Columbia College honors founding mother Luella St. Clair Moss to delight of LWV members

Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune
·3 min read
Brad Lookingbill, Columbia College distinguished professor of history, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, talks about Luella St. Clair-Moss, a central figure in the formation of what has become Columbia College. Lookingbill made his remarks on Charter Day, marking the 172nd anniversary of what was then Christian Female College.
Brad Lookingbill, Columbia College distinguished professor of history, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, talks about Luella St. Clair-Moss, a central figure in the formation of what has become Columbia College. Lookingbill made his remarks on Charter Day, marking the 172nd anniversary of what was then Christian Female College.

With several members of the League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County attending, Brad Lookingbill, Columbia College's distinguished history professor on Thursday paid tribute to a college founder - Luella St. Clair Moss.

The event in a former gym in Dorsey Hall was for Columbia College Charter Day. It was 172 years ago Thursday when the State Legislature granted the charter for what was then Christian Female College, later becoming the co-educational and worldwide Columbia College.

Luella St. Clair Moss was the first woman president of Christian Female College, now Columbia College.
Luella St. Clair Moss was the first woman president of Christian Female College, now Columbia College.

College President David Russell in his remarks acknowledged the League of Women Voters members present and their effort to name the next elementary school in Columbia Public Schools for St. Clair Moss.

"We agree that this would be a fitting tribute to a leader who shattered many a glass ceiling," Russell said.

St. Clair Moss served three non-consecutive terms as college president, the first in 1893 when her husband, who was the president, died suddenly. Between 1893 and 1920, she oversaw enrollment growth from 50 to 150, Lookingbill said.

"The 28-year-old widow was one of the first women to helm an institution of higher learning," Lookingbill said.

St, Clair Moss embraced the junior college concept, he said. She sold U.S. government Liberty Bonds during World War I.

Members of the Leage of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, pose next to a portrait of Luella St. Clair - Moss in Dorsey Hall at Columbia College on Charter Day at the College. The league is lobbying to have the next elementary school in Columbia Public Schools named for St. Clair-Moss.
Members of the Leage of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, pose next to a portrait of Luella St. Clair - Moss in Dorsey Hall at Columbia College on Charter Day at the College. The league is lobbying to have the next elementary school in Columbia Public Schools named for St. Clair-Moss.

She founded the Columbia Equal Suffrage Association in 1912, campaigning for the right of women to vote. She was president of the Missouri League of Women Voters from 1925 to 1927

She was the first woman on the Columbia Board of Education in 1922. That year, she ran for Congress, the first woman nominated for Congress from Missouri.

Lookingbill quoted from some of her campaign appearances.

"Political life, to be well balanced, needs men and women," Lookingbill said, quoting St. Clair Moss.

Luella St. Clair Moss helped establish the Columbia Equal Suffrage Association in 1912, working to get women the right to vote until that happened with approval of the 19th Amendment.
Luella St. Clair Moss helped establish the Columbia Equal Suffrage Association in 1912, working to get women the right to vote until that happened with approval of the 19th Amendment.

Another quote: "I have outsat many long sessions in committees where I have been the only woman. I have never been smoked out. In fact, I must be what they call a man's woman since I work very happily with men."

Lookingbill provided yet another quote from her 1922 campaign.

"Men will be able to develop more fully and completely when women are developed beyond the state where they are parasites," Lookingbill said, quoting St. Clair Moss

Campaigning in 40 towns in the district, she traveled over 5,000 miles in a car driven by University of Missouri student John Dalton, a future Missouri governor.

"She had a mind for detail and a broad vision for the country," Lookingbill said.

He read from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch piece advocating for her election, stating that for a man with her qualifications election would be certain. It went on to state that if she were defeated, the only reason would be that she's a woman.

Luella St. Clair Moss served as president of the League of Women Voters of Missouri and was the first woman president of the Missouri Library Commission among other leadership roles over her lifetime.
Luella St. Clair Moss served as president of the League of Women Voters of Missouri and was the first woman president of the Missouri Library Commission among other leadership roles over her lifetime.

"Luella did not gain enough male votes to win," Lookingbill said.

St. Clair Moss died in 1947 and is buried in Columbia Cemetery. Lookingbill said hers "is the face of this institution."

"Today we remember the centennial of her campaign for Congress with pride, enormous pride," Lookingbill said.

It was great to hear from Lookingbill about the details of St. Clair Moss's life, said Barbara Hoppe, president of the Columbia-Boone County League of Women Voters.

"She's just an outstanding woman," Hoppe said. "We're excited about the opportunity to get the next school named after her."

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: CC history prof pays tribute to Luella St. Clair Moss for Charter Day