Park University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 census (2021 est, 7,810). Parkville is known for its antique shops, art galleries, and his ...

. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2017, Park had an enrollment of 11,457 students.

History

The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1875 by John A. McAfee on land donated by George S. Park with its initial structure being the stone hotel Park owned on the bluff above the Missouri River. The original concept called for students to receive free tuition and board in exchange for working up to half day in the college's farm, electrical shop or printing plant. According to the terms of the arrangement if the “Parkville Experiment” did not work out within five years, the college grounds were to revert to Park. There were 17 students in the first school year and in the first graduation class there were five women. McAfee led until his death in 1890. His son Lowell M. McAfee became the second president of Park until stepping down in 1913. The first international student at Park University arrived in 1880 from Japan. The defining landmark of the campus is Mackay Hall, named after

Carroll County, Illinois Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,387. Its county seat is Mount Carroll. History Carroll County was formed in 1839 out of Jo Daviess County. The county is named for ...

banker Duncan Mackay who donated $25,000 in materials for the structure shortly before his death. The building was constructed using

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

mined on the campus grounds and built with the labor of students. Construction began in 1883 and was finished by 1893. Today the building is the main focal point of the campus and dominates the hillside, overlooking the town of Parkville. It is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. For many decades the school was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church but it no longer has that affiliation. The college has had a relationship with the military since 1889. However, the relationship was greatly expanded in the late 1960s with the establishment of a Military Degree Completion Program and later in 1972 with the Military Resident Center System. Park's total enrollment has grown from its small base since 1996 when it first began offering online courses. In 2000, it was renamed Park University.

Locations

Parkville campus

The flagship campus of Park University is located in the city of Parkville,

Missouri Missouri 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 is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. The Park University Graduate School is located in downtown

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. There are 41 campuses in 22

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s including four campuses in the Kansas City area (downtown Kansas City,

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Lenexa Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is the ...

, and Parkville) and a campus center in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Most of the

satellite campus A satellite campus or branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or countr ...

es are on or near United States military bases and share quarters with other businesses/organizations. The home campus currently has an enrollment of 1,600 students representing 50 states and 106 countries. The entire extended system had an annual student enrollment of 23,000.

Gilbert campus

In 2018, the university opened a campus center in

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the city's Heritage District. Park leased at the University Building. The university continued to expand the Gilbert campus in 2019, leasing an additional and extending the initial three-year term to five years with the city. The university continued to expand the Gilbert campus with the addition of college athletics. Initially playing as an independent during the 2019–20 academic year, the university announced membership in the NAIA and

California Pacific Conference The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member in ...

(Pac West) starting in 2020–21.

Rankings

*Ranked second in the “online and nontraditional” category on the ''Military Times’'' "Best for Vets: Colleges 2016" list. *Ranked second among all private colleges/universities in the country with a 9.5 percent annual ROI by 2015 PayScale College ROI Report. *2015-16 Colleges of Distinction list. * Ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as the 126-165 best Midwest college in 2018.

Athletics

Parkville Pirates

The athletic teams of the Park University main campus are called the Pirates. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) since the 2020–21 academic year. The Pirates previously competed in the

American Midwest Conference The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The c ...

(AMC) from 2009–10 to 2019–20; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1986–87 to 1993–94; and in the defunct

Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference that competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Members of the conference were located in the Midwest United States and were locate ...

(MCAC) from 1994–95 to 2008–09. Park competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include eSports. The Department of Athletics at Park University was led by

Claude English Claude W. English (born December 26, 1946 in Columbus, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player and coach who spent one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Portland Trail Blazers during their inaugural 1970–71 ...

, Director of Athletics, who was also the Pirates’ men's basketball coach from 1992 to 2005 and retired in 2021. From 1980 to 1984, English was the head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

, and he played one season in the NBA with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in 1970–1971. Seven former Park Pirates compete currently for the Kansas City Comets of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

Championships

* 2018 Women's Volleyball (NAIA National Champions) * 2017 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament) * 2014 Women's Volleyball (NAIA National Champions) * 2014 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament) * 2012 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament) * 2008 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament) * 2003 Men's Volleyball (NAIA Invitational Tournament)

Gilbert Buccaneers

The athletic teams of the Gilbert campus of Park University (Park–Gilbert) are called the Buccaneers. The university added a college athletics program to the

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located southeast of Phoenix within the city's metropolitan area. Incorporated on July 6, 1920, Gilbert was once known as the "Hay Shipping Capital of the World". It is the fifth-larg ...

campus center in 2019. After playing as independent institution during the 2019–20 academic year, the university announced membership in the

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

(Cal Pac) starting in the 2020–21 academic year. Park–Gilbert competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Notable people

Marsia Alexander-Clarke Marsia Alexander-Clarke is an American video installation artist. She is a Guggenheim Fellow. Personal life and education Marsia Alexander-Clarke was born in Valparaiso, Chile in 1939 and moved to the United States to attend high school in 195 ...

, artist *

Vlatko Andonovski Vlatko Andonovski ( mk, Влатко Андоновски; born 14 September 1976) is a Macedonian-American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the United States women's national team. Andonovski previously coach ...

United States Women's National Soccer Team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

Coach * James J. Barry, Jr. (1969) - former

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

man and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Director of

Consumer Affairs Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

* Ralph von Frese (1969) - American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Tsiang Tingfu Tsiang Tingfu (; 17 February 1895 – 9 October 1965), was a historian and diplomat of the Republic of China who published in English under the name T.F. Tsiang. Early life and education Tsiang was born in Shaoyang in Hunan Province. Tsiang's ...

(Chinese: 蔣廷黻)- Chinese scholar and diplomat. In 1911, he attended the Park Academy *

Don H. Compier Don H. Compier became Dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry in Topeka, KS, in July 2014. BKSM is a joint project of the Episcopal Dioceses of Nebraska, Western Kansas, Kansas, and West Missouri. It uniquely seeks to educate candidates for o ...

(1985) - founding Dean of the

Community of Christ Seminary The Community of Christ Seminary at the Independence campus of Graceland University is the official and only seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (s ...

* Steve Cox - freelance writer *

John R. Everett John Rutherford Everett (December 27, 1918 – January 21, 1992) was a college administrator. He was President of Hollins College, the first Chancellor of the City University of New York, Municipal College System of the City of New York, and ...

(1942) - President of

Hollins College Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

, first Chancellor of the Municipal College System of the City of New York, and President of the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

* Maurice Green Olympic Sprinter; world record holder *

Melana Scantlin Melana Scantlin (born December 4, 1977 Gladstone, Missouri) is an American entertainment journalist, sports journalist and former Miss Missouri USA, and reality TV star who also competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants. In college, sh ...

(2002) - former

Miss Missouri USA The Miss Missouri USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Missouri in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates, based in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbros group of st ...

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Chance Browne Robert "Chance" Browne (born June 17, 1948) is an American comic strip artist and cartoonist, painter, and musician. He was born in New York City. After his father Dik Browne died in 1989, Browne took over drawing the family comic strip ''Hi and ...

- American musician, painter, and cartoonist * Robert E. Hall - eleventh

Sergeant Major of the Army The Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) is a unique non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted soldier in the Army, unless an enlisted soldier is servin ...

* Charles A. Holland, Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1929–31 * James A. Roy - sixteenth

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (acronym: CMSAF) is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Air Force. The holder of this rank and position of office represents the highest enlisted level of leadership in the Air Force, ...

* Edwin Kagin - attorney, founder Camp Quest * George Kelly - American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

therapist Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counsellors, life coachers and others. They are helpful in counselling individuals ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Texe Marrs Texe William Marrs (July 15, 1944 – November 23, 2019) was an American writer and radio host, who ran two fundamentalist Christian ministries, Power of Prophecy Ministries and Bible Home Church, both based in Austin, Texas. His teachings inclu ...

- American

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

* Cleland Boyd McAfee (1884) - American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

* Newell A. George - United States

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, 1959–1961. *

Carl McIntire Carl Curtis McIntire, Jr. (May 17, 1906 – March 19, 2002), known as Carl McIntire, was a founder and minister in the Bible Presbyterian Church, founder and long-time president of the International Council of Christian Churches and the Amer ...

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

* Stephen M. Veazey -

Prophet-President In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

of the

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

* George S. Robb,

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

(1912) -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* Lewis Millet,

(1964) -

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

* Thaddeus J. Martin,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Connecticut Adjutant General The Adjutant General of Connecticut is the highest-ranking military officer in the Armed Forces of the State of Connecticut which includes the Connecticut National Guard, the four units of the Governor's Guards, the Connecticut State Guard, the ...

David Grace (basketball) David Grace is an American college basketball coach, former high school and AAU head coach, and is retired from the United States Air Force. He was most recently the associate head coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

UCLA and Oregon State University men's assistant basketball coach (USAF Retired) * Anthony Melchiorri - Hospitality expert and

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

host *

Hollington Tong Hollington K Tong (); 9 November 1887 – 9 January 1971) was a Chinese journalist and diplomat. Tong was from a poor Chinese Christian family. He graduated in journalism from the University of Missouri, and from the first class of the Columbia ...

- transferred to

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, Republic of China ambassador to the United States *James A. Decker - founder of the

Decker Press The Press of James A. Decker was a poetry publishing house once located in the tiny hamlet of Prairie City, Illinois. Created in 1937 by James A. Decker, the press carried the full name of its founder until 1948 when the imprint was shortened to si ...

Faculty and staff

* Stanislav Ioudenitch (Professor of Music and Piano) - Pianist and gold medalist of

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the co ...

in 2001 *

Kay Barnes Kay Waldo Barnes (born March 30, 1938) is a former American politician and two-term Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, and the first woman to be elected to the office. She was the Democratic nominee for map of the United States House of Representat ...

(Senior Director for University Engagement) - Former mayor of

and candidate for Congress in 2008

References

External links

*
Park Pirates athletics website

Park–Gilbert Buccaneers athletics website
{{authority control Private universities and colleges in Missouri Kansas City metropolitan area Private universities and colleges in Texas Educational institutions established in 1875 Buildings and structures in Platte County, Missouri Education in Platte County, Missouri 1875 establishments in Missouri