Missouri State plans $3M welcome center

Sampson confirmed an unofficial announcement of the plans made Nov. 1 by MSU President Clif Smart, who said the school was pursuing a welcome center during his acceptance speech at the Salute to Construction banquet recognizing the Project Team of the Year for the $30 million Bill R. Foster and Family Recreation Center.

“This is a project that, obviously, Clif Smart is very interested in,” Sampson said. “The welcome center would be a first stop for visitors to campus – prospective students and their families, that type of thing. He envisions this as being a significant building that is strongly identified with Missouri State University.”

Sampson said the size of the facility has yet to be determined, but he expects the building would encompass up to 10,000 square feet. He said the project was in the early planning stages but the center likely would include a 100-seat auditorium, a large lobby and offices for university ambassadors.

“Clif wants it to have a lot of curb appeal, full of cutting-edge technology and lots of glass. He is trying to make this an important gateway to the campus,” Sampson said.

In an email, Smart said the school recently hired Andrew Wells of Dake-Wells Architecture as the project’s architect. He said the school likely would solicit private funds to support the project, and the MSU Board of Governors would need to approve the plans, a move that is several months down the road.

The university intends to build on a campus parking lot just south of The Monroe apartments, which the school last month agreed to purchase for $8 million.

Sampson said the university’s goal is to open the center in 2014.