New SBU PT Center to be Named after Davis Family

New Physical Therapy Center to be Named after Davis Family

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / scsmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – SBU has purchased the former Consumer’s building in Bolivar with the help of a major gift from the Warren B. Davis family, the previous property owners. The property is located at 2103 S. Springfield Avenue approximately one block from the University.

The 40,000 square-foot building will be named the Warren B. Davis Family Physical Therapy Center and will house the University’s doctoral program in physical therapy.

According to SBU President Pat Taylor, the current physical therapy space on the main campus allowed for only 40 doctoral students to be admitted each year for a total enrollment of 120. Once the renovations have been completed on the newly purchased building, the program will be able to admit 80 students per year, which will increase the total number of doctoral students to 240 after three years.

Dr. Taylor said, “The Davis family sold the property to SBU at a bargain sale price and then made a significant contribution to the University.  This building offers a great opportunity for us to grow our physical therapy program and double the number of doctoral students in three years. I sincerely appreciate the Davis family for their significant contribution. It has been a pleasure working with Warren, his daughter Kim and her husband Patrick Harrington. I am delighted that the physical therapy center will be named in honor of the Davis family. We are excited about educating the future generation of physical therapy students in this building, which is in a great location near our main campus.”

Plans for the building renovation are being designed by GHN Architects in consultation with the SBU physical therapy faculty. The Killian Group will begin construction soon. The building’s current tenant, Dollar General, will remain in the building.

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PHOTO from left to right: Patrick Harrington, Dr. Pat Taylor, Warren Davis, and Kim Harrington.

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past four years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc.

For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu. SBU’s Office of Marketing & Communications is available to news media 24/7 at 417-399-7918.

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