooms, submitting legislation, and by writing bids. In fact, Missouri State University won the bids for the Commitment to Philanthropy at MACURH 2009, the Distinguished Service Award at No Frills 2010, and the Student of the Year at No Frills 2010. If you are interested in finding out more about RHA, you can check out the organization's website.

Missouri State University also has a thriving National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) chapter. The Boomer Chapter was formed to uphold the four pillars of NRHH: leadership, scholarship, service, and recognition. NRHH has taken great strides in the past year to promote those pillars. NRHH partners with RHA to provide hall council leadership training to executive boards. They also have a monthly Building Leaders Together (BLT) series, discussing topics about issues that affect leaders, such as time management, effective small group communication, or social justice. NRHH members sponsor an annual auction around the holidays that raises money for a scholarship given to someone who makes an impact on campus. Members also attend monthly service events at local community organizations, including Kids Against Hunger, Boys and Girls Club of America, and The Kitchen. Recognition is another huge part of the Boomer Chapter. Students and staff members submit numerous OTMs each year. In the past year, sixteen OTMs were regional winners, and three OTMs were national winners. If you are wanting more information about our NRHH chapter, you can check out the organization's website.