Douglas Sampson is the busiest he has been in 25 years working at Missouri State University.

The University architect, who is also the director of planning, design and construction, doesn’t expect the pace to slow any time soon.

“New construction and renovation have really picked up in the past two to five years,” he said, since campus leaders and deans have expressed ambitious visions, private giving has been extraordinary and some long-awaited state funding has finally become available. “President (Clif) Smart has been very successful in putting projects together and allowing construction to start.”

In just a few years, significant new buildings such as the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center and O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center have become part of campus, and Missouri State has renovated many academic, residential and athletic facilities to make them more useful, beautiful, comfortable, high-tech, accessible and sustainable.

“We’re making the campus a better place for students, faculty and staff,” Sampson said. “We take a lot of pride in our campus. We hope these projects are really going to make a long-term impact by attracting more students and bringing pride to alumni.”

Why facilities matter at Missouri State University

One of the first major new construction projects Sampson worked on was Strong Hall. Strong, finished in 1998, is known for a modern look, with streaming sunlight and expansive views from the soaring windows.

“I think that building changed architecture on campus,” he said. “People started to understand what significant projects could do to upgrade the University.”

When you step onto any campus, he said, you get a sense of life at that place.

“Buildings mold people. Good architecture leads to a lot of great things, especially classroom development. For example, studies have shown the more natural light you can bring into a classroom, the better the test scores are for students.”

Missouri State is dedicated to improving facilities because the campus experience matters so much to the potential students we want to recruit and retain. Because of a shrinking pool of possible college students nationwide, MSU faces stiff competition.

“These new buildings will improve teaching, learning, recruiting, the student experience and raise our profile as a major University,” President Clif Smart said in his State of the University address. “Students want to come here, and that’s a good thing. … I am very pleased that we are growing in times that are challenging for universities.”

About the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center

In the highly competitive world of higher education, first impressions are critical.

This 13,000-square-foot facility, opened in August, serves as our new “front door.” Campus tours start from the Welcome Center, and there are displays about Missouri State.

Some admissions offices have moved to the building. Eventually, admissions and registration services may move to this expanded location, providing a one-stop-shop for potential students.

Some materials selected for the project are subtle tributes to Missouri State’s early years as a teacher’s college. Slate, a type of rock, is found in the Welcome Center. Teachers in some of the first MSU classrooms wrote on slate boards. In addition, the dot pattern on the upper siding is a representation of the patterns on composition books students used in school.

About the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center

The O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, opened in fall 2015, houses the nursing, nurse anesthesiology, occupational therapy and physician assistant programs.

“That’s a jewel that has been created over there,” Sampson said. “That building, the Professional Building and McQueary Family Health Sciences Hall, all next to each other, are starting to create a ‘mini campus’ for the College of Health and Human Services.”

The O’Reilly Center has state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, with technology such as mannequins that simulate real patients — they breathe, speak, respond to inquires, have a pulse and can even receive an IV.

This equipment allows students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to a more real-world situation without fear of harming the “patient.”

The center also has a primary care clinic, called MSU Care, for uninsured adult patients who are not eligible for coverage under Medicare or Medicaid.

“(This) will expand our ability as a community to reach out to the working poor,” said Smart at the Oct. 6 dedication for the O’Reilly Center.

MSU Care is a partnership between Missouri State and Mercy health care system. Missouri State students are able to receive hands-on training in collaboration with Mercy medical staff, and may earn practicum hours required for their degrees while working in the clinic.

Other recent improvements

Sampson predicts 2016 will be just as busy as 2015, since some projects have just been started and others are expected to start soon. Here are some upgrades that have recently been completed or are in progress.

Renovations and additions to Glass Hall

The groundbreaking for this project was held Oct. 15, 2015. The College of Business, now one of the leading business schools in the Midwest, has outgrown its facilities in Glass Hall. The goal of this renovation is to create the best possible environment for business students, with everything from an executive-style boardroom to an area that simulates the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. Glass Hall will get a new main entrance and improvements to common areas, including a café. An addition will house the Robert Gourley Student Success Center, named for alumnus Gourley, ’60, who provided a significant gift. It will have a career center and spaces for advisors and corporate recruiters.

Renovation of Meyer Library

The library is changing to match the needs of its increasing number of users. Books and other print materials will move to more compact shelving, freeing up space for studying and group work, and the computer lab will move. Several offices that serve students are also moving to the library. Phase one of this renovation started in April 2015.

Renovation of Pummill Hall

Richard P. Stahl, a renowned Springfield-based proponent of modern architecture, designed Pummill Hall around 1956. It was completed in 1957 and had not had a full refresh until 2015, when it was remodeled inside and out while respecting Stahl’s original design. Pummill is home to the School of Social Work, and the department of hospitality and restaurant administration moved to the third and fourth floors of this building from its former home in the Professional Building. This makes Pummill the new location of the student-run Carrie’s Café, now with a state-of-the-art kitchen.

Renovation of Temple Hall

This project is to improve laboratory spaces for the College of Natural and Applied Sciences.

Renovation of Sunvilla Tower

Sunvilla was built in 1963 as a high-rise apartment complex, and Missouri State bought it in 1976 primarily to provide housing for nontraditional, older and married students. Sunvilla has been showing its age, and the University considered building a new housing facility — but renovations of this existing one turned out to be more economical. The recent updates to aesthetics, technology and functions (such as the addition of fire sprinklers) have helped to modernize Sunvilla, making it more safe, attractive and comfortable.

Brick City

In 2007, renovations began on a cluster of brick buildings in downtown Springfield that were about 100 years old. This complex is now Brick City, which since late 2013 has been the home of all of the programs in the art and design department at Missouri State.

Renovation of the fifth floor at Jim D. Morris Center

Changes were made to this downtown building to accommodate growth in both the English Language Institute and the Foreign Language Institute.

Renovations at Plaster Student Union

This building has been changed in phases during the past few years. Recently, the entire third floor was overhauled.

JQH Arena

A new LED ribbon board was added to the mezzanine façade to enhance the game-day experience at both Bears and Lady Bears basketball games.

The vision for other campuses

Missouri State University-West Plains

West Plains is a 25-acre, open-admission campus 110 miles southeast of Springfield. It has seen rapid growth in the past few years. In recent years, Gohn Hall — one of the main buildings on campus — was renovated and an addition was built. A student recreation center was built that also serves as a community storm shelter. The latest visioning guide for this campus includes plans to build a new library, an 850-seat outdoor amphitheater and classroom buildings. Expansions and renovations are planned for sites including Hass-Darr Hall, Drago College Store, Missouri Hall and the current library, which will be converted to a different use when the new library is built.

Missouri State University-Mountain Grove

This 192-acre campus, 60 miles east of Springfield, is part of the William H. Darr School of Agriculture. The latest visioning guide for this campus includes plans to create a place to store, taste and sell fruit and wine; develop a wine garden; add a new shadehouse; expand the arboretum; renovate Shepard Hall to provide additional laboratories; remodel the director’s residence and more.

Off-campus resources

• A master plan is being developed for the William G. and Retha Stone Baker Observatory, located 10 miles northwest of Marshfield.
• The physical needs of the Bull Shoals Field Station, a research facility at Bull Shoals Lake used by faculty, students and visiting scientists, are being identified.