Southwestern Missouri college to expand

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A college in southwestern Missouri has raised $6.8 million in less than a year to renovate and expand its classrooms.

The Springfield News-Leader reports the project will allow Cox College to increase its enrollment for programs including nursing. The nursing program’s enrollment will increase from 250 students to 400.

Amy DeMelo is the president of the 900-student Springfield college housed at CoxNorth. She said there’s a significant nursing shortage nationwide, which she said the college hopes to address that with its increased capacity.

“It will help us grow medical professionals locally,” said Amy DeMelo, president of the 900-student college housed at CoxNorth. “Certainly, the biggest portion of that will be nurses.”

The college, which was opened in 1907, has one of the highest numbers of nursing licensure seats in southwest Missouri.

Other programs offered at the college include medical assistant, radiography and diagnostic imaging. The college currently admits up to 80 percent of its eligible applicants.

The U.S. Department of Commerce $2.2 million of the funding and the Mabee Foundation gave a match grant of $1 million. The rest of the expansion funds came from a variety of donors.

“The community reached out and helped us reach the goal,” said DeMelo.

President of the CoxHealth Foundation, Lisa Alexander, spearheaded the fundraising campaign for the college.

“We are thrilled that so many people and organizations see the worth and priority of this project,” Alexander said. “It tells a lot about the generosity of people in this area, the importance they put on quality education for nursing and health professionals, and the desire to see our community’s health be a priority.”

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com