In support of Missouri University of Science and Technology’s North Star Initiative, the Welcome Center will provide an iconic and vibrant destination to greet and orient a diverse range of prospective students to the campus. In partnership with the Innovation Lab, the proposed warm and tactile facility will anchor the new Arrival District and celebrate a forward-looking message of Missouri S&T’s programs, students and accomplishments in inspiring presentation spaces and immersive galleries.

The Welcome Center fulfills Missouri S&T’s vision of creating a prominent and inviting campus place that evokes a lasting first impression on prospective students. The building’s  contemporary vocabulary utilizes timeless architectural elements that seamlessly blend with the existing campus fabric. The 32,000 SF structure includes an exhibit gallery, event spaces, presentation room, meeting rooms, offices for Undergraduate Admissions, Enrollment Management, and Graduate & International Admissions. Major exhibit spaces in the lobby celebrate Missouri S&T’s past, present, and future.

The Innovation Lab opened in February 2024 and is designed to be a versatile and comfortable environment for S&T students. It is a dynamic, iconic building that is not only a highly functional place to foster academic excellence, but also is a source of pride and emotional connection for students.

The building’s vision is to create a collaborative community that will transform the intellectual, social, and economic potential of S&T students through world-class events, activities, and resources to create graduates capable of meeting the societal and workforce needs of today and tomorrow. 

The program of the Innovation Lab is shaped around collaboration spaces of various sizes, from large (1,500 sf), lively open study areas, to small (100 sf) rooms that accommodate smaller groups. The space also includes a generous lobby lounge, a multipurpose space, and maker spaces to maximize students’ academic experience. The program for the project includes new and renovated spaces to house many of S&T’s student resources such as the Student Success Center and Writing Center. The Innovation Lab is located in the new campus Arrival District and connected to the Havener Center, making it a prominent and highly visible building that will be a tangible symbol of Missouri S&T’s high aspirations for the future.

In addition to the University’s strategic goals and Arrival District plans, the University identified a gap in the Rolla market for a full-service 120-key hotel near campus that included conference space. The University also believes, based on market research, that there is a sufficient market opportunity to support a casual-dining restaurant with table service that will cater to visitors, students, families, and attendees of S&T admissions, academic, athletic, and conference events. The provision of a full-service restaurant as a part of the Hotel and Conference Center project concept will also act as a differentiating amenity for hotel guests and a place maker within the main campus’s context. 

The Hotel and Conference Center project site is situated in the University’s arrival district on the south side of Tim Bradley Way. The project site is three blocks east of Phelps Health, the area’s primary regional hospital, and two blocks south of the project site is Missouri S&T’s 90-acre athletics and recreation complex. Being only ¼ mile from Missouri S&T’s new Welcome Center and having intuitive pedestrian access to the same, this hotel and conference center will be a premiere location for visiting students, families, faculty, and other professionals to the University. 

Missouri S&T intends to engage a private developer and deliver the project through a public-private partnership (P3). The project is intended to assist the university in accomplishing its north star goal of increasing enrollment to 12,000 students.

The Pedestrian Underpass project includes replacement of an existing tunnel under US HWY 63 and construction of a new, larger underpass in its place. As a priority to the S&T Campus Master Plan, this new underpass will include new sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, and a new, below-grade pedestrian crossing that will create a safer, more intuitive crossing point for pedestrians needing to cross HWY 63. The new pedestrian underpass will be a three-sided structure that is taller, wider, brighter, and a shorter distance to cross than the existing path. This will provide a safer and more pleasant and intuitive crossing than the existing tunnel and will connect main campus grounds with new developments West of Highway 63.