In just a few years, pre-med students will study anatomy in a brand-new cadaver lab, nursing students will experience real-life scenarios in a simulation hospital, and potential students will enter the Welcome Center to see their future at Missouri Southern.
All of this and more will be possible at the Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center, set to open in 2026. But to reach the future, we first had to break ground on Thursday, April 11 in Taylor Performing Arts Center. On stage donors, politicians and nursing students overturned the dirt in a trough, signifying the start of construction. One of these participants was Former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, the building’s namesake.
Blunt is a southwest Missouri native and represented the state from 2011 to last year. He has a remarkable history of dedicated public service during his time as senator and has been a proponent of higher education throughout his career. Blunt spearheaded $2 million of federal support that included a $2 million state match for the building.
“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. Dean Van Galen, president of MSSU. “This unique facility will provide wonderful opportunities for students and enable Missouri Southern to address critical workforce needs within the Four States.”
The Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center will provide MSSU healthcare students with more immersive-learning opportunities and experiences to enhance their education in preparation for the ever-changing field. Not only will the state-of-the-art facility provide students with unique, immersive experiences such as the expanded cadaver lab and virtual reality simulation, but it will also include a hospital setting featuring an NICU, labor and delivery unit, acute and critical care rooms, X-ray and CT scan suites, and more. Students will be integrated into a hospital scene without leaving MSSU campus.
With advanced health science technology and study spaces for students, the Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center will be a means of connecting campus across all disciplines. The center will be a preview into the future of healthcare for the region and beyond.
“The new building will positively impact the allied health programs in two ways: expansion of available spaces and access to advanced technologies,” Dr. Sherry Whiteman, department chair of allied health at MSSU, said in her speech at the groundbreaking. “The Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center is an outward manifestation of all that I know to be true about Missouri Southern.”
The building is a hub for innovation, a preview into the future of healthcare and education that will be shown here at Missouri Southern.
“The future is here,” said Whiteman. “It’s now, with the groundbreaking of the Blunt Health Science Innovation Center.”
