Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES— Dr. Steve Roberts, vice chancellor and strategic initiatives and chief operations officer for the Kummer Institute, discussed the impact Missouri Science and Technology (S&T) has on the region and the future construction projections taking place on campus with the board of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) during its board meeting on April 14. 

Missouri S&T currently enrolls approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students. In the coming years, the university looks to increase that enrollment to 8,000 and 4,000, respectively. The vision the university has is to become a world-class science and technology university focused on workforce development, research breakthroughs and economic development. 

Dr. Roberts gave updates on three building and construction projects on the Missouri S&T campus including the innovation lab, the arrival district and the welcome center. The innovation lab will be designed to create a hub of creativity and possibility thinking for students and include labs, makerspaces, learning classrooms, as well as event and gallery spaces with completion expected be October 2023. The Arrival District is scheduled for completion in early May and is the new front door and arrival experience for visitors coming to campus. It will include new facilities, landscaping and archway leading onto campus. The welcome center is schedule to being construction in May 2023 and will be a one-stop shop for prospective students and their families. 

Dr. Roberts also discussed the Manufacture Missouri Ecosystem (MME), a statewide network of companies, educational partners and government partners. Tier 1 is the Manufacture Missouri Ecosystem; Tier 2 is the Innovation Campus and Tier 3 is the Missouri Protoplex. With an investment of $220 million, the Innovation Campus will feature R&D labs, Research Asset Database (RAD) and will encourage networking with academic and industry experts. The first of six buildings for the Innovation Campus will be the Missouri Protoplex said Dr. Roberts. This $105 million project is currently in Phase I which includes site preparation to relocate multiple programs and demolish existing facilities. With the design in progress, groundbreaking is expected to occur this fall. 

In other business, the MRPC board:

• Heard updates from state and federal liaisons from Sen. Blunt’s, Sen. Hawley’s and Rep. Luetkemeyer’s offices concerning bills the legislators are working on;
• Approved changes to MRPC’s procurement policy to allow for emailed and faxed bids; 
• Was updated on RPC funding being fully funded at $560,000 in the house budget; and 
• Welcomed Tammy Bruckerhoff of Hermann to serve as the at-large representative for tourism on the MRPC board. She replaces Marcus Maggard, who passed away. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Steve Vogt, representing the city of Belle, serves as chairman of the board. A professional staff of 36 offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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