Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) held a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Thursday, April 11 for the Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center. Located on the Oval, the Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center will be a 65,000-square-foot, $45 million facility. The building will create a more pedestrian-friendly campus and serve not only as an innovative center of learning but also as the university’s front door, welcoming new generations of students and families to campus.
The heart of this transformational facility will be a simulation hospital with state-of-the-art equipment that incorporates the latest in innovative healthcare and hospital technology — the same equipment and scenarios students will encounter in the hospitals of the future. It will have spaces that mirror real-life acute care, labor and delivery, emergency care, and examination rooms, and provide the latest immersive learning opportunities for undergraduate students preparing for careers in the health and life sciences fields. The center will house skills labs, CT scanner and X-Ray labs, an expanded cadaver lab, as well as research space.
While the majority of the Blunt Health Science Innovation Center will focus on educating students in the health and life sciences, the facility will also include a welcome center, which will be a first stop for prospective Lions and their families. Housed within the welcome center will be the Office of Admissions and a conference center. These two spaces will provide students and the community the opportunity to see health and life science learning on display in the Blunt Health Science Innovation Center just across a large two-story atrium from the welcome center.
The funding for the new facility comes from a mix of public and private sources, including a $15 million challenge from the State of Missouri to match state investment with philanthropic support from private donors and other sources.
“We are grateful to the State of Missouri and the many other partners who are investing in the Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center,” said Dr. Van Galen. “This unique facility will provide wonderful opportunities for students and will enable Missouri Southern to not only address critical workforce needs within the Four States, but also student recruitment needs.”
Missouri Southern’s Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center is expected to open prior to the Fall 2026 semester.
Reference:
Missouri Southern State University
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