Blunt to approve SMSU name change Thursday
Published March 15, 2005
Gov. Matt Blunt will give Southwest Missouri State University a long-awaited birthday present on Thursday — a new name.
Blunt said he plans to sign Senate Bill 98, which grants SMSU the name Missouri State University, at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday. The day also marks SMSU's 100th anniversary.
SMSU spokesman Paul Kincaid said SMSU President John Keiser, Sen. Norma Champion, R-Springfield, and Blunt will speak during the ceremony, which should last roughly 30 minutes.
The event is slated to be in the Plaster Student Union Theatre at SMSU.
Kelli Wolf, student representative to the SMSU Board of Governors, said students are looking forward to the signing.
"I'm very excited about the bill signing," Wolf said. "It's just great that we'll get to have it on the same day as our centennial."
Wolf said the bill signing is not only a celebration.
"It's a relief," she said. "We can all move on to bigger and better things."
Because the name change is almost official, SMSU spokesman Paul Kincaid said SMSU can focus on funding issues.
"Like everybody, we're focusing on both short-term and long-term funding," Kincaid said. "We hope to work with all the universities in the state to make sure we have adequate funding for what we're trying to do."
The name-change issue, which Blunt made one of his legislative priorities, progressed through the General Assembly without the fireworks of past years.
The bill survived a 14-hour filibuster in the Senate by Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia. Graham called off the filibuster after an early morning e-mail from UM system President Elson Floyd. Floyd advised Graham to let the Senate vote on the matter and to move on to other higher education issues.
The bill includes language meant to compromise with name-change opponents from the UM system. It stipulates that SMSU will not receive any new funding from the change, and states SMSU cannot duplicate any of MU's graduate programs. The bill also states SMSU cannot seek a land-grant or research designation.
The bill finally passed the Senate by a vote of 25-7. After a relatively short House debate, it passed with a 120-35 vote.
Despite Thursday's signing, the name change will not go into effect until Aug. 28.