Webb City campus expansion marks completion

Jesse O. Walls | Executive Editor of New Media Jim Dawson, a local business owner and lifelong resident of Webb City, speaks at the dedication ceremony for the new Dawson-Spencer Hall. Named in honor of his generous donation to Crowder, the expansion offers nine new classrooms, as well as labs, offices and conference rooms.

Jesse O. Walls | Executive Editor of New Media
Jim Dawson, a local business owner and lifelong resident of Webb City, speaks at the dedication ceremony for the new Dawson-Spencer Hall. Named in honor of his generous donation to Crowder, the expansion offers nine new classrooms, as well as labs, offices and conference rooms.

Ryan Land
Editor-In-Chief

Officials with the Webb City campus held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 15 to mark the official completion of the newest building on campus, the Dawson-Spencer Hall.

“It’s a great day for Crowder College,” said Rick Butler, member of the Board of Trustees. “It’s a great day for Webb City and it’s especially a great day for our most prized asset, the students.”

The expansion will give the campus nine new classrooms, a biology lab, an occupational therapy classroom and training lab, two computer labs, offices, and conference rooms.

According to Dr. Jennifer Methvin, president of Crowder College, she noticed during her first visit to the campus that overcrowding and not enough room to conduct studies was the main issue at the campus.

“Every inch of space in that building was utilized for learning,” Methvin said. “Students were literally sitting close together as possible, just to sit in the hall and study between classes. Tutoring was going on out in any open area because every other space was full … every classroom was full.”

Methvin, who is currently in her first year as Crowder College president, believes that with the completion of the expansion, along with a vast majority of current programs offered, around 1,000 students or more will be enrolled for classes in Webb City this fall.

“Expanding the program offerings to that population was badly needed,” admitted Methvin. “So now with the occupational therapy assistant program up there and what we have up there for our public service programs, it just provides a lot of opportunity for a lot of people.”

The two story building will not only serve the needs of students enrolled in classes at the campus, but will also provide a shelter to community citizens in the event of severe weather. The building has been designed to withstand 250 mph winds, which is the equivalence of an EF-5 tornado.

The quest for the new building began back on May 30, 2012 when the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] awarded Crowder a $1.5 million dollar grant to construct a tornado safe room on campus. Cyndi Adamson, director of the Webb City campus, along with other school administrators, knew classroom space at the campus was becoming too crowded and an expansion was needed in order to be able to keep growing.

“We started talking about what we really needed in Webb City,” stated Adamson during her speech at the ceremony. “The administration asked, ‘Can you come up with a list of things we might need in a facility in Webb City?’ I’ve been keeping a dream list for years of what we needed here and so I gladly turned that list over.”

The new building will carry the name of Dawson-Spencer Hall after a generous donation from local business owner and longtime resident of Webb City, Jim Dawson. After being given the grant, school administrators had to set out to find $300,000 dollars in matching funds. Upon hearing of the grant and proposed plans, Dawson and his late wife were willing to match the funds to assist in keeping higher affordable education a top priority in the Webb City area.

“It’s such an opportunity for people who are seeking a higher education or continuing their higher education,” Dawson noted. “It’s affordable and that’s one of the key things that is meaningful to me. It’s affordable to attend and provides such an opportunity for kids.”

Guests at the ribbon cutting ceremony included members of the Crowder College board of trustees, faculty and staff, numerous state representatives and senators, as well as representatives from Missouri Southern State University and Pittsburg State University.

After the official ribbon was cut by members of the Carl Junction, Carthage, Joplin and Webb City Chambers of Commerces, private donors were treated to their own ribbon cuttings of separate classrooms and other rooms throughout the building.

 

**Youtube video courtesy of Michael Jernigan, education technology specialist**