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Rogers State University plans to construct a new, modernized building for its science and technology programs. Steve Valencia, RSU's vice president for development, said the state has given $10 million and the Cherokee Nation $4 million for the proposed Center for Science and Technology. The university can also bond up to $12 million for the project. Valencia said RSU is relying on private donors to shore up the remaining $4 million. "This is a $30 million project," Valencia said. "We'll build as much building as we can for $30 million, but if we fall short in our fundraising ... it will be a setback. It is critically important that we meet the goal." RSU invited the community to the Dr. Carolyn Taylor Center Wednesday for a kick-off event to raise awareness of the fundraiser. There, RSU Foundation Chair Misty Choat announced the foundation would match up to $1 million in private donations. "This means that your gift will have double the impact," Choat said. RSU plans to break ground on the STEM center by the end of next summer, Valencia said. The STEM center will go up in what is now the parking lot west of Loshbaugh Hall and south of the Stratton Taylor Library. He said the university will soon begin negotiations with an architectural firm to put together designs for the center. A different architectural firm has drafted concept art, Valencia said, but this art doesn't reflect how the final design will look. The university's science and technology programs currently occupy Loshbaugh Hall, built in 1955 when the school on the hill was the Oklahoma Military Academy. Valencia said RSU determined renovating Loshbaugh would cost more than constructing a brand-new building. "It was never big enough to accommodate Rogers State University and certainly doesn't have the modern amenities that science labs need today," Valencia said. Alyssa Allen, a senior studying molecular biology at RSU, said Loshbaugh lacks natural gas, so students have to use inferior hot plates or lighters to generate heat for experiments. She said there are often more broken microscopes in the microbiology lab than functioning ones, and much of the equipment students use is older than they are. "The routine of equipment not working or being dated from the last century has become the butt of the joke for laboratories in Loshbaugh," Allen said. "Students and professors alike do not deserve this imbalance of superior teaching with inferior lab equipment and antiquated facilities." Mark Rasor, the university's interim president, said accrediting officials told RSU leaders if the university wasn't planning to build a new STEM building, they would have determined RSU's facilities to be inadequate. "That's a huge one, because that means that we could easily lose accreditation," Rasor said. Valencia said RSU will keep Loshbaugh for faculty offices and rooms for classes that don't require sophisticated equipment. He said parents and students tend to equate quality of education with the quality of a school's facilities, and he figured most high schools in the area have nicer science labs than RSU. A better science building, Valencia said, would allow the university to accurately reflect the quality of its professors and programs. "We really have a beautiful, modern campus, until you get to Loshbaugh," Valencia said. "...It hurts us in our ability to recruit. This new facility, obviously, will be a very attractive and functional space, and it will help with with recruiting." Meggie Froman-Knight, executive director of Claremore Economic Development, said the center would equip future generations to receive world-class science and technology education at home in Rogers County. She said the center would attract and retain high-quality job opportunities in northeast Oklahoma. "Careers will be launched here," Froman-Knight said. "Groundbreaking ideas will take shape within the walls of this center ... It's a promise to provide the skills and education needed to succeed in an ever-evolving global economy." People can donate to the campaign by emailing Valencia at svalencia@rsu.edu or calling him at 918-343-7780.

Rarely does a college basketball game provide such stark contrast between the sport's haves and have-nots as when Jackson State faces No. 9 Kentucky on Friday in Lexington, Ky. While Kentucky claims eight NCAA Tournament crowns and the most wins in college basketball history, Jackson State has never won an NCAA Tournament game and enters the matchup looking for its first win of the season. Impressive tradition and current record aside, Kentucky (4-0) returned no scholarship players from last season's team that was knocked off by Oakland in the NCAA Tournament. New coach Mark Pope and his essentially all-new Wildcats are off to a promising start. Through four games, Kentucky is averaging 94.3 points per game, and with 11.5 3-pointers made per game, the team is on pace to set a school record from long distance. The Wildcats boast six double-figure scorers with transfer guards Otega Oweh (from Oklahoma, 15.0 ppg) and Koby Brea (from Dayton, 14.5 ppg) leading the team. The Wildcats defeated Duke 77-72 on Nov. 12 but showed few signs of an emotional letdown in Tuesday's 97-68 win over a Lipscomb team picked to win the Atlantic Sun Conference in the preseason. Kentucky drained a dozen 3-pointers while outrebounding their visitors 43-28. Guard Jaxson Robinson, held to a single point by Duke, dropped 20 points to lead the Kentucky attack. Afterward, Pope praised his team's focus, saying, "The last game was over and it was kind of on to, ‘How do we get better?' That's the only thing we talk about." Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff also delivered a ringing endorsement, calling Kentucky "the best offensive Power Four team we've played in my six years at Lipscomb." Jackson State (0-5) and third-year coach Mo Williams are looking for something positive to build upon. Not only are the Tigers winless, but they have lost each game by nine or more points. Sophomore guard Jayme Mitchell Jr. (13.8 ppg) is the leading scorer, but the team shoots just 35.8 percent while allowing opponents to shoot 52.3 percent. The Tigers played on Wednesday at Western Kentucky, where they lost 79-62. Reserve Tamarion Hoover had a breakout game with 18 points to lead Jackson State, but the host Hilltoppers canned 14 3-point shots and outrebounded the Tigers 42-35 to grab the win. Earlier, Williams, who played against Kentucky while a student at Alabama, admitted the difficulties of a challenging nonconference schedule for his team. "Our goal is not to win 13 nonconference games," Williams said. "We're already at a disadvantage in that regard. We use these games to get us ready for conference play and for March Madness." Jackson State has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2007. The Tigers had a perfect regular-season record (11-0) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2020-21 but lost in the league tournament. Kentucky has never played Jackson State before, but the game is being billed as part of a Unity Series of matchups in which Kentucky hosts members of the SWAC to raise awareness of Historical Black Colleges and Universities and provide funds for those schools. Past Unity Series opponents have been Southern in December 2021 and Florida A&M in December 2022. --Field Level Media

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