SBU unveils campus master plan

Brad Testerman: SBU is an anchor for Bolivar and Polk County.

Rick Melson: A public capital campaign will be launched in 2028.

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As it nears its sesquicentennial in 2028, Southwest Baptist University is looking toward the future with the unveiling of a new master plan for its main campus in Bolivar.

Nearly a year in development, the plan is considered by school officials to be the first new one in roughly five decades. It includes proposed projects to construct new student housing, a learning commons at the center of campus, new academic buildings and expanded athletic training facilities.

“We’re in the higher education market of making world changers to go out into the world, and we wanted to have a bold vision, something that we could look to for the next 10, 20 years,” SBU President Rick Melson said. “It’s been like 50 years since we’ve really done something that’s created a vision for the future. The master plan really is about setting the course of the trajectory. It’s a shared vision for our campus community and the SBU community.”

The research and development process began last year, and the university hired Westwood, Kansas-based PGAV Architects to aid in the work. The firm spent weeks collecting input from students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni, Melson said, adding the SBU Board of Trustees in April unanimously approved the plan.

As for the plan’s unveiling, Melson said now was the time as the school wanted it to follow the strategic plan approved by the board in 2023, which was building on four themes: belong, discover, serve and excel, centered on the motto of “Students First.”

“We wanted to improve our campus facilities. We wanted to think about our strategic values and strategic goals and how we could accomplish those,” he said, noting the campus master plan is a footprint that facilitates the work SBU is doing, while helping guide its operational and capital investment decisions. “We wanted to have a clear vision for our campus to really excite our campus community, our alumni, our students, faculty and staff.”

Phase I of the plan identifies proposals to construct new student housing adjacent to the baseball stadium and on the southeast corner of the campus. Additionally, the plan includes a new learning commons at the center of campus that officials say is intended to create a more traditional quad feel, as well new academic spaces within the Geneva Casebolt Music Center and a connection for the Wheeler Science Center and Jester Center. A second phase will follow, although specific details of that are to be determined.

“Phase I, we feel like we can accomplish over the next 10 years,” Melson said, noting the construction timeline for campus projects mentioned in the plan is yet to be developed. “We don’t want to get too far out ahead. A decade is a lot of time for things to change, and the plan could change over the next decade. But that first phase we feel pretty confident about.”

Officials declined to disclose SBU’s investment in the plan or estimated costs for executing projects in the document.

Brad Testerman, president and CEO of Economic Development Partnership of Bolivar & Polk County, said his organization is excited about the master plan and its importance for SBU and the community. He said EDP, which is a public/private partnership that works to advocate for new and existing businesses in the area, got to meet with PGAV at one of its board meetings to learn more about the plan.

“We weren’t really expecting it to be this expansive, so we were very thrilled to see this,” Testerman said, adding one of his organization’s board members is Leon Wirth, SBU’s vice president for institutional advancement. “We know this is an older campus that has been around in Bolivar since 1879, so some of the older buildings are still around and I know that it needs a little bit of a refresh.”

SBU originally started in Lebanon in 1878 as Southwest Baptist College and moved to Bolivar the following year. The private Christian college changed to its current name in 1981 and additionally has campuses in Springfield, Mountain View and Salem. Melson, who is the university’s 26th president, began in 2021.

Campaign waits
While several construction projects are proposed in the plan over the coming decade, Melson said the money to fund them is currently being sought privately. A public capital campaign is yet to launch.

“Obviously, we want to raise significant capital dollars to make those capital investments through a campaign plan. We’ll be developing that fundraising campaign over the next couple of years with a public launch at our sesquicentennial in 2028,” he said, adding conversations are ongoing with donors and community partners. “So, we’ll be doing quite a bit of work over the next few years to develop that plan to build momentum and partnerships.”

Melson said money follows vision, noting fundraising is about relationships.

“We certainly want to break some ground on some projects before 2028, but we’ll be doing a quiet phase of building the campaign over the next few years,” he said.

One of the areas getting attention now is the university’s Springfield campus at 4431 S. Fremont Ave., which is just south of Highway 60. The school’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program is moving there in the fall from its home in Bolivar. For around 15 years, the program has operated off campus in Bolivar on South Springfield Avenue in a former grocery store building. Melson said The Hill Church is purchasing the Bolivar building for an undisclosed price.

“In the fall, we’ll have well over 500 students just in health professions on our Springfield campus,” he said, noting around 150 students are in the DPT program and will join those enrolled in nursing, radiography and health sciences programs.

Melson said it will be a roughly $1.5 million investment to move the program, which includes some renovations to the Springfield building, dubbed the SBU Mercy College of Health Professions.

“We’re looking for donor support to do that. We have some proposals, but we would certainly welcome those who would like to partner with us,” he said.

Enrollment boost
Melson said enrollment at SBU’s campuses and programs in the fall totaled over 2,500, turning around a declining trend.

“Total enrollment, we were up for the first time in over a decade this year,” he said, noting undergraduate enrollment was up 4.4% year-over-year to 1,728 and graduate enrollment increased 2.7% to 502.

“We continue to focus on the quality of the experience at SBU. We are leaning into our Christian identity, and we are unapologetically a Christ-centered university and part of that is vision,” he said. “Part of that is creating a student experience that’s attractional. Part of that is outcomes. For example, for the last several years, we continue to have a 100% pass rate on our (National Council Licensure Examination), which is the national licensure for our nursing program.”

While Melson acknowledges there’s a challenge to grow enrollment in today’s higher education environment, he said SBU offers a transformational, holistic education that differentiates it from many of its competitors.

“We want to equip our students to be ready to lead. We believe to be ready to lead means to be ready to serve. And that’s attractional to students and families that are joining the work that we’re doing here,” he said. “We’re leaning into our historic values, our Christian identity and I think families want something different today.”

Testerman said SBU is an anchor for Bolivar and Polk County, adding the master plan signals a desire to grow not only its footprint but its significance in the local community.

“It really sets the tone for who’s coming into our county, what the students are learning,” he said. “Do they stay, do they move away? What do they do after they graduate? It’s very important for Polk County to make sure that we have a great learning environment for them."