One path to president
NODAWAY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Uel Lamkin’s photo, 1922 Tower Yearbook
As we move into August and are ready for school to start again, we wanted to feature the unusual path that one man took to becoming a college president here in Maryville. Uel Walter Lamkin was born on Jan. 18, 1877, in the community of California, located in central Missouri. He received some of the only formal education he would have in his life at his father’s academy, located in Clinton, Missouri.
From there, Lamkin enrolled directly in law school at the University of Missouri but left after four months. Still interested in law, he later applied to take the bar exam, which he passed. Even though he never acquired any formal academic titles, he was awarded several honorary degrees for his work in education. Westminster College gave him an honorary doctorate, “for distinguished service in education to Missouri,” in 1918. In 1939, Lamkin received another honorary doctorate, this time in law, from Park College.
Even with his limited formal education, Lamkin went on to work for the Department of Education in Missouri where he worked on a program that structured the future of academic programs for teachers. This program was specifically focused on history and literature. Once he was done working with the Department of Education, Lamkin moved to Henry County as the Co-Superintendent of Schools. From there, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the Federal Board of Vocational Education.
While at the Federal Board of Vocational Education in D.C., Lamkin’s main goal was to improve the education of future teachers. The work that he did during this time made him a great candidate for the 5th District Normal School (now Northwest Missouri State University) in Maryville, when they were transitioning from a two-year teaching training school to a four-year college.
Once he was appointed as the college’s president in 1921, Uel Lamkin got to work. He gained permission from the Board of Regents to award $50 toward travel for any member of faculty who was presenting papers at a national conference. He felt it was important because he believed the faculty helped to showcase the college. Lamkin also saw a need to expand the campus and built a female residence hall, now named Roberta Hall. The building would be used for young men during the WWII V-12 program as well. Lamkin was also responsible for the building of a gymnasium, the Horace Mann Laboratory School and the Industrial Arts Building.
Lamkin became the president of the National Educational Association, and in 1935 he was elected to be Secretary General. This position required lots of travel and allowed him to promote Northwest, then called Missouri Teacher’s College, and Maryville. Lamkin also travelled to many different countries to recruit the college’s first foreign exchange students. Japan, China and Canada were a few of the places he traveled for this recruitment scheme.
During World War II, the government announced a need for more trained pilots, and Lamkin helped establish the V-12 pilot training program at the college. This program not only helped to train Navy pilots but also helped to save the college from financial ruin during the war.
Lamkin also worked actively in other ways to protect the school’s programs. One story says that Lamkin called President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Head of Physical Education (Milner) received his draft notice. Lamkin supposedly explained to the president that Milner was needed for the physical training programs at the college. Whether the story is true or not is debated, but Milner did receive a deferment and was able to remain at the college.
Lamkin left the university in 1945 as World War II was winding down because his wife needed his care. The Lamkins continued to live in Maryville. He suffered a stroke a few years later in 1949 and then another one on July 27, 1956. Lamkin passed away at his home on Sept. 16, 1956, after playing a vital role not just for Northwest but for the state of education across Missouri and even the country.
Learn more about Northwest and area schools by visiting the Nodaway County Historical Society Museum at 110 N. Walnut St. The museum is open March to December on Tuesdays to Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and year-round on the second Saturdays of each month from 9-11 a.m. We host monthly programs and are free to the public. The next NCHS Museum event is our Second Saturday coffee on Saturday, Aug. 10 from 9-11 a.m. Then, join us for a special program at 11 a.m. that day. Michael Steiner, Ph.D., will give a talk titled, “Nodaway County’s Yellowstone: The Beef with John Bilby” where he will discuss our very own cattle and land baron. If that program gets you hungry for some barbecue, come by the museum between 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30 for our barbecue dinner fundraiser at $10 a plate (dine-in and to-go plates available).
Learn more about the museum’s work on our website: nodawaycountymuseum.com. You can contact us at [email protected] at 660-582-8176.
