Edited from an MSU-West Plains release:
Residents in West Plains may have noticed activity in recent weeks around Looney Hall on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus. College Chancellor Drew Bennett said that the college is making a number of changes on the campus this fall, which include moving offices that had been housed in Looney Hall to new locations, including the chancellor’s office, the office of Dr. Herb Lunday, the Dean of Student Services, as well as admissions, the business office, career services and campus outreach, financial aid, information technology services, registration and records, and university communications. The move is to make room for renovations that will return Looney Hall to a classroom building due to the number of students enrolling at the college. Once completed, Looney Hall will house our Associate of Science in Nursing and Associate of Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy programs, a new clinical simulation lab, two laboratories and four additional classrooms. The new location of student services will be at 515 Cass Ave., the former location of the local social security office. Offices making the move to that location in the coming days include admissions, the business office, career services and campus outreach, financial aid, the Director of Business and Support Services Matt Morris, procurement and human resources, and registration and records. With the start of the fall semester right around the corner, university officials suggest area residents who need to do business with these offices to call first to determine whether that office has made the move to 515 Cass Ave. Phone numbers for these offices remain the same, they added. The staff of the development office remain in Kellett Hall, although several have moved to different offices in the building. Director of University Communications Cheryl Caldwell also can be found on the second floor of Kellett Hall, and the remaining university communications staff, Graphic Designer Mathew Crouse and Public Relations Specialist Vickie Driskell, are in Melton Hall Room 218. The offices of Lunday and Administrative Assistant Steve Norberg are now in Lybyer Technology Center Room 207, and IT Services personnel are on the lower level of the Lybyer Technology Center in room 108. Funds for the renovations are coming from grant money and Tax-Exempt and Build America Bonds, Bennett said. For more information about the moves and changes taking place on campus, contact Morris at 417-255-7260.