Student Life - Northwest History

Registering for classes for fall 1987 still involved standing in long lines, but the pull-card system of past decades was gone. In 1991, students started the online self-enrollment process.

Beginning in 1987, every residence hall room was equipped with a terminal networked to a common server that provided access to an online library catalog, word processing and email.

Dr. David Bahnemann, a Math/Computer Science professor, teaches one of the first classes for students desiring a Computer Science degree at Northwest.

President B.D. Owens and Provost George English serve barbecue during Freshman Advantage to new students and their parents.

President Owens talks with student theater majors on the stage at the Charles Johnson Theater in the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building.

Bearcat basketball always drew large crowds to Lamkin Gym. Starting in 1993, Bearcat basketball was held in Bearcat Arena.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson visited campus on March 15, 1995 as part of Northwest's Distinguished Lecture Series.

Students listen to Professor Dr. William Fleming in one of the lecture rooms in Colden Hall during the 1970s.

With the addition of a Computer Science degree, Northwest attracted students interested in computing and information technology. One of the first programming classes was taught by Dr. Gary McDonald. McDonald is shown helping students in his class.

Students enjoy a picnic during Northwest's Freshman Advantage Week.

The Fitness Center in Lamkin Gym was a popular place for Northwest athletes during the mid-1980s. The Fitness Center is still popular today and all students have access to the area, as well as the Recreational Center built in the late 1990s.

Celebrated poet, artist, best-selling author, playwright, actress, Civil Rights activist and historian, Maya Angelou, visited Northwest on Dec. 4, 1995. Angelou spoke to a packed audience at the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center (now the Ron Houston Performing Arts Center) as part of Northwest's Distinguished Lecture Series.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former President of South Africa, F.W. DeKlerk, visited Northwest on Oct. 5, 2006, to give a speech as part of Northwest's Distinguished Lecture Series. DeKlerk is accredited with ending apartheid in South Africa and releasing Nelson Mandela. Mandela was also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and rose from political prisoner to President of South Africa following the dissolution of apartheid.

Northwest student organizations produced elaborate floats like the Wizard of ID for the 1973 Homecoming Parade

The Pink Panther visited his friend Bobby Bearcat during the 1973 Homecoming Parade at Northwest. The Pink Panther was a series of comedy films featuring the bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name.

The Northwest High Rise Complex Queen rides in a convertible during the 1973 Homecoming Parade.

A group of Northwest sorority sisters ride on a Maryville fire truck during the 1973 Homecoming Parade to show their school spirit.

Students work on a Homecoming Float during the 1987 Northwest Homecoming Parade. Hundreds of sorority sisters and fraternity brothers prepared lavish floats made of tissue paper and chicken wire to represent favorite cartoon characters.

The Peanuts Gang with Snoopy sitting on top of his dog house was just one of the many cartoon-inspired floats that rolled down College Avenue during the 1987 Northwest Homecoming Parade.

Sesame Street comes to College Avenue during the 1987 Northwest Homecoming Parade.

The International Student Organization, in cooperation with the Information Technology department joined together to showcase how the Electronic Campus connected Bearcats around the World during the 2007 Northwest Homecoming Parade.

The theme of the 2007 Homecoming Parade was "Bobby Bearcat Goes Around the World" and floats like the Information Technology/International Student Organization float represented Northwest's global outreach.

The Northwest Cheerleaders show their spirit and encourage the crowd to show their Bearcat pride during the 2007 Northwest Homecoming Parade.

The Northwest Marching Band strut their musical stuff during the 2007 Northwest Homecoming Parade.

Since becoming a university, Northwest students have participated in a wide range of activities. The annual Christmas Yuletide Feast began in 1973 under the direction of Gilbert Whitney and later Dr. Richard Weymuth. The Department of Fine and Performing Arts to this day bring seasonal medieval cheer to countless Northwest alumni, faculty, staff, students and the Maryville community. In 1971, Walk-out Day was briefly discontinued due to students using the day for inappropriate off-campus activities. But the tradition of Walkout Day was restored in 1977.

Student Senate introduced the Tower Service Awards in 1987 for service and in 1998, also introduced the Commitment to Quality Award. Northwest's administration, under the leadership of President Dean Hubbard, helped Northwest win four Missouri Quality Awards with its institutional commitment to quality program. Student athletes triumphed in many sports, especially football. Bearcat Football saw championships win in 1998 and 1999.

In 1987, students saw a dramatic change in how they communicated with the implementation of the Electronic Campus program. Networked terminals were placed in every residence hall room and then were later upgraded to networked, personal computers with standardized university software, which include Microsoft Windows and Office Professional.

Registration for classes became easier with the advent of online registration, first with Star and WebStar and then with CatPAWS. SOAR was established in the late 1990s to help first-time freshmen students acclimate to campus prior to the start of classes. SOAR (Summer Orientation Advisement and Registration program) allows incoming students and their parents to spend one day on campus visiting with a SOAR Leader (a current Northwest student who shares similar interests to their own). During SOAR, parents and new students meet with a faculty advisor, register for first semester classes and get the opportunity to visit the residence halls. In 2008, all full-time Northwest students received a wireless notebook computer with standardize university software as part of the Electronic Campus's on-going initiative to make technology ubiquitous on campus.