NWMSU Regents Approve Environmental Energy Grant

Northwest Missouri State University will receive a grant award of $40,000 from the Missouri State Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority. Northwest’s Board of Regents accepted the award during their meeting Thursday. The grant will fund 75 percent of the purchase of a new biomass boiler and heating system. The new equipment is expected to allow Northwest to provide an alternative fuel source for the university’s recycling center through 44 tons of mixed paper. The University recycles an average of 150 tons of paper annually, but the value of mixed paper has decreased in value and no longer covers the costs to collect and transport recyclable paper products. Northwest Facility Services applied for the EIERA Missouri Market Development Program grant. The grant requires a local match of 25 percent, and the estimated total cost of the project is $53,461. Northwest will provide the matching funds, estimated at $13,366, from its Recycling Center operations fund.

The Northwest Board of Regents approved a five-year contract with Instructure Canvas not to exceed $1,277,955. The contract continues the University’s use of the learning management system through 2027.

A contract of about $1.9 million was also approved with the Northwest Regional Professional Development Center and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for 2021-22. The funds support salary, benefits, regional and state-required travel, equipment, materials and supplies for staff at the center, which supports 59 school districts in northwest Missouri and has partnered with the University since its inception in 1995.