Greenwood Center receives enough state funding to complete project

The Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center project has passed the final funding hurdle.

Following the approval of $4.6 million in state appropriations in June, the project has amassed the necessary $7.9 million to renovate the nearly 100-year-old building into an autism center in Kirksville. After Truman State University began the project in 2015, a timeframe for completion is within sight.

"Truman is really excited that, here were are, we have the funding, and this really seems like it's going to happen," said Janet Gooch, Truman's executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "To think of all of the people that have been involved, because it has definitely been a community effort. It hasn't just been Truman, it has been a lot of people that have helped make this a reality."

University officials hoped to have the project fully funded a few years after it began. Appropriations were withheld during state budget issues near the end of Jay Nixon's tenure as governor and eliminated when Eric Greitens took office. Smaller-than-expected amounts of state money came in in 2018 with Mike Parson. In total, the project has received $6.8 million in state funding, along with $1.1 million from a grant from the Sunderland Foundation of Kansas City.

"The whole goal is to provide autism diagnostic and treatment services for individuals with autism and their families," Gooch said. "There will be a variety of different therapies that happen in there, and parent counseling and parent education. It might be occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, behavioral therapy — any treatment that an individual with autism might need. And then there will also be programs that help support families."

"By establishing the Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center we are providing a crucial resource for the residents of northeast Missouri, while also saving a treasured historic building," said Truman President Sue Thomas in a press release. "We are tremendously grateful for the bipartisan support the project has received, and for the unwavering commitment of Sen. Cindy O'Laughlin as she championed the creation of the center. Representatives Danny Busick and Greg Sharpe also played key roles in moving the Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center along, and Gov. Parson's leadership on the state budget was essential in making this much-anticipated resource a reality."

Gooch said renovations have been done incrementally as funding came in, with those most noticeable on the outside. New windows were installed and bricks were repaired, and a new parking lot was constructed. So the remainder of the funding will go to remodeling the inside of the former school. Gooch said the gym will remain intact, but new offices and other necessary renovations will occur inside.

The hope is that the new center will be operational in the fall of 2023.

The Greenwood School was built in 1935 and served elementary students for nearly 60 years. It was named after James Greenwood, an inaugural faculty member of the North Missouri Normal School, Truman's original name. Truman purchased the building in 1999 when the Kirksville R-III School District built a new elementary school. Greenwood has primarily been used as storage since then, until the autism clinic plan was announced by former university president Troy Paino.

That plan came together based on a lack of those services in the area, and as a way to boost educational opportunities at the university. Gooch said Truman's education, special education and speech pathology programs have helped in those areas, but more help was needed. The plan is for Truman to partner with external medical professionals to offer a multitude of services at the center, while allowing Truman students to learn.

There will be opportunities for new and expanded academic programs with the Greenwood Center. Truman has a new online master's program in mental health and counseling launching in December.

Other Truman programs could also work with the center, either for education or for community service. Gooch listed business students working on marketing for the center, along with art and music students doing work there.

"The number of people with autism is growing and the services required by them are becoming much more complex and very interdisciplinary in nature," Gooch said. "So I think there are a lot of opportunities for students who want to make a career that ties back to this particular community."

Gooch said the educational aspect is a key piece for the university. She said the university's education and nursing programs have long been popular. The Greenwood Center could grow those programs and be a valuable recruiting resource as well.

"The thought is that with this opportunity for students to get some real hands-on experience, it will just add to the program and likely increase enrollment in those programs," Gooch said.

Gooch said there isn't a timeline yet on when construction will begin. With the pandemic still going on, supply chains are still in flux. Construction is expected to last about one year.

With the Greenwood School being a longtime fixture in the community, even decades after it was in use, repurposing a legacy landmark for a new generation is important for Truman.

"It really does have a special significance for people who have worked here or lived here for a long time," Gooch said.

"This project is a true community effort, and we are honored to be taking the lead on it," Thomas said. "With the continued support of Adair County SB 40, area health care partners, our faculty and staff, A.T. Still University, elected officials and the local community, we will provide an invaluable resource of which we will all be proud."

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