MSU officials declare ‘Welcome Home’ with opening of center

At the opening of a Missouri State University building that bears his name, Clif Smart recalled the day – more than two years ago – that he was told an anonymous donor had stepped forward to jumpstart the project and honor him that way.

“I got a surprise. The gift would come with one condition, the naming. Wow, I was stunned,” he said during a Nov. 11 ceremony for the Clifton M. Smart III University Advancement Center. “I am very rarely silent.”

Smart, who retired in mid-2024, spoke about the leadership team in place during his 13-year run and what they were able to accomplish for students, faculty, staff and the campus. In the past century only one president, Roy Ellis, had a longer tenure.

“Buildings like this matter, but people and relationships matter more. And I want to thank all of my team for dedicating big chunks of their lives to our university and for wholeheartedly supporting me,” Smart said. “Your work made this honor for me possible because you made the university successful, I just got most of the credit for it.”

The $26.2 million project – $21 million of which was raised privately – will serve as the 28,000-square-foot home for university advancement, the Missouri State University Foundation and the Alumni Association. The construction of the two-story building at National Avenue and Bear Boulevard, across from the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center, started in April 2025.

“The Davis-Harrington Welcome Center is where families first meet Missouri State. Now, directly across the street, the Smart Advancement Center is where Bears come back home,” said MSU President Richard “Biff” Williams. “Together, these two buildings say welcome home.”

Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement and president and CEO of the foundation, led the fundraising effort. He will retire in 2027.

“I was confident that Brent’s team could raise the money, and we would have an on-campus advancement center at least as good as the big boys have at Arkansas or Mizzou or Kansas State or anywhere else and he did, and we do,” Smart said.

Dunn has been part of MSU for more than 40 years and explained how alumni and fundraising efforts at the university have evolved, operating out of different spots including a former house near campus and a former bank building in downtown Springfield.

He said the specially designed center – with custom furniture, meeting spaces and what he joked seems like “10 million Bear heads” – was a longtime dream. He said the goal was create a “sense of belonging” for alumni, current students, and supporters.

“It’s all about the future, that is the deal for this building,” Dunn said. “It’s a place where Bear pride, and you’ll see it, is not just displayed on walls and video boards. It is experienced in every corner of this building.”

The building includes an event center for nearly 200 people, two conference rooms, an executive board room, the Garnett Family Bears Den, Traditions Hall and an outdoor courtyard. There are also offices.

Inside static and interactive displays feature the university’s history, current university news and the impact of philanthropic gifts.

Dunn said a critical first step of the project was the sale of the Kenneth E. Meyer Alumni Center to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks for $5.8 million. He said that money, along with the donations, made the center possible.

“At Missouri State, being a Bear is not just something you are while you’re a student. It’s something you are for your entire life,” Dunn said. "Now for the first time in our university’s 121 years, we have a place dedicated to that connection.”