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Abstract
In Leonard Koos’s book, The Junior-College Movement, he described the establishment of a junior college in an American public school district as the ‘culmination of the local school system’, alluding to the prestige associated with having a junior college in a community. The best-known example of this arrangement was in Pasadena, California where the combined high school and college operated for 27 years. Less well known is the four-year junior college in central Missouri called Moberly Junior College (MJC). MJC operated as a combined high school and college for 36 years from the autumn of 1931 to the autumn of 1967, the longest running four-year junior college in the United States. This case study of the college examines how the seamless transition between high school and college was accomplished, and what changes in the institution and the educational environment led to the eventual dissolution of the four-year junior college.
Keywords:
Notes
1 Steven Brint and Jerome Karabel, The Diverted Dream: Community Colleges and the Promise of Educational Opportunity in America, 1900–1985 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 25; Allen A. Whitt, James L. Wattenbarger, James F. Gollattscheck and Joseph E. Suppiger, America’s Community Colleges: The First Century (Washington DC: Community College Press, 1994), 14; Arthur M. Cohen and Florence B. Brawer, The American Community College, 5th ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008), 7; James Ratcliff, A Handbook on the Community College in America: Its History, Mission, and Management, ed. George A. Baker III (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994), 18.
2 For a further reading on the history of the American community college see John H. Frye, The Vision of the Public Junior College, 1900–1940 (New York: Greenwood Press, 1992); Lana G. Snider, ‘The History and Development of the Two-Year Colleges in Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Colleges and the Wisconsin Technical College System’, Community College Journal of Research and Practice 23 (1999): 107–28; Thomas Diener, Growth of an American Invention: A Documentary History of the Junior and Community College Movement (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986).
3 Cohen and Brawer, American Community College, 7.
4 Brint and Karabel, Diverted Dream, 25.
5 John R. Thelin, History of American Higher Education (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004), 249–51; Arthur M. Cohen, Florence B. Brawer and Carrie B. Kisker, The American Community College, 6th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013), 2.
6 American Association of Community Colleges, Democracy’s Colleges: The Evolution of the Community College in America, prepared for the White House Summit on Community Colleges, 2010, 2–3; Juliet Lilledahl Scherer and Mira Leigh Anson, Community Colleges and the Access Effect: Why Open Admissions Suppresses Achievement (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 7–18.
7 Robert Patrick Pederson, ‘The Origins and Development of the Early Public Junior College: 1900–1940’ (PhD diss., Columbia University, 2000), 6–12.
8 Pederson, ‘Origins and Development’, 9.
9 Dougherty, Contradictory College, 119.
10 Pederson, ‘Origins and Development’, 115–22.
11 Brint and Karabel, Diverted Dream, 27.
12 Cohen, Brawer and Kisker, American Community College, 36.
13 Leonard V. Koos, The Junior-College Movement (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1925), 359.
14 Ibid., 359–70; Leonard V. Koos, Integrating High School and College: The Six-Four-Four Plan at Work (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946), 4.
15 Koos, Junior-College Movement, 363.
16 Ibid., 359–66.
17 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 10.
18 Carrie B. Kisker, ‘Integrating High School and the Community College: Previous Efforts and Current Possibilities’, Community College Review 34 (2006): 68–86.
19 All college catalogues, commencement programmes and yearbooks are housed in the MACC Archives, Kate Stamper Wilhite Library, Moberly, MO. Commencement programmes and yearbooks do not have page numbers. Moberly Junior College, On the Move in Higher Education, 1979–1981, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1979), 7.
20 Pederson, ‘Origins and Development’, 6
21 Brint and Karabel, Diverted Dream, 31; Dougherty, Contradictory College, 50–2.
22 Dougherty, Contradictory College, 115.
23 Thelin, History of American Higher Education, 257–9.
24 Kisker, ‘Integrating High School and the Community College’.
25 ‘Moberly MO. May 27th A.D. 1884’, 1884, Moberly School Board Minutes, signed J. R. Lowell, Secretary (District Archives, Moberly School District Administration Building, Moberly, MO).
26 Terry L. Barnes, ‘History of Missouri Community Colleges: Development and Financing’ (working paper, Assistant Commissioner for Community Colleges and Technical Education Missouri Department of Higher Education, April 1, 1999).
27 Paul Allen Ricker, ‘A History of the Growth and Development of Moberly Area Junior College: 1926–1984’ (PhD diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1984) (MACC Archives, Kate Stamper Wilhite Library, Moberly, MO), 41.
28 The Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1931), 7–9.
29 Ibid., 7.
30 Ibid., 8.
31 Ibid., 8–9.
32 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 20–2.
33 Koos, Junior-College Movement, 363–4.
34 ‘The Junior College’, Moberly Monitor Index, May 22, 1931.
35 ‘Junior College Wins Praise from National Authority’, Moberly Monitor Index, February 9, 1932.
36 The Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1948–1949, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1948), 7.
37 Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1927–1928, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1927), 6; Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1928–1929, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1928), 6–7; Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1930–1931, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1930), 8; Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1931), 11; Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1932), 10; Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1940), 10; Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1948–1949 college catalogue (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1948), 21.
38 Pederson, ‘Origins and Development’, 39–43.
39 Junior College of Moberly, 1927–1928, college catalogue, 6–7; Junior College of Moberly, 1928–1929, college catalogue, 7–8; Junior College of Moberly, 1930–1931, college catalogue, 8–9; Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 11–12; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue, 12–15; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue, 12–15.
40 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 70–113.
41 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue.
42 Koos, Integrating High School and College.
43 Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue, 7.
44 Moberly Junior College 1932–1933, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1933); Moberly Junior College 1933–1934, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1934); Moberly Junior College 1934–1935, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1935); Moberly Junior College 1935–1936, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1936); Moberly Junior College 1936–1937, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1937); Moberly Junior College 1937–1938, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1938); Moberly Junior College 1938–1939, Commencement Program (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1939).
45 Pederson, ‘Origins and Development’, 61.
46 Junior College of the School District of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 11.
47 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 28; Leonard V. Koos, ‘A Junior College Plan for Maryland’, School Review 55 (1947): 325–6.
48 Jane Kay Orton, MJC graduate, personal communication to author, June 2007; Ralph Gerard, MJC historian and faculty, personal communication to author, August 2007.
49 Ralph Gerard, MJC historian and faculty, personal communication to author, August 2007.
50 Junior College of Moberly, 1927–1928, college catalogue, 6; Junior College of Moberly, 1928–1929, college catalogue, 6; Junior College of Moberly, 1930–1931, college catalogue, 8; Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 11; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue, 10.
51 ‘Schools to Help Moberly Expand’, Moberly Monitor Index, May 22, 1931.
52 ‘Study Group Tells Why It Favors County School Unit’, Moberly Monitor Index, April 10, 1967.
53 Moberly Junior College 1930–1931, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1931–1932, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1932–1933, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1933–1934, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1934–1935, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1935–1936, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1936–1937, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1937–1938, Commencement Program; Moberly Junior College 1938–1939, Commencement Program.
54 Mojuco, 1932 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1932); Mojuco, 1933 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1933); Mojuco, 1934 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1934); Mojuco, 1935 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1935); Mojuco, 1937 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1937); Mojuco, 1938 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1938); Mojuco, 1939 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1939); Mojuco, 1940 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1940); Mojuco, 1941 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1931).
55 ‘Junior College To Open Sept. 8’, Moberly Monitor Index, July 18, 1931
56 The Salutar, 1928 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1928).
57 The Log, 1928 (Moberly, MO: Moberly Junior College, 1928).
58 Mojuco, 1931.
59 Ibid.
60 Mojuco, 1937.
61 Mojuco, 1931; Mojuco, 1932; Mojuco, 1933; Mojuco, 1934; Mojuco, 1935, Mojuco, 1937; Mojuco, 1938, Mojuco, 1939.
62 Ibid.
63 Ibid.
64 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 114–34.
65 State of Missouri ex. rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 (Supreme Court of the United States, 1938).
66 State ex rel. Bluford v. Canada, 348 Mo. 298, 153 S. W. 2nd 12 (Supreme Court of the United States, 1941).
67 Koos, ‘A Junior College Plan for Maryland’, 324–38.
68 Orton, June 2007; Gerard, August 2007.
69 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 19; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue, 19; Junior College of Moberly, 1937–1938, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1938–1939, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue, 19.
70 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue, 19.
71 Junior College of Moberly, 1962–1963, college catalogue, 9.
72 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 68.
73 Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue, 11.
74 ‘Junior College Wins Praise from National Authority’, Moberly Monitor Index, February 9, 1932
75 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 152–70.
76 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1933–1934, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1934–1935, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1936–1937, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1937–1938, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1938–1939, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue.
77 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 152–170.
78 Koos, Junior-College Movement, 364.
79 Koos, Integrating High School and College, 144.
80 Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1933–1934, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1934–1936, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1936–1937, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1937–1938, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1938–1939, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue.
81 Mojuco, 1931; Mojuco, 1932; Mojuco, 1933; Mojuco, 1934; Mojuco, 1935, Mojuco, 1937; Mojuco, 1938, Mojuco, 1939; Junior College of Moberly, 1927–1928, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1928–1929, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1930–1931, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue.
82 Mojuco, 1931; Mojuco, 1932; Mojuco, 1933; Mojuco, 1934; Mojuco, 1935, Mojuco, 1937; Mojuco, 1938, Mojuco, 1939; Junior College of Moberly, 1927–1928, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1928–1929, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1930–1931, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1931–1932, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1932–1933, college catalogue; Junior College of Moberly, 1940–1942, college catalogue.
83 Koos, Junior-College Movement.
84 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 62.
85 Mojuco, 1941; Mojuco, 1942; Mojuco, 1943; Mojuco, 1944; Mojuco, 1945.
86 Mojuco, 1944.
87 Gerard, personal communication, August 2007.
88 Thelin, History of American Higher Education, 257.
89 Junior College of Moberly, 1948–1949, college catalogue, 21–2.
90 Ibid., 2.
91 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 65; Gerard, August 2007.
92 Gerard, personal communication, August 2007.
93 Mojuco, 1956.
94 Mojuco, 1957.
95 Barnes, ‘History of Missouri Community Colleges’; Ricker, ‘A History of Moberly Area Junior College’.
96 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 51–3.
97 Koos, Integrating High School and College.
98 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 68.
99 Ibid., 67–74.
100 Barnes, ‘History of Missouri Community Colleges’.
101 ‘County School Board Votes to Submit One-District Plan’, Moberly Monitor Index, March 12, 1963.
102 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 74.
103 Ibid., 72.
104 ‘State Report Urges New Moberly School’, Moberly Monitor Index, February 13, 1963.
105 ‘County School Board Votes to Submit One-District Plan’, Moberly Monitor Index, March 12, 1963.
106 Ricker, ‘History of Moberly Area Junior College’, 73.
107 Ibid., 73.
108 Ibid., 67.
109 Gerard, August 2007.
110 Ibid.