To Award Honorary Degree

Southern Names First Honorary Degree Recipient

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20 , 2007
Dr. Julio León
(417) 625-9501

 

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) – Missouri Southern State University will award its first honorary degree during its May 12 commencement exercise.

The Board of Governors of the University approved today (Friday, April 20) a motion to award a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, to Mr. Robert W. Plaster. Mr. Plaster is a former student of Joplin Junior College and a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.
University President, Dr. Julio León, said, “This is a milestone in the history of our university and to be able to grant our first honorary doctorate to one of the outstanding citizens of Missouri is a great privilege.”

As a young man, Robert W. Plaster was focused on achieving his goals and dreams. Today he is focused on achieving his goals and even bigger dreams, but his purpose also is devoted to helping others reach their full potential.

Mr. Plaster was the founder and longtime CEO of Empire Gas and he is Chairman of Evergreen Investments LLC, a multi-million dollar development corporation. The Plaster family has been so successful in business, it has been named to the top 25 wealthiest family list for the Midwest.

Mr. Plaster is a significant benefactor to higher education in Southwest Missouri. Missouri Southern State University, its students, faculty, and alumni are fortunate to have been the recipient of his goodwill and generosity. He also has supported Southwest Baptist University, School of the Ozarks, Crowder College and Missouri State University.

The former accounting student at Joplin Junior College in the 1950s became one of the most successful businessmen in the region. Although he never earned a college degree, he has since been influential in helping thousands of students in Southwest Missouri achieve that goal.

Mr. Plaster was a major contributor to the success of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE). SIFE establishes student teams on university campuses, including Missouri Southern. Those teams, led by faculty advisors, are challenged to develop community outreach projects that reach SIFE's five educational topics: Market Economics, Success Skills, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Business Ethics.

The fledgling organization then based in Texas had only six colleges when Mr. Plaster was introduced to the group. With his direction and support, SIFE is today an international organization with more than 2,000 university teams in 46 countries.

Because of Mr. Plaster’s generosity, Missouri Southern State University is home to the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center and the Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration.

A Lebanon, Mo., businessman and civic leader, Mr. Plaster’s seven-figure gift to the University also will make possible construction of a student recreation center.