2009 Economic Impact Awards, Private Education Finalist: Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University hasn't changed its core purpose since 1878.

And according to 12-year President C. Pat Taylor, that core is strong academics in the framework of a Christian worldview.

The formula seems to be working.

"Our enrollment has been growing," Taylor said, rising 2 percent to 4 percent in each of the last four years.

The school posted fall enrollment of 3,656 on its four campuses.

In addition to the main Bolivar campus, the school has sites in Mountain View, in Salem and in Springfield, where SBU operates a nursing program in conjunction with St. John's Hospital.

Enrollment figures also encompass graduate students and high-school students enrolled in the school's dual-credit program.

SBU had 853 graduate students in its five graduate programs: the master's in education; master's in educational administration; master's in business administration; a specialist degree in educational administration; and a doctoral program in physical therapy.

And in March, school officials reported 50 percent growth in the MBA program and almost 48 percent in the educational-administration specialist program for the spring 2009 semester.

Taylor attributes SBU's growth to its academic reputation, but he also cites enhanced marketing efforts.

"I think over the last five or six years we really have figured out our market niche and have done a really good job of going after that niche," he says.

The school's economic impact can be seen in its $43.8 million 2009-10 budget and its staff - including 320 full-time employees. There also are the benefits area employers reap from qualified job applicants from SBU.

"If you look at public school systems around southwest Missouri, you'd be shocked at how many of them either got their undergraduate degree here, or a master's or specialist's degree here," Taylor said. "That's not only true in southwest Missouri, but south central Missouri where Salem and Mountain View (campuses) are located."

In medicine, Taylor points to such alumni as Dr. Chuck Jansen of the Missouri Eye Institute in Springfield and many of the area's nurses who bear the stamp of the SBU-St. John's partnership program.

SBU graduates also have made their mark in politics, among them Republican U.S. Congressman Roy Blunt and former speaker of the Missouri House Rod Jetton, who now runs a Jefferson City political consulting firm.

To meet the needs of its students, SBU wrapped up a $62.4 million Partners in Excellence capital campaign a few years ago, and those funds paid for about $29 million in construction.

New facilities, such as the Jane and Ken Meyer Wellness and Sports Center, were brought on line, along with renovations to campus dorms and the College of Business Building.

Looking ahead, SBU expects to add more graduate programs and has just received approval to offer its Master in Business Administration program online.

"We are expecting more and more growth," Taylor says, adding that he expects undergraduate enrollment at the Bolivar campus to exceed 1,600 this fall.