Maryville University was founded in 1872 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was originally an academy for young women, before becoming a four-year college in 1923 and a university in 1991. Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, was founded in 1867 by Joseph Baldwin as the First Missouri Normal School and Commercial College. Baldwin is considered a pioneer in education and his school quickly gained official recognition in 1870 by the Missouri General Assembly, which designated it as the first public teaching college in Missouri. Missouri State University in Springfield Missouri, was first founded under the name Fourth District Normal School on March 17, 1905. The Fourth District Normal School became Southwest Missouri State Teacher's College in 1919 to reflect its regional and academic emphases. The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, started in 1871 as State Normal School, District #2. The name was changed to Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1919. Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was founded in 1873 under the name Third District Normal School. The Normal School became Southeast Missouri State Teachers College in 1919.