Plans for the administration building had been drawn and a contract for construction of the building had been signed on June 3, 1910. The total estimated cost to construct, equip, and furnish the building was $140,000 (equivalent to approx. $4.4 million in 2023). The trustees reported that the City of Shawnee "through its development company, gave to the denomination sixty acres of land worth $1,000 per acre and a cash bonus of $100,000". Dr. J.M. Carroll, San Marcos, Texas, was selected as the school's first president and construction on an administration building commenced in February 1911.
