Jan. 7, 2014
This year marks the 175th anniversary of the University of Missouri’s founding in 1839. MU’s 2014 TV commercial, which airs during televised sports, features members of the Mizzou family who personify what it means to be part of a major land-grant institution and the state’s largest public research university.
The spot opens with the voice of historian Arvarh Strickland, the first tenure-track African-American professor at MU. Strickland’s recording was used in a 1989 video produced for MU’s 150th anniversary celebration. He brought to life words from G. F. Rothwell, president of the Board of Curators, from the university’s 1891-92 annual report to Gov. David R. Francis after fire destroyed the first building on campus, leaving only the Columns.
“… Let these columns stand. Let them stand a thousand years. Crown them with an arch, memorial to the men who in their magnificent presence learned what life and duty are, and how to live the one and do the other. They will be to all the rallying point of future devotion and service to the University …”
– G. F. Rothwell
Special thanks to alumnus and American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame member Jack Smith, BA ’62, for his direction and expertise.
Featuring, in order of appearance:
- Henry Josey is a senior majoring in general studies who plays tailback for the Tigers. Josey’s return to Faurot Field this year after what his surgeon called the worst knee injury he’d seen at Mizzou is nothing short of inspiring. Josey stands in front of the 95-foot-high rock “M” in Memorial Stadium that freshmen created as a stunt in 1927. Today’s freshmen whitewash the landmark every fall, one of MU’s many traditions.
- Hannah Seim is a doctoral student in physical therapy in the state’s only public School of Health Professions at an academic medical center. Graduates have a 100 percent pass rate on national licensure exams and go on to rewarding careers – many in rural or underserved areas.
- Seim assists six-year-old Brandon Dohm, whose mother, Kim, is the clinical supervisor of rehabilitation services at the MU Children’s Hospital Therapy Center. The center is home to one of the few therapeutic rehabilitation playgrounds in the country.
- MU Associate Professor Melissa Mitchum studies pest-plant interactions, particularly the soybean cyst nematode, a small parasitic roundworm that costs U.S. farmers more than $1 billion in lost yields annually. Her lab is located in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. MU ranks 14th in the world among universities for plant science research.
- Kattesh Katti is Curators Professor of radiology and physics in the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science and senior research scientist at the MU Research Reactor. Dr. Katti has earned international acclaim for his work in biomedical sciences with a focus on cancer diagnostics and therapy.
- Adriana Boersner, a Fulbright Student from Venezuela, is pursuing a doctorate in political science at MU. Her research interests are in Venezuelan foreign policy, the Middle East, democratization and liberalization, democracy, regime changes and international relations theory. Before arriving at Mizzou, Adriana taught at Universidad Central de Venezuela.
- Mirae Wood is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and is an assistant teaching professor of small animal general surgery, including soft tissue, orthopedics and neurosurgery, in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
- Canine patient Riley is a golden retriever in the Pet-Assisted Love and Support (PALS) program that trains volunteers and their pets for visits to children’s hospitals, retirement homes and other sites.
- Alex Mallin, a senior in the School of Journalism, is the recipient of the David Kaplan Memorial Fellowship , which includes a $10,000 stipend and a paid internship at the ABC News Washington Bureau. The J-School was ranked No. 1 in the country in a recent poll of new professionals.
- Amy Ausdenmoore, who is profoundly deaf, is a sophomore pre-journalism major who aspires to be an art director at a New York City advertising agency. She credits MU’s Disability Services with helping her achieve success at MU.
- John Anderson, BJ ’87, is a longtime Mizzou supporter and an anchor of ESPN’s flagship sports news program, SportsCenter.
