Republic OTC campus making progress, set for August 2020 opening

The new Ozark Technical Community College campus in Republic, currently being built by Rich Kramer Construction, remains on track to begin operations in August of 2020. Mark Miller, director of OTC’s Communications and Marketing Department, said the campus’ opening will be marked with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
“The ribbon cutting should take place on August 10 to coincide with August’s Board of Trustees meeting,” he said.
When the building is complete, it will cover 30,000 square feet and will have 10 classrooms and three science labs. The building should also be able to accommodate between 800 and 1,200 students, though Miller doesn’t expect there will be that many when the campus is ready to begin classes.
“We think enrollment will be about half that when it opens,” he said.
Enrollment won’t be limited to just college-age students. Miller said area high-school students can also take classes for college credit while still enrolled in high school.
“We already have plans for dual enrollment with Republic Schools to allow upperclassmen from the high school to take classes at the OTC Republic Center,” he said, “and those students would receive college credit while also fulfilling high school credits.”
Miller also said OTC is grateful to the Bussey-Cox-Lipscomb family, who donated the land for the building’s construction.
“The facility was made possible by a generous land donation from the Bussey-Cox-Lipscomb family,” he said. “The building, named the Bussey-Cox-Lipscomb Hall, will sit on 7.7 acres. The estimated cost is $7.3 million.”