In 1908, Walter Williams became the founding dean of the Missouri School of Journalism. Williams' career in journalism began in his hometown of Boonville, Mo., where at an early age he was a printer's devil (apprentice) for the Boonville Topic. He came to Columbia in 1889 to work for E.W. Stephens' Columbia Herald, where Williams gained a national reputation for turning the paper into what the trade press called, "America's model weekly."

Stuart H. Perry (1874-1957) was a newspaper publisher and authority on meteorites. He made extensive collections of meteorites and donated many specimens to the United States National Museum (USNM). In 1940, Perry became an Honorary Associate in Mineralogy, USNM, a title he held until his death.