SMSU Morris Center renovations near completion

The school’s 93-year-old, 60,000-square-foot building at 301 S. Jefferson Ave., now called the Jim D. Morris Center for Continuing Education, is in the final stages of a $1.5 million renovation. The former Bell Telephone building houses all of the noncredit programs for SMSU’s College of Continuing and Professional Education, its lone tenant.

The first and fourth floors of the five-story structure are being updated to provide larger classrooms, extra computer labs and waiting areas for both visitors and students waiting for the university shuttle.

The eight-month project is partially complete; the fourth floor has been complete for almost six weeks, and the completion of the first floor is expected in early to mid-May.

Nesbitt Construction is serving as contractor on the project, with Neff Architects as lead architect and Smith-Goth Engineers performing engineering work.

The improvements are designed to benefit the programs housed at the center, which range from computer education for area businesspeople to classes teaching English to SMSU foreign students.

Morris Center Marketing Specialist Peggy Schreiner said the community focus of the center is different than the student focus of the rest of the university.

“The only thing that all of our programs have in common is that they’re all noncredit,” she said. “They’re for local people to come and take a class on computers or rent the space for a seminar or professional development.”

The project is funded through a combination of university funds and the sale of property west of Springfield and in Seymour donated by Jim D. Morris.

Don Schlueter, director of the college for continuing education, said that mission is aided by the building’s prime business location.

“We want to cater to the business community and what their needs are, so being where the businesses are is a big advantage,” he said. “Even over the past four years since I’ve been here, things that have happened downtown have affected us in terms of people feeling like it’s a much more inviting place to come than it was in the past.”

The businesses also appreciate the proximity and the opportunity the center provides. Many area firms have taken advantage of the center’s computer training facilities, including Webco, Northrop Grumman Interconnect Technologies, Encore, SpringNet, Tracker Marine, Springfield Remanufacturing and City Utilities.

Dennis Coons, information technology manager for Webco, said the upgrade to the building is just in time.

“The renovations are absolutely spectacular,” Coons said. “It’s going to make that center a lot more professional, and there’s going to be that much more use for it.”

Coons said Webco has used the facility for the last five years for general office application training for about 50 of its employees, and Coons also uses the center for specialized information technology training.

He added that the company gets training worth about $10,000 a year, though it spends only $7,500 because of its status as a Morris Center partner. Partners are those businesses that use the center on a regular basis.