Students have a new place to gather on campus, thanks to the generosity of a local family. This spring, the University dedicated the Kelley Commons, a beautiful outdoor patio right outside the Blum Union.
It is named for the Kelley family, which includes the parents, Jean Kelley and the late James Kelley; children, Jeanie Grahl ’72, Molly Pierce ’77 and Chris Kelley ’86 and his wife, Kelly; and grandchild Kelley Meirose ’99 and her husband, Scott.
In 2007, the family donated the funds to create the University Plaza, which includes the 10′ bronze Griffon statue and fountain, which is close to the new Kelley Commons.
“It was a great natural extension of the plaza, and we are very happy with the results,” Pierce said. 
The Kelley family donated $100,000 toward the project. The Student Government Association contributed $20,000 for furniture for the Kelley Commons and for the first floor lobby of the Blum Union. Aramark Campus Dining contributed $6,000 and Zack Workman ’74, owner of Lawns Unlimited Inc., donated landscaping and dirt work for the new space.
“This is something my mother loves,” Grahl added. “And my father would have loved sitting on the patio watching students.”
The space includes a large patio area with tables and chairs, a stage, a grassy area, and large black and gold sails to provide shade. Inside the Blum Union, adjacent to the patio, is a new Java City which was provided by ARAMARK Campus Dining.
“The union is often seen as the living room on a campus, and we want Kelley Commons to be a welcoming space,” said Shana Meyer, vice president for student affairs. “We want it to be a place for students to congregate and visit with friends or work on class projects together. These spaces help build community, and that’s a lot of what Missouri Western is about.”
She credited Ann Pearce, special assistant to the president; and Brian Shewell, student representative on the Board of Governors; for their work on the project, along with Dr. Laurel Vartabedian, wife of Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president.
Grahl laughed when she recalled the student gathering spaces that were on the new campus when she was a student in the early 1970s, and the student union was a double-wide trailer. “We had nothing nice like this,” she said.
She and Pierce said that their parents did not go to college, but always told their children from an early age that they were going to get a college education, and that they would start out at Missouri Western. When the bond issue for building a new campus was on the ballot, the Kelley family handed out pamphlets and knocked on doors in support of it.
“We wanted to give back. Missouri Western has provided all of us with a wonderful education and start of careers,” Pierce said. “It has also done so much for the community. Under Dr. Vartabedian’s leadership, Missouri Western continues to grow and excel. This is an investment into its future.”
Pierce said the family’s connections to Missouri Western also continue to grow – Chris and Kelly’s daughter, Kealey Mathieson, is currently a student at Missouri Western.
“Our whole family loves Missouri Western,” Grahl said.
-end-