WHEN YOU’RE A BEAR, YOU’RE A BEAR FOR LIFE – YOU ALWAYS HAVE A PLACE AT MISSOURI STATE.

And soon, you will have a new space on campus to greet you: The Clifton M. Smart III University Advancement Center.

This new space, named in honor of our former president thanks to a donation, will be a “living room” for those who visit.

It will be a fitting companion facility to the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center nearby. A Bear’s journey can start at the Welcome Center when they first visit or tour campus.

After they graduate, they can feel at home in the Advancement Center.

“We’re now coming full circle,” former President Clif Smart said at a May event.

“We’ve gone from a time when prospective students and families had to find a place to park, wander around campus looking for Carrington Hall — because that’s where tours began — would often sit on the floor on the second floor waiting for the tour, and now we have this amazing facility (the Welcome Center). Soon, we’ll have its companion facility right across the entranceway to campus.”

The symbolism is significant, he said: You start at one building, you finish at the other.

“You’re part of the university for your entire life. And it will also symbolize that we look like what we have been for a long time, and that’s a major university,” he said.

The building will also allow us to increase alumni events that showcase the university — which will now be right outside the door.

“We cannot wait to be on campus,” said Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Missouri State Foundation.

“We want to be part of each student’s journey, from their first campus visit to the first time they return as an alum.”

ALUMNI, ADVANCEMENT OPERATIONS TO MOVE FROM THE MEYER CENTER

This facility is expected to open in 2026, and all advancement staff members will move from the Kenneth E. Meyer Alumni Center to this building. This includes the areas of:

• Development,
• Engagement and alumni relations,
• University advancement relations,
• Advancement services and
• Athletics development.

The current home for these offices, the Meyer Alumni Center, was sold to a nonprofit that serves the region.

“This has been a wonderful home for decades,” Dunn said of the building in downtown Springfield.

However, he and others had dreamed for years of having their offices on campus.

MSU announced the sale of the building to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, or CFO, at a press conference Feb. 15.

CFO provides philanthropic leadership and is run by a professional staff.

Their current downtown building on Trafficway Street was built for them, and they moved there in 2006.

They have surpassed that building’s capacity, both in terms of number of staff and inability to host meetings and activities.

In spring 2023, MSU and CFO officials began talking. Eventually, Dunn asked: “Hey, what if the CFO buys this building?” It was a win for both teams.

“When you look at major universities, the alumni and development operations are front and center. They are at the front door,” Dunn said.

Now, MSU will have that advantage as well. The CFO is moving into parts of the Meyer Alumni Center this year and in 2025.

The MSU Foundation will lease back its current offices until the Smart Advancement Center is complete.

THE CENTER WILL BE A BETTER PLACE TO GREET ALUMNI ON CAMPUS

Since 2015, visitors to MSU have gathered at what has become our “front door”: the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.

It’s the starting point for campus tours, with a 100-seat auditorium. The center created a better first impression for potential Bears.

While that took care of the recruitment side, there is not a similar place on campus for alumni, donors and friends.

That’s the gap that will be filled by the Smart Advancement Center.

“We want everyone to know being a Bear is a lifelong journey from the start of their time here,” said Stephanie Smith, senior director of donor relations and special events for the MSU Foundation.

“That journey will start at the Welcome Center and end at the Advancement Center.”

When alumni and friends visit, she said, it’s a space that should make them “feel like they’re coming home.”

It will be a game-changer for Bear grads, Dunn said: “We want people to make memories in this building.”

WHAT WILL BE IN THE SMART ADVANCEMENT CENTER?

The design process is under way, with the final design expected by the end of this year. Some key features include:

INDOOR EVENT SPACE

This will be a place with a welcoming environment to gather for university and community events, and to stop by any time you are visiting campus.

OUTDOOR SPACE

This will likely open up to the indoor event space. When it’s not in use for gatherings, we hope it will be a hangout with seating for students and anyone on campus.

HALL OF INSPIRATION

This area will showcase the history of Missouri State University and the impact of private support and engagement through the years.

OFFICES

The Missouri State Foundation and university advancement team — including development, engagement and alumni relations, university advancement relations, advancement services and athletics development — will all be housed in the center.