Governor Jay Nixon visited the campus Wednesday to announce the benefits of “Building Affordability,” a new state funding mechanism approved by the General Assembly this year.
Nixon pointed out that the General Assembly raised the cap on the state’s bonding authority two years ago. Since that time his administration has met with school officials from across the state, to make sure they had concrete plans ready to go.
“Here at Missouri Western, Building Affordability will provide more than $4.8 million to make needed repairs and improvements,” Governor Nixon said. “These investments will also allow for the replacement of fiber optic cable to support faster Internet connection speeds.”
“My sense is that this Internet thing is here to stay, it appears to be growing, ” he deadpanned to an appreciative audience in an engineering training room. “This stuff is really important, especially to young students.”
“If they don’t have access to high speed, they will drive at their speed to get somewhere else to get that high speed. It’s just that simple. To compete for students, you have got to be technologically prepared.”
Missouri Western State University President Dr. Robert Vartabedian agreed.
“It’s a very important piece of the puzzle to be on top of your game when it comes to high tech,” Dr. Vartabedian said. “It’s certainly central to what we’re doing here.”
Dr. Vartabedian called the new state funding for improvements a milestone in his career at the university.
“This is absolutely huge for our university and the surrounding area. This is the biggest thing that has happened to us in my seven-plus years here, to have nearly five million dollars to do what we need to do on renovation projects.”
“In addition to providing students with the state-of-the-art facilities they need to prepare for the jobs of the future, this effort will also help our colleges and universities hold down tuition,” said Gov. Nixon. “Building Affordability will strengthen Missouri’s position as a leader in college affordability and ensure our students graduate with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed – not mountains of unsustainable debt.”
At Missouri Western, these improvements will include remodeling Popplewell Hall, Wilson Hall, the Hearnes Center library, Eder Hall, Potter Hall and the Looney Complex by replacing entryways, flooring, and drop ceilings and renovating restrooms with ADA accessible stalls and fixtures. In addition, the initiative will allow the university to upgrade to digital HVAC controls, and replace old air-cooled rooftop chillers. The renovations will begin this summer and be completed by early 2018.
Building Affordability is a component of Build Missouri, a capital improvements initiative that will fund nearly 500 projects in every corner of the state through bond proceeds and other sources. Build Missouri includes bond proceeds for repairs and renovations at state facilities, veterans homes, state parks and higher education campuses, and for the completion of a new state-of-the-art mental hospital in Fulton along with non-bonding sources for other projects, including conservation areas, highway patrol facilities, and other facilities.