The Goppert Foundation is supporting Northwest Missouri State University’s renovation of one of the campus’s oldest buildings with a $200,000 gift to the Northwest Foundation.
Martindale Hall, which opened at Northwest in 1926 and houses the University’s School of Health Science and Wellness, is undergoing changes after the Board of Regents approved a $1.3 million plan to renovate the third floor of the building – $1 million of which is being funded through the generosity of donors.
The project targets a 4,260-square-foot section that includes multipurpose space and storage areas. The upgrades will provide academic laboratory spaces to support human services and school counseling programs as well as faculty and staff offices.
Corey Strider, who serves as vice president of The Goppert Foundation as well as president and chief executive officer of Goppert Financial Bank of Lathrop, Missouri, said it saw the need to support the project as part of an effort to uplift the School and students entering the medical field.
“We realized there’s a huge need to support and get people into the medical field right now,” Strider said. “The demand has picked up, and there’s just an ever-growing need. What better way to support Northwest with renovating this building and especially with that field in mind.”
The Goppert Foundation remains a significant supporter of Northwest, having previously provided funding assistance for scholarships and the University’s Agricultural Learning Center. Additionally, The Goppert Foundation supports initiatives in the areas of child and youth services, social and human services, the economically disadvantaged population, education, hospitals and minorities.
“Northwest continues to provide quality education for students,” said Strider, who is a member of the Northwest Foundation Board of Directors and a 1996 Northwest alumnus. “The University has done a great job of saying, ‘This is what we need, and this is what we’re doing, and we will be very responsible with the funds that you give us.’ So far, that’s been the case, and that’s why we continue to give.”
