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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

MSU’s New Health Science Center Named in Honor of Major Donor

A new health facility currently under construction on the campus of Missouri State University has received a name. KSMU’s Simone Cook has more.

President Cliff Smart made the announcement Wednesday afternoon at the site of the venue at the corner of Cherry Street and Holland Avenue.

“We are here this afternoon to announce the name of our new health sciences building. It will be called the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, and that’s the result of an incredible gift from Charlie and Mary Beth O’Reilly, as well as the O’Reilly Family Foundation.”

The donation amount was not disclosed, but officials say the “significant” contribution will fund the completion of the center.

Credit Simone Cook / KSMU
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KSMU
New Health Science Center under Construction

The O’Reilly family is known for its philanthropic support of many southwest Missouri entities.

“Now this list includes Missouri State University and its clinical health sciences programs and the result of that will be thousands of students will receive great training in education in brand new state of the art facilities and tens of thousands of people in the Ozarks and our state will receive better healthcare for years to come.”

Charlie O’Reilly said the family is proud of MSU’s advancements over the years.

“As we have said, all of us have grown up here in Springfield and we watched SMS now Missouri State grow and develop, and we’re just so proud and excited, and we have been associated in many different ways, but these last few years, just wow. Missouri State has risen to the point of being just a true bedrock, if you will, of our community,” O’Reilly said.

The O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center will feature a lobby, multi-disciplinary health clinic, skills laboratories, offices, classrooms and group study spaces for the occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, nursing and nurse anesthesia programs.

The building is projected to be completed by the fall 2015 school year.