- Missouri Military Academy
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The MMA campus (Old Stribling Hall) in 1903The Missouri Military Academy is an all-boy college prep military school in the United States. The Academy is mainly a boarding school but also offers a day program, a summer school and a summer leadership camp. As a JROTC Honor Unit With Distinction (as designated by the Department of the Army), MMA has the privilege of nominating cadets to the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Coast Guard Academy. MMA's mission is to empower young men to succeed through a program of academic excellence, character development and leadership training. The athletic teams are known as "The Colonels."
The Academy is known for its successful college placement - 100 percent of cadets are accepted into college. The average amount of college scholarships earned per senior is $48,000. (Based on a three-year average, from 2009-2011.)
Contents
Education
Missouri Military Academy accepts young men in grades 6-12, with the availability of a post-grad year, from around the world based upon their good character and their ability to achieve in the Academy academic program. MMA's academic program instills in cadets the necessary skills for success in college and life. The Academy offers Advanced Placement courses and dual-credit courses for students who are ready for the challenge of college-level classes while completing high school. In the summer there is a co-ed non-military summer school program, The New ERA (Enrichment and Recovery Academy) and a military-style leadership camp for boys.
Facilities
MMA has two technology centers; air-conditioned barracks; a Gymtorium with a weight room, basketball court, and performing arts center; a field house with indoor running track, rifle range, 2 tennis courts and 4 basketball courts, and a Natatorium which houses a 25-meter indoor swimming pool with a diving tank. The outdoor recreational/sports areas include tennis courts, a riding stable, a 43-foot (13 m) rappelling tower, Colonels Football Field, soccer fields, an all-weather track, the Brad Calvert Baseball Field; and a back campus wilderness area with a lake, lakefront lodge and stream. MMA's barracks are Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo. There is no longer an Alpha barracks, since it was demolished in 2008 to make way for a new academic building, Barnard Hall.
The academic building, Barnard Hall, which opened in 2009, was the first LEED-certified high school in Missouri, achieving Gold status. The hall was named for alumnus Les Barnard '48 of Chicago, Ill., whose generous gift kicked off the campaign to build the 39,000 sq ft structure.
In 2010, the Academy announced plans to rebuild its historic administration building, known as Stribling Hall. Foundation and other issues prevented the restoration of the building, so in March 2011 crews tore down the existing structure to make way for a new admin building. The school is rebuilding a new administration building in the likeness of Stribling Hall, which will reopen in May 2012. The new building will feature a gold dome.
History
The Academy was founded in November 1889 when the citizens of Mexico, Missouri donated funds and 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land for the purpose of establishing a military school. The task of building MMA fell to Col. A.F. Fleet, a US Civil War veteran, who erected the campus' first buildings southwest of the city. When fire destroyed the school's original site in the fall of 1896, Col. Fleet removed the cadets to Culver Military Academy (now the Culver Academies).
In 1900, the Businessmen's Association of Mexico and Col. A.K. Yancey of the Alabama Military Institute rebuilt MMA. The City of Mexico assisted the project with a contribution of $10,000, which was used to purchase the grounds on which the modern Academy is located. On Sept. 20 of that year, the doors of the Academy opened once more.
Upon Col. Yancey's death in 1901, his business partner, Col. William D. Fonville, assumed the office of school superintendent and oversaw the construction of additional barracks. After his retirement in 1911, Col. Fonville was succeeded by Col. W.R. Kohr and, three years later in 1914, by Col. E.Y. Burton.
In 1933, Col. C.R. Stribling, Jr., a 13-year member of the MMA faculty, assumed command of the school. Under Col. Stribling, the Academy solidified its position as one of the nation's leading prep schools. In 1948, the Academy was reorganized as a not-for-profit educational organization, controlled by a Board of Trustees.
In 1968, Col. Stribling's son, Col. Charles R. Stribling, III, member of the MMA Class of 1944 and MMA faculty member since 1952, followed his father and served as the President of the school for 25 years. The elder Col. Stribling remained on campus as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees until his death in 1983. In 1981, the school's administration building was renamed Stribling Hall to honor his lasting contribution to MMA.
MMA celebrated its Centennial in 1989, four years after being named one of the nation's Exemplary Private Schools by the US Department of Education.
Col. Charles R. Stribling, III, served as President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees concurrently for 10 years after his father's death until Col. Ronald J. Kelly, veteran MMA teacher, coach, company advisor, admissions director, executive officer and superintendent, was elected as the eighth President of the Academy in August 1993.
On July 1, 2007, Maj. Gen. Robert M. Flanagan, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), became the ninth president of Missouri Military Academy. Gen. Flanagan comes to MMA following a 33-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps and two years at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Fla., as commandant and deputy headmaster. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Troy University, and is a graduate of the National War College. He was commander of three Marine air bases on the East Coast, and of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. In August 2011, MajGen Flanagan announced his intention to retire on June 30, 2012. A national search is underway for a new president.
Notable MMA Alumni and Associates
- Entrepreneur and adventurer Maxie Anderson, 1952
- Samuel R. Byrd, 1957, commanded the honor guard at the funeral of President John F. Kennedy [1]
- Actor Randall Carver[2]
- Entertainment industry consultant, author and actor Dale Dye, 1962
- Howard R. Hughes, Sr., entrepreneur and father of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes
- Judge William Berry, 1930 - Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
- Dr. Lloyd Worner, 1936 - Former President of Colorado College
- LT. General Jack Fuson, 1939 - Deputy Chief of Staff, US Army
- Mr. Cody Fowler, 1908 - Former President of the American Bar Association
- General Clifton Cates, 1910 - 19th Commandant of the US Marine Corp
- Mr. Joaquin Dabdoub, 1981 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan
- Brigadier General Carl Tegtmeier, 1962 - Former Deputy Commanding General, 102nd Army Reserve Command
External links
(History adapted, with permission, from Missouri Military Academy)
Coordinates: 39°10′20″N 91°51′59″W / 39.172126°N 91.866313°W
Categories:- High schools in Missouri
- Boarding schools in Missouri
- Private schools in Missouri
- Military high schools in the United States
- Educational institutions established in 1889
- Buildings and structures in Audrain County, Missouri
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