June 30, 2022–The

鈥淲e know Baker is important to our members, and we apologize for the inconvenience,鈥� said Andrew Carter, director of athletics. 鈥淏ut we believe this move is necessary to provide our student-athletes with the best possible preparation to succeed.鈥�

Beginning July 11, Baker will be open to the public from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday through Friday, Aug. 19. Locker rooms and showers will not be available in Baker during the limited hours of operation, as they are reserved for Griffon football student-athletes. The facility will resume normal operations on Wednesday, Aug. 24. In addition, the Thomas Eagleton Indoor Pool inside the Looney Complex will be closed from Wednesday, July 27 to Sunday, Aug. 21, reopening on Monday, Aug. 22.

Most pre-season workouts occur in the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex, but that facility is unavailable through much of July and August while the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for and hold their training camp. The 2022 Chiefs Training Camp presented by Mosaic Life Care opens to the public July 28.

Alumni and others who have purchased MWSU fitness memberships will have their memberships extended for six weeks because of the closure. Members with questions may email recservices@missouriwestern.edu.听

含羞草社区 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

It is unclear if the pool will open for lap swim as scheduled at 6:30 a.m. Friday, June 7. Pool users should call 816-271-4247 in the morning to check the pool鈥檚 status.

含羞草社区 is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

The pool has undergone approximately $600,000 in renovations this summer, including renovation of the entire pool shell interior and pool deck, the addition of a new storefront entryway and ticket office that will allow patrons to enter directly from the outside, renovation of the locker rooms and the addition of a family restroom and changing area, among other improvements.

Discussions about the future of the swimming pool began in 2014, and at that time the future didn鈥檛 look promising, according to Shana Meyer, Missouri Western鈥檚 vice president for student affairs.

鈥淎t that time, we were facing lifeguard shortages; pool usage was at an all-time low; and the pool was leaking an astronomical 5 gallons of water every 45 seconds,鈥� Meyer said. 鈥淢ultiple public forums, petitions, letters, and discussions later, it seemed that the closing of the Looney pool was inevitable.鈥�

Meyer and Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western鈥檚 president, thanked St. Joseph Mayor Bill Falkner and the Missouri Western Board of Governors stepping in with an 11^th-hour proposal to save the pool with the assistance of multiple community partners.

鈥淟ate in the game, Mayor Falkner called me up one night and said 鈥榳e just can鈥檛 let that pool go,鈥欌�� Dr. Vartabedian said. 鈥溾�楲et鈥檚 see if we can get together some partners and save the pool.鈥� And by golly, we did.鈥�

In addition to the City of St. Joseph, who will help operate the pool, the St. Joseph School District, Buchanan County, the YMCA and others came together to make sure that all local pool users could be accommodated.

鈥淲e needed an indoor pool, and it was obvious the city couldn鈥檛 build one, so it only made sense to partner,鈥� Falkner said. 鈥淭he city council was unanimous in supporting this. We all knew the importance of what this pool meant to this community.鈥�

The pool is named in honor of former U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, who represented Missouri in Washington, D.C. from 1966 to 1987, after serving as the state鈥檚 Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor. Dr. Marvin Looney, president emeritus of Missouri Western, said that when the governing board realized they didn鈥檛 have enough money to add a swimming pool to the health and physical education building under construction in 1969, they reached out to the newly elected Sen. Eagleton, who promised to see what he could do.

鈥淚n just a few weeks, he had gotten enough federal money to add a swimming pool to this building,鈥� said Dr. Looney. He also found funding for an orchestra pit for the Potter Hall Theater and other improvements. 鈥淪enator Eagleton did a lot for this campus.鈥�

Gerald Grimaldi, a former Eagleton staff member who now serves as vice president of health policy and government relations at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, said that the name is fitting.

鈥淎s an elected official, and just as importantly in the 20 years of public service as a private citizen after he left the U.S. Senate, he was a big champion of partnerships and cooperation, and this is just a great example,鈥� Grimaldi said, adding that Eagleton was also a champion of education, in particular higher education and public education.

Missouri Western鈥檚 students participated in saving the pool by dedicating student fees to the pool renovation project. The results are worth it, said Alec Guy, Student Government Association president.

鈥淭his will not only be a point of pride for this university and the students here, but for the surrounding area as a whole,鈥� Guy said.

The pool will be available for 鈥渙pen swim鈥� recreational use by the general public at least 30 hours per week. A daily pass is $4. Public hours can be viewed at . For more information, call 816-271-4475.

含羞草社区 is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

鈥淲e anticipated a very positive renewal for our benefit plans, and that has come to fruition,鈥� said Dr. Cale Fessler, vice president for financial planning and administration. 鈥淥ur employees are to be commended for taking care of their health and reducing our costs.鈥�

BCBSKC was one of four medical insurance carriers to respond to Missouri Western鈥檚 request for bids. The 6.67 percent reduction will save Missouri Western approximately $260,000 in the 2017 calendar year. The University will continue to pay 100 percent of the premiums for employees choosing a base coverage plan. Employees who choose a buy-up plan or purchase coverage for their families will see a premium decrease ranging from 6.3 to 9.5 percent.

The board also approved:

• Dental insurance with MetLife, at a cost 2.13 percent less than the current provider and enhanced benefits, including a larger provider network and an increased annual maximum limit from $1,000 per covered member to $2,000
• Vision insurance with VSP, at a cost 5.6 percent less than VSP鈥檚 current plan with no changes to plan design or benefits and a two-year rate guarantee
• Basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability and voluntary life insurance with Prudential, at a cost the same as Prudential鈥檚 current plan.

In other action, the Board of Governors approved honoring the newly renovated swimming pool in the Looney Complex after U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton. According to Marvin Looney, the former Missouri Western president for whom the Looney Complex is named, Eagleton was instrumental in securing funding for numerous building projects on campus, including the addition of the swimming pool in 1971.

Missouri Western will dedicate and celebrate the grand reopening of the Thomas Eagleton Indoor Pool with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30.

含羞草社区 is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

The ribbon-cutting will honor former U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, who played a key role in obtaining funding for many building projects on campus, including the construction of the swimming pool in 1971. The ceremony will also honor the student leaders and community partners who came together last year to help renovate and operate the pool when its future was jeopardized by a combination of maintenance needs, low utilization and staffing challenges.

A former Eagleton aide, Gerard Grimaldi, is among the speakers at the ceremony. Also speaking will be Dr. Marvin Looney, who was Missouri Western鈥檚 president when the pool was built and for whom the Looney Complex is named; Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western鈥檚 current president; Shana Meyer, vice president for student affairs; St. Joseph Mayor Bill Falkner; and Alec Guy, president of Missouri Western鈥檚 Student Government Association. The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce will conduct the formal cutting of the ribbon following the speakers.

In February, Missouri Western鈥檚 Board of Governors approved a contract with E.L. Crawford Construction of St. Joseph to do approximately $600,000 worth of work, including renovation of the entire pool shell interior and pool deck, the addition of a new storefront entryway and ticket office that will allow patrons to enter directly from the outside, renovation of the locker rooms and the addition of a family restroom and changing area, among other improvements.

Missouri Western and the City of St. Joseph have signed a five-year programming and use agreement for the pool. The city will make an annual payment to Missouri Western to offset part of the pool鈥檚 operating expenses, provide programming in the pool, and make the city鈥檚 aquatic recreation supervisor available to help manage the pool during the months of September through March.

The pool will be available for 鈥渙pen swim鈥� recreational use by the general public at least 30 hours per week. A daily pass is $4. Public hours can be viewed at www.missouriwestern.edu/recreation/facilities-and-hours/.

In addition to the city, Missouri Western has worked with the YMCA, St. Joseph School District, Buchanan County and others to be sure all local pool users can be accommodated.

含羞草社区 is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .