MSSU Alumni Center Grand Opening

Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center
Opens to Public Sunday, Ribbon Cutting Set for Monday

The public is invited to take its first look at the new Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center at Missouri Southern at two events this weekend and early next week.

The Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center, located in the renovated Mission Hills Mansion, will be open to the public for tours from 2 p.m.- 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 19.

Area Chambers of Commerce, including Joplin, Webb City, Carl Junction, Carthage, Monett and Neosho, have been invited to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by tours of the facility at 10 a.m., Monday, Sept. 20.

The opening of the Ralph L. Gray Alumni Center is the culmination of a project underway since 2004. Mr. Gray, a graduate of Missouri Southern, is an investor in real estate.

The Mission Hills Mansion, built in the Spanish motif by Lucius P. "Buck" Buchanan in the early 1920s, is the oldest building on the MSSU campus. It will now be the permanent home of the MSSU Alumni Association, which raised approximately $1.8 million for renovation of the structure.

Patio bricks, purchased by more than 200 donors, are part of the Board of Governors' Patio at the main entrance to the Mansion.

"We at the Alumni Association know how important our alumni and friends are," says Lee Elliff Pound, Director of the Missouri Southern Alumni Association. "Missouri Southern will have a beautiful and historic location for alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students to call home," she adds.  (Taken from the MSSU Update Website).

Stay tuned for our "before" and "after" pictures of the Mansion and more detailed information of the interior decor, provided by Madison Lane Interiors!

The public is invited to view the new alumni center on Sunday afternoon.   Hope to see you there.