The University of Missouri is the state's premier public university, supporting an enrollment of 54,000 students, which qualifies it as one of the nation's largest institutions of higher education. Founded in 1839, it was the first publicly supported institution of higher education to be established in the Louisiana Territory. The university's original campus was in
Columbia, a second campus added in Rolla in 1870 as well as an agricultural college in Columbia that same year. The university acquired the
Kansas City campus in 1963, and a new campus was added in
St Louis. The Kansas City campus is accessed via I70 & I35, with the majority of the campus located around 51st Street & Rockhill Rd.
