Sheppard Air Force Base and MSU have partnered on a Military Education and Student Success Center to both further the success of MSU students and provide those who serve our country with a one-stop shop to give them the ability to earn a degree.
MSU president Haynie said she has had a goal of strengthening the ties between the base, the university and the Wichita Falls community since she first stepped into office at MSU.
“Since I arrived, I have been in conversations with the base about ‘How do we become the partner for you,’” Haynie said. “The closer we are tied together, it becomes a force multiplier, so we need to be sure that we are collaborating so that we are both continuing to be even stronger institutions.”
The center’s designated location is on the second floor of the Bridwell Activity Center. It will serve as a hub where students and airmen alike can congregate and be provided with an education that is set up for success.
The mission behind the center is to not only provide the airmen with a center for their educational needs, but also to provide more opportunities for success all around, including the MSU students.
“Our mission is to educate. So we wanted to ensure that we were going to be the university of choice for the airmen and their families, so we started those conversations with the base, trying to talk about ‘How do we partner in a way that can serve those who serve us?’ And what I think is so exciting about this project is building out that second floor for the Bridwell Activities Center is really focused on student success anchored in the military education center,” Haynie said.
MSU made the initial push to collaborate. It brought Sheppard to the table and began discussing how this center could be beneficial to the education the airmen are receiving.
On the Sheppard side of the project, base officials serve as advisors and openly communicate with MSU and Haynie about what they think would set the center up to be most successful.
Director of staff of the 82nd Training Wing Vincent Terrell serves on the board as a communicator of the design of the center.
“Basically, we are voicing what we think a good edition, how we think the layout should be, uh most conducive to an airman that is going to go out to MSU and be a student and you know time constraint, you know they need to have a one-stop shop so we try to communicate those requirements or those needs,” Terrell said.
The project would not be possible without the funding from philanthropic donations to the university and money from the city. The city passed resolution 4a and 4B to fund an extra $2 million dollars.
“We are also thrilled that the Bridwell Foundation, so one of our strong philanthropic partners in the city, has provided $2 million dollars of support for the buildout. And then our economic development boards with the city, they provided an additional $2 million,” Haynie said. “So it truly is the city, our philanthropic partners in our city who want to invest in us and the university and the base coming together.”
Along with the funding for the buildout and renovations, scholarship money was also raised in order to provide the airmen with some financial support.
“We were also able to raise around $750,000 and counting towards scholarships, so that we can help to cover the full cost of attendance for any active duty military, but also help provide some scholarship dollars to defray the cost for their dependents and support our veterans,” Haynie said.
Renovations have already begun on the second floor of the BAC and that floor is currently closed off to students. The tentative timeline for the projects expects the project to be completely finished in January 2026.
“January of ’26, and that’s a pretty aggressive timeline, but that is certainly our hope,” Haynie said.
This project will be just another opportunity MSU has put on the table to serve those who serve the country. Sheppard and MSU are both pleased with the opportunity that has been presented and can not wait to see how this helps provide students and airmen with a better opportunity to exceed, whether that be on campus, or remote while training.
“I think it’s just been a fabulous opportunity for everyone to get behind an initiative that can be a difference-maker for this institution and our community,” Haynie said.
Terrell said Sheppard is supporting the effort in every way it can.
“It is an opportunity that we don’t take for granted, and we do our best to provide the support she’s [President Haynie] looking for, MSU, and we make sure that we try to support whatever initiative to the best of our ability,” Terrell said.
