When the original administration building of the university burned in 1892 the columns were left standing. They stand today on Francis Quadrangle and are an iconic image of the university's Columbia campus.
More than 5,000 diplomas are expected to be handed out this weekend at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Spring graduation ceremonies begin Friday and continue through Sunday. Commencement speakers include U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, who will address the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and Boone County Circuit Judge Kevin Crane, speaking at the ceremony of the College of Arts and Sciences.
A Missouri judge denies telling witnesses what they needed to say when he was a prosecutor pursuing a conviction in the 2001 murder of a newspaper editor.