Missouri State invests heavily in new academic programs and ongoing campus transformation at UMSL
Capital funding will support new on-campus engineering programs and a Workforce and Business Innovation Center.
Missouri’s fiscal year 2025 budget, signed into law by Governor Mike Parson this week, allocates $20 million to UMSL’s ongoing “Transforming UMSL Initiative,” which will reshape the campus, including a consolidated academic center north of Natural Bridge Road. (Drone photo by Derrick Holtmann)
This week, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which includes more than $36 million in capital funding for the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The budget includes $15 million in capital funding to help launch the university’s new College of Engineering, $20 million in new American Rescue Plan Act funds to continue UMSL’s Transform UMSL initiative, the university’s first step toward realizing its campus master plan, and capital funding to renovate space at the UMSL Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center and the university’s Advanced Workforce Center.
“We are grateful to Governor Parson and the other elected officials in Jefferson City for their ongoing support of our work and mission,” said Chancellor Kristin Sobolik. “I would especially like to thank Missouri Senator Brian Williams, House Speaker Dean Plocher, other members of the St. Louis Legislative Delegation, the University of Missouri Board of Trustees and President Moon Choi for recognizing the important role UMSL plays in the region and our ability to provide access and opportunity to students of all backgrounds and prepare them to succeed in a changing workforce.”
Missouri’s new budget includes a $15 million capital investment for UMSL to build a College of Engineering that will operate alongside a joint undergraduate engineering program with the University of Washington, as UMSL takes steps to meet the demand for engineers in the local workforce. (File photo)
The Transform UMSL initiative is a multi-year effort to re-envision and redefine the university’s campus with more than $110 million in strategic investments and renovations to enhance the experience for future students. The initiative focuses on consolidating the academic core north of Natural Bridge Road by constructing a new annex to the Social Sciences and Business Building to allow the College of Education and Pierre Laclede Emeritus to relocate from South Campus, improvements to the University Library, creation of a new Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center, and other projects.
The state has committed $40 million in ARPA funds to launch the effort in fiscal year 2023, and also allocated $20 million in last year’s state budget, and the university is working to raise the rest of the needed funds through private donations.
To meet Missouri’s growing demand for engineering talent, UMSL envisioned an on-campus engineering school to expand the engineering programs currently offered in its 30-year-old joint undergraduate engineering program with Washington University. The 2025 budget includes funding for the planning, design and construction of dedicated lab space and other facilities to support the new engineering program on campus. Local business leaders working with Greater St. Louis Inc. and the Regional Business Council, as well as major employers such as Ameren, Boeing, Emerson, Nidec and Thermo Fisher Scientific, helped support the engineering funding.
Scott Morris, director of the UMSL Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, speaks at the Anchor Accelerator Demo Day in May. The center will receive $1 million in funding through the MoExcels Workforce Initiative. (Photo by Derrick Holtmann)
UMSL has also focused on supporting new business development in recent years, with the state budget including $1 million in capital funding to expand space at UMSL’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, located in a building it shares with the UMSL Police Department adjacent to the UMSL North Metrolink station, plus $675,000 for UMSL’s Advanced Workforce Center.
These are the latest UMSL beneficiaries to receive funding from the MoExcels Workforce Initiative, one of the signature programs that Gov. Parson has championed during his tenure as governor. MoExcels was established to foster the development and expansion of employer-led education and training programs and efforts to significantly improve educational achievement.
UMSL has previously received funding from MoExcels to help renovate and expand a nursing simulation lab in Seton Center Hall and establish a geospatial advanced technology lab in Benton Hall.
“During his term as governor, Mike Parson has supported historic funding for higher education and workforce development initiatives,” Sobolik said. “The University of Missouri-St. Louis has benefited greatly from that support as it evolves to meet the changing needs of our students and community.”
