Music is in the heart of many OTC students, who also want to bring their passion to student life. This grant will establish a lab course and fund the purchase of large instruments. The jazz band will encourage potential music majors and others to perform at OTC and out in the community.

This grant will transform an existing, underused space into a student lounge on our Springfield campus. The plan includes study and co-working areas, charging stations and casual furniture so students can relax without leaving campus.

Pregnant and parenting students face special challenges while advancing their education and careers. This grant will create better equipped and more comfortable lactation rooms to help mothers across the OTC system, including employees.

Jim Bridwell, Welding Technology Instructor

Heather Eberlin, Agriculture Instructor

Danelle Maxwell, Manufacturing Department Chair

Raymond Wade, College Director of Facilities and Grounds

Amy Schneider, Instructional Designer

Chelsea Foresee, Technical Education College Navigator

Designed to improve student life at the OTC Table Rock Campus, this project will provide board games for students to play while waiting for class, hanging out with friends or unwinding after a long day.

This project will combine the innovative minds of OTC Online and IT to create a centralized location for students who need assistance with Canvas or IT.

OTC students love audiobooks. This project will add more high-interest fiction and non-fiction titles to the library collections across the OTC system.

The Eagle Pride Showcase will display outstanding student work to celebrate the tangible results achieved in the college’s 40+ programs. Display items will be equipped with a QR code so viewers can obtain more information about the program represented in each piece of work.

This capital project will create an outdoor classroom space available for use by any program at the OTC Springfield Campus. Built by OTC’s Construction Technology Program, data suggests the space will improve student engagement and mental health.

The grant will fund the purchase of two 3-D printers, which will serve dual purposes: 1) reduce college expenses by printing equipment and parts needed for IT projects, and 2) demonstrate the application of 3-D printing in the college’s highly visible Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

The OTC Green Council will partner with the City of Springfield and Springfield Public Schools to cultivate and explore native plants. Green Council volunteers will prepare native plant kits and lesson plans for partnering K-12 schools. Students will sprout the plants and raise them. Once grown, the plants will be transplanted to the OTC Springfield Campus.

Operation E.A.G.L.E. (Empowering Advisor Growth, Leadership, and Excellence) provides training for staff whose primary role is advising. Training sessions, held twice a semester, cover a variety of topics to continue to improve their knowledge of various areas of the college. This project will not only support internal professional development, but also provide the opportunity for advisors to attend virtual conferences at no cost to themselves or their departments.

To support the adoption of OER and open textbooks, the OTC Hamra Library will purchase several physical copies of OpenStax textbooks related to high-enrollment general education courses. These textbooks will serve as review copies for instructors and reference copies for students.

This project will create three pedestrian paths through campus to promote staff and student wellness. The OTC Wellness Committee and the City of Springfield will map the routes, designating them with vinyl pavement markers.

To create a real-world experience for agriculture and culinary students, this interdepartmental project will also allow for the use of OTC beef at college functions.

To meet the expectations of today’s digital world, and to serve as a recruitment and marketing tool, interactive campus maps will be created.

To address barriers to student success, a robust prison-to-college pipeline will be created to aid offenders with integration as an OTC student.

Ms. Stone was recognized for driving impactful change on campus with products and processes that deliver enhanced transparency and efficiency.

Mr. Jones was recognized for leading by example, living the OTC mission, and inspiring and empowering his colleagues to pursue innovation.

Dr. Lundstrom was recognized for his community service and outreach projects that positively impact OTC students, faculty, staff and alumni.

This project aims to represent a multitude of perspectives and experiences in the library collection.

This project will combine the innovative minds of OTC Online and IT to create a centralized location for students who need assistance with Canvas or IT.

This project will help bring resources that students need to the places they are the most by developing mobile Student Services stations at the beginning of each semester.

This project partners with Legal Services of Southwest Missouri to host clinics that provide advice on a variety topics of interest to OTC students.

This project will breathe new life into OTC’s longevity awards, recognizing long-serving employees in new and meaningful ways.