WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials at Missouri State University-West Plains are half way to reaching their funding goal for a third endowed professorship.
To date, officials have raised gifts and pledges totaling $130,000 toward the Endowed Professorship of Business within the Division of Business, Applied Technology and Public Service, according to Chancellor Drew Bennett. When fully funded, the professorship will provide the money needed to support the salary for division chair, an important position with demanding responsibilities, he explained. A minimum of $250,000 is needed to fully fund the endowment, he added.
“In so many of the things we do, Missouri State University-West Plains has received excellent or outstanding marks. This includes our most recent selection by Washington Monthly magazine as the sixth best community college in the nation. And yet, it is difficult to find the resources needed to pay faculty at just the average rate for a two-year school,” Bennett said. “This professorship will help us attract and retain great faculty in order to continue to help students achieve success. While a scholarship helps one student every year, this professorship will benefit a faculty member who influences hundreds of students each year.”
The Division of Business, Applied Technology and Public Service houses the marketing, sales, finance, accounting and management courses needed to help students earn associate of applied science degrees in business and/or entrepreneurship. These courses show how various disciplines affect local, national and global enterprise.
“It’s obvious that the study of business or entrepreneurship is not just a selection of college courses, but an ongoing process that fuels the economic engine of our communities and the free market foundation of our country,” Bennett said. “We believe our graduates must have a strong foundation within this division of study if they are to successfully compete in the world of business today and tomorrow.”
Bennett said university officials are hoping representatives from area banks, accounting firms, financial planning services and businesses, who know how important it is to have the skills and training needed to be successful in the business world, will join those who already have made commitments toward the professorship. They include Century Bank of the Ozarks, Community First Banking Company, Landmark Bank, Walton Family Foundation, West Plains Bank & Trust Company, and Wood & Huston Bank.
“Through the generosity of businesses and individuals who have a vested interest in our nursing and honors programs, we have been fortunate enough to fund two similar professorships – the Donna Jones Endowed Professorship of Nursing and the William and Virginia Darr Endowed Honors Professorship. It is hoped the business professorship will be funded in the same way,” Bennett said.
Once gifts and pledges have been received totaling the $250,000 minimum, the professorship will be awarded immediately, Bennett said. The university will fund the interest for the professorship for the first five years at the Missouri State University Foundation’s annual rate of 4.5 percent, or $11,250 per year, until the professorship reaches its fully endowed level and begins to fund itself, he added. Donors to the professorship will receive publicity and recognition to honor their gift and public support of business education, he said.
Those wishing to make a donation or pledge toward the professorship or wanting more information about the fund can contact the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240.
“We would like the financial community to champion our business and entrepreneurship programs, partnering with us as we strive for excellence in higher education,” Bennett said. “We believe these programs are the best way to break the cycle of poverty in our region, which is within the 17th poorest congressional district in the nation, as well as stimulate the local economy and support education as the foundation of citizenship.”