MSU board meets this week about autism support center, Art Annex and president search
With a presidential search looming, the September meeting of the Missouri State University's Board of Governors is uncharacteristically packed.
In the public part of the meeting, the board will be asked to vote on the $10.5 million Autism Student Support Center — to be built on the West Plains campus — and $1.4 million to get started designing the new Art Annex.
The board is also expected to meet behind closed doors to discuss, among other things, members of the committee that will lead the search to find the university's next president.
Clif Smart, who has been in the role since 2011, recently announced this academic year will be his last. He will retire in mid-2024.
For the Autism Student Support Center, the board will be asked to approve an $8.6 million bid from RIHC Contracting Inc. to construct the building. It was the lowest of three bids.
The center will be located west of Gohn Hall and south of the amphitheater on the West Plains campus.
It will house the ASCEND program — offering academic supports, executive functions development, social strategy supports and daily living transitions — and serve the campus community.
The facility will include 10 coordinator officers, a student lounge, a private sensory garden, reception desk, work room, two decompression rooms, a small meeting room, and two classrooms.
According to the university, the center will be built with autism-specific architectural strategies with special attention paid to acoustics, sensory zones, and spatial sequencing.
The center is expected to open next fall.
The project will be paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan or ARPA, the President's Program Enhancement fund and private donations.
The board is also expected to vote on hiring Dake Wells Architecture to design the new Art Annex in Springfield. The contract is worth $1.4 million.
This new building, part of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, will be constructed on the site of the existing Art Annex. However, it will compliment the design of the Grand Street Underpass and John Goodman Amphitheatre at the Reynolds Art Park.
The meeting is at 4 p.m. Wednesday and will take place on Zoom.
It will be the first meeting for board members Travis Freeman, of Chesterfield, and Melissa Gourley, of Mountain Grove, who were recently appointed by Gov. Mike Parson.
Two other proposed purchases will also go before the board:
$296,070 − Atomic force microscope for the Jordan Valley Innovation Center;
$797,857 − Periodicals for the Meyer Library.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Autism support center, Art Annex, president search on MSU board agenda
