Missouri State University – West Plains hosted the Missouri State University Board of Governors annual meeting the last week of June, held over two days on the local campus and at the West Plains Civic Center.
Part of the presentation was an overview of milestones and progress at the West Plains campus, given by MSU-WP Chancellor Dr. Zora Mulligan.
Those present included all current board members, Chair Dr. Melissa Gourley, Vice Chair Travis Freeman, Ann Kampeter, Tim Francka, Christopher Waters, Lynn Parman, and Jeff Schrag. MSU President Dr. Richard “Biff’ Williams was also in attendance.
Renovations at Drago Hall, formerly Drago College Store, Melton Lecture Hall, the Hass-Darr one-stop support services center, and the ongoing construction of the Grizzly baseball field off of Bill Virdon Boulevard.
Drago Hall will house the veterinary technology program, now offering an associate of applied science degree in veterinary technology in preparation for graduates to become registered veterinary technicians.
MSU-WP Director of Athletics Rachel Peterson gave an update on Grizzly sports and its branding as an enrollment tool, and a brief history of the program going back about 30 years delivered by MSU-WP Athletics Communications Director Bo Crites, a former college athlete who was an assistant Grizzly baseball coach prior to his current role.
The athletics program began in 1993 with the establishment of the women’s volleyball and men’s basketball programs, plus a co-ed cheer program that ran until 2022. Added in recent years were Grizzly E-sports, softball, baseball, and rodeo.
Crites pointed out student involvement in athletics boosted retention and encouraged continuing education at four-year institutions, plus invited community engagement at local sporting events. Recent expansion includes the baseball arena and the construction of a rodeo arena at the Wulff-Risner Agriculture Science Center.
He was followed by professor Anthony Priest, immediate past chair of the faculty senate, who talked about accomplishments and participation of the senate over the last year and a site visit that was an assessment of campus strategic plans.
Priest made mention of Student Scholars, a weeklong summer program for middle school students that gives them an opportunity to explore interests in the arts and sciences and an interscholastic contest for high school students that drew about 450 competitors from 23 regional high schools.
He emphasized the importance of such events in getting students interested in enrolling at MSU-WP, and hopefully seeking further education at the MSU campus in Springfield.
MSU West Plains campus Student Government Association (SGA) President Michelle Robles then gave a recap of that organization’s accomplishments over the past year. That included the completion of capital projects totaling $11,000 for campus beautification and improvements at Lybyer Technology Center and Grizzly Lofts and boosting attendance at SGA meetings from about 6 to 30.
SGA hosted and funded events included welcome week, Halloween and Christmas parties, lazer tag, and a spring break cruise, she added.
Robles concluded the organization will continue to grow through engagement with the student body, including the development of signature events, gathering student feedback, further capital projects and community service projects.
To wrap up the focus on the West Plains campus, Mulligan talked about the community as a whole and its interaction with and role in highlighting the city and greater Ozarks area, including efforts to promote the arts and culture of the region and the beautification of the downtown West Plains, adjacent to the main campus.
The implementation and growth of a relatively new music program was also praised by Mulligan, a West Plains native who just completed her first year as chancellor.
She predicted that MSU-WP’s accreditation probationary status by the federal Higher Learning Commission (HLC) would be lifted, which happened at the beginning of July after a November site visit by peer reviewers.
Drago Hall is planned to be renovated and opened in Spring of 2027, and Mulligan said Veterinary Technician Program Director Rachel Gibson has been promoting the program regionally and reaching out to potential financial supporters.
Summer enrollment was slightly down for summer, and that will be figured into budgeting, and that might be due to a smaller freshman enrollment last fall that might carry through to this fall’s enrollment. However, first-time freshman numbers were up, she noted, and efforts were being made to encourage those students to continue their education here.
“The things we can do we are working on doing and we are continuing to be cautiously optimistic about enrollment in fall of 2026,” she commented.
A five-year strategic plan for the West Plains campus presented to the board was then approved unanimously.
