Education's Historic Townsend Hall

Designed in 1935 and constructed in 1936, the building was dedicated on November 21, 1936. It was originally built as a K-12 laboratory school, and the University adapted the building for use by the College of Education in the early 1970s. In 1986, the building was named after Loran G. Townsend, Dean of the College of Education from 1946-1963. In the past, the building has been called the Education Building, Practice School, University High and the University Laboratory School.

Great educators called Townsend Hall home, including professor Sterl Artley, who helped generations of children to read as editor of the Dick and Jane series. Lois Knowles introduced “new math” to American youngsters. The building’s namesake, Dean Loran G. Townsend, was an original fellow for the White House Conference on Education.

In January, 1999, faculty, students and staff began work on the renovation of historic Townsend Hall. The Missouri State Legislature appropriated $8 Million for the project, which began that February after the Missouri Board of Curators approved the renovation contract. The renovation adhered to standards dictated by the adjacent Francis Quadrangle Historical District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic places in 1973.

The renovation added 8,800 square feet of much-needed space and greatly enhanced the technological capacity and capabilities of the building. The auditorium was turned into a state- of-the-art computer lab named The Reflector. Wireless connectivity and remote networking is available throughout the building to allow connections for personal laptop computers and hardware critical to the success of the college’s students.