At the 7 p.m. April 25 meeting of CoMo Preservation, MU mathematics professor Nakhle Asmar will share why in 2013 he bought and saved the 1837 Niedermeyer Apartments from demolition. The meeting will be held in the Friends Room of the Columbia Public Library.
Dr. Asmar joined the Mathematics Department at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, in 1988 where he is currently a professor of mathematics. He received doctorate in 1986 from the University of Washington in Seattle. He is the author of several research articles in harmonic analysis is the author of four popular textbooks and is the recipient of several awards for excellence in teaching including the Kemper Award for excellence in teaching. Dr. Asmar served as chair of the Mathematics Department from 2015 to 2021.
Dr. Asmar purchased the Niedermeyer removing it from threats by a developer to demolish it and replace it with a 15-story building. The Niedermeyer is the oldest building in downtown Columbia, a portion of it dating from 1837. It once housed the Columbia Female Academy, the predecessor to Stephens College. It continues to function as an apartment building and Dr. Asmar has continued to update the building that ties us to Columbia’s deep history of education.