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Eastern Oklahoma State College will officially open a second building on the McAlester branch campus 2 p.m. Friday (April 15) with an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new Clark Bass Building at 1802 College Avenue, McAlester, will more than double the campus floor space and higher educational capability for the area.

The new facility includes 28,000 square feet of floor space and seven interactive television classrooms for distance learning opportunities. It includes seven classrooms, a computer laboratory, a conference room and a 120 seat seminar center.

The facility has been designed with the latest instructional media technology according to Eastern President Dr. Richard Bernard.

“We certainly would like to invite everyone to attend the open house and ribbon cutting,” he said.

“The new facility should help carry Eastern and the McAlester area well into the new millennium.”

Although Eastern had been offering classes in McAlester for some time, it was not until May 1998 that the branch campus first opened.

The new facility was a joint effort of the Clark and Wanda Bass family; the City of McAlester, through a sales tax extension; the Puterbaugh Foundation and other civic organizations.

At the dedication of the Wanda Bass building a challenge was made by the Bass family for an additional gift of $2 million to construct a second facility if an additional $2 million for construction could be raised.

The Clark Bass building will be dedicated as a result of the challenge grant of the Bass family and bonds issued by Eastern.

Clark Bass was a banker who believed in people, Wanda Bass said. He supported many community projects during his lifetime.

“Clark Bass believed the best thing anyone could give to another individual was an education,” Wanda Bass said.

“He firmly believed that there is no end to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

Clark Bass entered the banking business in the late 60’s and became the president of the Durant National Bank followed by Inwood National in Dallas and the 1st National Bank in McAlester.

At one point in his career, he was concurrently president of all three banks.

“He believed the bank was no better than its community and the community was no better than its bank,” Wanda Bass said.