MOHELA spending

Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune

Members of the General Assembly will have plenty of competing ideas about how to use money raised by selling Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority student loans. Indeed, it's not yet clear whether the money can legally be used for anything other than the direct benefit of student borrowers. But if state officials are able to spend the proceeds on capital projects, the one they should keep on the list is $87.5 million slated for the proposed research and education laboratory building at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.

After having heard the case for this project several times, we are convinced it has great potential impact for the entire state and nation. The facility would enable the kind of work ideal for a flagship university campus.

The state already spends millions on its medical school. It makes sense to augment that spending with this vital capital project. By approving the medical science laboratory building, lawmakers can significantly increase the stature of the university as a research institution.