The biggest donation in Missouri State University's history came to life Thursday, Sept. 17, accompanied by musical numbers and jubilee as the university dedicated its new Judith Enyeart Reynolds Performing Arts Complex.
The arts complex stands in place of the 70-year-old Art Annex and was made possible through the largest one-time, single donation in the university's history. The eight-figure gift was provided in 2023 by the C.W. Titus Foundation in honor of Judith Enyeart Reynolds, the late wife of Tim Reynolds, who is a trustee of the foundation.
The new performing arts space includes a studio theater on the main floor and several teaching and rehearsal rooms on the second floor, complete with sound-proofing and large dance halls. While the building
awaits completion of a few final touches, Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Missouri State Foundation, said the arts complex will welcome students starting with the spring semester. He noted the new building was further evidence that the arts are "well and alive in Springfield, Missouri."
Designed with the nearby residential Phelps Grove neighborhood in mind, the new arts complex creates a new "front porch" to the campus entryway west of National Avenue. But the building was also designed with input from arts faculty and staff, said Shawn Wahl, dean of Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
"Besides giving and the impact of private money, the space that we're celebrating and opening tonight is based upon love," Wahl said. "It's based upon lifting people up and taking care of our neighbors."
As much as the Sept. 17 event was a celebration of the arts and student success, it was also a way to recognize Tim Reynolds and his impact on the university. He is a double MSU alumnus, and Judy Reynolds attended MSU and worked in the English department for nearly 30 years. Reynolds said that growing up, he was taught that if you were successful, you should give back and do what you can to help others, making the world a better place.
"I feel like maybe, maybe I reached that goal," he said.
According to previous News-Leader reporting, the C.W. Titus Foundation donated an eight-figure sum in 2020 to fund the Art Park and the largest scholarship gift for students at the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
Wahl said the college now has more than 100 Reynolds Scholars, two of whom — Lilly Jackson and Maddux Radosevic — shared their stories Sept. 17. Jackson, the youngest of 11 children who grew up in Springfield, said the Reynolds scholarship made her dreams of attending college a reality. Now completing her final year in the program, she has traveled as part of the chorale and chamber choir and recorded an album.
"This facility is so much more than brick and mortar. It represents the value that is held in the arts as well as the value in investing in our world's future," she said. "When I stand here thinking about the transformational impact of this building, I can't help but also think about the transformational impact that has already begun. I am so excited to see how it inspires students it serves to use their own gifts to give back to the world."
Other donors contributed to parts of the new complex, including Rob and Sally Baird, whose donation supported the Dr. David O. and Susan B. Belcher Lobby, and Louis Schaeffer, whose gift went toward the Dr. Robert H. Bradley and Louis N. Schaeffer Studio Theatre. David Belcher was a former dean of the College of Arts, and Bradley was the head of the Theatre Department for more than three decades.
Missouri State President Biff Williams said the new arts complex expands the university's possibilities for the future for students and the community alike.
"It's a home for creativity. It's a classroom for discovery. It's a stage for excellence and a front door that welcomes the community into the life of Missouri State and its students," he said. "It's going to elevate all our academic programs. It's going to inspire generations to come, and it's going to reaffirm that performing arts are central to who we are at Missouri State University."
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State University dedicates new arts complex, honors impact
