Crowder College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Neosho, Missouri Neosho (; originally or ) is the most populous city in Newton County, Missouri, United States, which it serves as the county seat. With a population of 12,590 as of the 2020 census, the city is a part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Stat ...

. It serves the Community College District of Newton and McDonald counties in southwestern

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and other outlying areas. The school enrolled 4,398 in 2019. Established in 1963 on the grounds of the former Fort Crowder, the college grants certificates,

diplomas A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

, and

associate degrees An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

. Its name honors General Enoch Crowder, a prominent Missourian, soldier, and statesman, as well as the veterans of

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 ...

, who received their training at Fort Crowder.

Accreditation and affiliation

Crowder College is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and approved by the

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is the administrative arm of the Missouri State Board of Education that works with school officials, legislators, government agencies, community leaders, and citizens to mainta ...

and Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Specific programs are approved or accredited by the Missouri State Board of Nursing, Teacher Education Certification, through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the National Institute for Automotive Excellence (ASE). Graduates of the Associate of Arts programs are admitted without examination to junior standing in all public universities and colleges in Missouri and many outside the state of Missouri. Crowder is an member of the Missouri Community College Association and the

American Association of Community Colleges The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), headquartered in the National Center for Higher Education building in Washington, D.C., is the primary advocacy organization for community colleges at the national level and works closely wit ...

Longwell Museum

The Longwell Museum, located in the Crowder College Elsie Plaster Community Center, has many displays and artifacts from the Fort Crowder days, when over 50,000 soldiers were stationed there. The museum also holds artwork by artists associated with Neosho, including Thomas Hart Benton and

James Duard Marshall James Duard Marshall (September 29, 1914 – January 26, 2010) was a painter, lithographer, museum director, and art conservator who lived most of his life in Kansas City. Duard ronounced "doo-erd"was a student of Thomas Hart Benton and is b ...

. In 1989, the Longwell Museum hosted the "Benton and Friends" exhibition in honor of the centennial of Thomas Hart Benton's birth. That exhibition brought together more than 80 works by Benton,

John Steuart Curry John Steuart Curry (November 14, 1897 – August 29, 1946) was an American painter whose career spanned the years from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting rural life in his home state, Kansas. Along with Thomas Hart B ...

, Charles Banks Wilson, and Grant Wood.

Recognition

Crowder's solar team designed and built the first solar powered vehicle to successfully complete a coast to coast journey across the United States in 1984. Since then Crowder has continued to distinguish itself in world and national solar energy competitions, most recently the

Solar Decathlon The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition, comprising 10 contests, that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners will be ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where the solar house entry from Crowder was selected as the “People’s Choice” and placed 6th overall in the competition. Crowder was the only community college in the competition. This award-winning house is now located on the Crowder campus. The Crowder campus includes a

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...

ed turbine supplying energy to the MARET (Missouri Alternative & Renewable Energy Technology) Center. * 1984—designed and built the first solar-powered vehicle to successfully cross the United States. * 1987—competed in the first World Solar Challenge, Australia; finished second, behind General Motors. * 1990—competed in the first GM Sunrayce in America; finished fifth. * 1990—placed eighth out of 32 international teams in the second World Solar Challenge. * 1992—traveled to Japan for the Grand Solar Challenge. * 1994—finished second in an electric vehicle race in Phoenix, AZ. * 1996—working with Upward Bound students, placed third at the Grand Solar Cycle Challenge in Japan. * 1998—competed in the first Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. * 1999—competed in the World Solar Cycle Challenge in Australia. * 2000—placed first in the fuel-efficiency category of the second Ethanol Vehicle Challenge. * 2001—placed first in class and second overall; Solar Bike Race USA. * 2002—only community college entry to compete with 13 universities in the 2002 Solar Decathlon project.

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1963 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Buildings and structures in Newton County, Missouri Education in Newton County, Missouri 1963 establishments in Missouri Community colleges in Missouri Two-year colleges in the United States