ST. LOUIS—Missouri Baptist University held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new academic building and welcome center on April 23, 2025. The University announced the new facility will be named the Pillsbury Wainwright Academic and Welcome Center after the generous support of Mary Pillsbury-Wainwright, president of the Mary Pillsbury Fine Jewelry Company, and her husband, Don Wainwright.
The 22,000 square-foot facility will house the Mary Pillsbury School of Nursing and the Robert W. Plaster College of Business & Entrepreneurship, as well as a welcome center for prospective students and campus guests. Funding for the facility also comes from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation and from the Robert W. Plaster Foundation, which also supported the naming of the Robert W. Plaster College of Business & Entrepreneurship.
The groundbreaking ceremony included remarks from Dr. Keith Ross (‘87), president of MBU, and Dan Burns, chairman of the Board of Trustees. Kris Cook (’15), executive director of Ann Wagner for Congress, also shared words of congratulations from Congresswoman Ann Wagner for this significant milestone in MBU’s history.
“This is a significant moment in the life of this University. Today, we stand on this ground with joy, with deep gratitude and with great expectation for what God is doing in the MBU community,” said President Ross. “This groundbreaking isn’t just about a new building; it’s about a new chapter in our MBU story.”
Participants in the groundbreaking included President Ross and First Lady Ginger Ross, Mary Pillsbury-Wainwright and Don Wainwright, and representatives from Cordogan, Clark & Associates, the architectural, planning and engineering firm overseeing the building project. Robert Hoffman, mayor of Creve Coeur; Deloris Petty, longtime friend of the University; and MBU trustees also joined the ceremony.
After representatives and friends of the University broke ground on the new academic building and welcome center, the gathering of students, faculty and guests thanked the Lord for his generosity to MBU by singing “The Doxology.”
Missouri Baptist University is a Christ-centered university located in St. Louis. MBU offers more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degrees. For more information, visit www.mobap.edu or call 1-877-434-1115.
