It was announced at the MWSU Board of Governors meeting in October that the campus prairie would be formally named the “John Rushin Teaching and Research Prairie” in honor of Dr. John Rushin, Professor Emeritus. Dr. John Rushin spent 33 years as a faculty member in the Biology Department. In addition to teaching and working with thousands of students over his career, Dr. Rushin also developed the award-winning Wildlife Conservation program at Missouri Western and successfully lobbied to get the Northwest Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Conservation on the Missouri Western campus.
The campus prairie was included in the Master Plan developed in 2015. Working closely with their partners at the Missouri Department of Conservation, especially Jeff Powelson, Private Land Conservationist, faculty in the Biology Department are developing this prairie as a multiuse resource for the campus and local community. “Missouri Western students and faculty will use the prairie for labs and research projects, but we also envision the St. Joseph and northwest Missouri communities using the prairie. For example, local school groups, scout troops, and the local chapter of the Audubon society could use this resource,” Mills stated. The prairie is also the site of the MWSU Cross Country course. Mills also emphasized the important role of MDC in this project. “Without Jeff Powelson and MDC I am not sure we could have come this far with the prairie project.”