Northwest to allow student pets on campus
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Northwest Missouri State University sophomore E.J. Brown talks on his cellphone outside the Administration Building on Monday while walking his dog, “Baxter.” Starting next fall, students living on campus in the Forest Village Apartments residential complex will be able to keep dogs, cats, and other common household pets of limited size providing they obtain renter’s insurance, provide vaccination records, and submit a signed consensus agreement from all roommates.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Everybody knows that Bobby Bearcat is alive and well and living at Northwest Missouri State University, but following a unanimous vote Friday by the Board of Regents, the mythical-animal mascot will soon be joined on campus by Fido, Buddy, and Mittens.
A new student pet policy set to go into effect this fall will allows residents of Forest Village Apartments on the north end of campus to keep common household pets weighing less than 35 pounds and measuring 18 inches or less at the shoulder.
The policy, which applies to both dogs and cats, limits the number of pets in an apartment unit to two “non-caged” animals and three “caged” animals while prohibiting farm animals, lab animals, spiders or other exotic animals, and aggressive breeds of dogs.
Northwest Vice President of Student Affairs Matt Baker said the policy change is designed both to increase residence hall retention and support students’ well-being.
Baker told the school’s governing board a recent survey indicated that nearly 50 percent of students moving from on-campus to off-campus housing indicated they did so, at least in part, because they wanted to have a pet.
Baker also cited research showing that students with pets find their animals to be an important source of emotional support. He said students who care for pets generally develop a stronger sense of responsibility, ownership, and structure.
In addition to placing limits on the size and type of animals allowed in the apartment complex, the policy requires students with pets to obtain renter’s insurance, provide vaccination records, and submit a signed consensus agreement from all roommates within their apartment unit.
In other business on Friday, the regents approved a contract with McCowan Gorden Construction for $1.2 million that will be used to fund new classrooms and offices as well as a conference/lounge space at the Northland Innovation Center in Gladstone.
Northwest will occupy about 18,500 square feet of the center when construction is completed this summer.
The board also renewed Northwest’s legal services contract with Husch Blackwell; amended its bylaws to authorize the university president, provost, or vice president of finance to execute multi-year contracts not exceeding 10 years or $25,000 per year; and received an update from planning firm Ayers Saint Gross regarding ongoing work on a campus master plan.
