Officials at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) today are mourning the death of former campus dean Marvin Green.
Green, who was dean of MSU-WP from 1966 to 1986, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 10, at his home in West Plains.
“Missouri State University-West Plains would not be what it is today without the vision and leadership of Marvin Green,” said Chancellor Dennis Lancaster. “He helped guide the fledgling West Plains Residence Center, which was housed at West Plains High School, to its first permanent home at Kellett Hall and its permanent status as a campus of the Missouri State University system, then known as Southwest Missouri State College. He also helped create the first library for the campus and guided the acquisition, planning and funding of renovations to the Central complex, now known as Looney Hall and the Garnett Library.
“But most importantly, he worked with community leaders and legislators to establish a nursing school at Missouri State-West Plains to address the critical shortage of nurses in this area. That effort has impacted the quality of health care for the entire region,” Lancaster said.
“In many hospitals, long-term care centers, clinics and doctors’ offices, both in our area and around the country, thousands of Missouri State-West Plains nursing graduates are taking care of us and our loved ones. Without Marvin Green’s foresight, what is now one of the best associate degree nursing programs in the nation would never have happened,” he added.
MSU-WP was approved to begin offering the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program in 1982 by the Missouri State Board of Nursing and the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Two years later, the Missouri State Board of Nursing granted the program full accreditation with a five-year site approval. The program continues to be fully approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing and has continued accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Following extensive renovations in 2011, the ASN program, which was housed at Kellett Hall, moved into Looney Hall, where students learned procedures and techniques in a new simulation lab. Recent expansion efforts to the facility have added new lecture hall and an expanded simulation lab which have provided room for the program to grow.
In September 2022, university officials recognized Green for his many accomplishments during a special ceremony at Kellett Hall and unveiled a plaque that now hangs in Looney Hall. University officials also announced a significant gift from Green’s family to the university and the naming of the conference room in Kellett Hall the Dean Marvin Green Conference Room.
“The work Marvin Green put into Missouri State University-West Plains transformed this campus into a thriving center for higher education that has impacted thousands of lives in our community and beyond,” Lancaster said. “Words can never express how grateful we are for his innovation and inspiration. His accomplishments for our campus will be remembered for years to come.”
Funeral services for Marvin Green will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Curry Street church of Christ, 111 S. Curry St., in West Plains, under the direction of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home. Memorial contributions can be made to the church or the Marvin Green MSU-WP Scholarship Fund through the funeral home.
To see Green's full obituary, turn to Page A8 of today's Gazette.
