OTC receives land donation valued at $500K

A donor that in 2010 granted the largest donation Ozarks Technical Community College has received in its history, today presented a gift of 50 acres valued at more than $500,000.

Presented to the school's fundraising arm, the OTC Foundation, the land is adjacent to the existing OTC Lebanon Center, according to a news release.

The donation was awarded by Reuben and the late Mary Lou Casey of San Clemente, Calif., who in 2010, gifted the college two buildings and more than 13 acres of land - valued at roughly $2.6 million - to form the OTC Lebanon Center. The campus opened in the fall of 2011, according to a news release.

Along with the the gift announcement, college officials this morning outlined plans for the Lebanon campus, including buildings for allied health and general education programs; administration offices; an agricultural services building; an arboretum; a central water feature; additional parking; and enhanced green spaces.

"The additional education and workforce development opportunities that we can now bring to the OTC Lebanon Center will have a significant impact on this community," OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon said in the release.

Reuben and Mary Lou Casey, who died in October 2012, have operated a warehousing company in California since the late 1970s. They chose OTC to donate the Lebanon property after school officials presented the couple with a plan for how it would use the facilities, according to the release.