ENTHUSIASM INCREASES FOR BUSINESS BUILDING

There is something to be said for vision, a musing of something fruitful to come. More can be said of a tangible presence. Such is the case with the long-planned College of Business Administration building on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. On the drawing board, it seemed an appealing and logical progression for the university. In its physical form, as a conceptual design seen and approved by the school's regents last week, the building is even more impressive. While there is much left to do before the building goes from paper to bricks and mortar, this latest step certainly whets our appetite for progress on the structure.

The context in which these building plans are moving to fruition is important to understand. Southeast Missouri State has an outstanding College of Business Administration. Of the 8,716 students at the university, about 2,200 will take courses in the college. There are 1,500 business majors and the college turns out 400 graduates a year. The faculty is well respected. The only problem with attracting more business students and continuing to see this discipline flourish is the physical facility that houses the college. It is, generously stated, inadequate.

This comes at a time, too, when other universities are expanding their business programs to meet demand and providing stiff competition for the best students. At Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, a sparkling new business building might be a drawing card that attracts a St. Louis-area student who would otherwise attend Southeast.

There are interesting, if inexact, parallels between the business building and what is now the Show Me Center. Certainly, the proposed business facility has not borne the controversy of that latter structure. However, their original price tags are not far afield (an estimated $12.5 million for the business building). And while no public bond issue has been necessary to finance construction of the business building, as was the case with the Show Me Center, the business building has benefited greatly from local involvement and community fund raising.

Also like the Show Me Center, the new structure will take campus property that has had a variety of uses (near the corner of Henderson and New Madrid) and turn it into a location that speaks of university advancement. Just as the multipurpose arena on North Sprigg is now featured on university brochures and promotions, the College of Business Administration will, several years hence, also be recognized as a symbol of the school's vitality.

In this year's budget, Gov. John Ashcroft vetoed a $200,000 state contribution for second-phase planning of the business building. The University Foundation has kicked in that amount so planning for the structure doesn't grind to a halt. Having now seen the plans, we are more enthused than ever about this structure going forward. It means a lot for the growth of Southeast Missouri State and, in turn, for the economic well-being of the community and region.