Parson visits MSSU, touts higher education, workforce investments
Missouri Governor Mike Parson visited Missouri Southern State University Thursday afternoon to participate in a roundtable discussion with area officials and school leaders to talk about the state’s commitment to higher education and workforce development.
Parson says they recognize that in order for Missouri to be successful, the state must educate, recruit, and retain a highly skilled workforce. “We are going to have an opportunity like we’ve never seen in Missouri”, said Parson. “The education community is going to be the start of that.”
Part of the governor’s FY2023 budget shows a proposed 5.4% increase for all public higher education institutions. For MSSU, that means a $1.4 million increase in funding.
This year, his administration recommended nearly $600 million in higher education investments that are expected to generate over $1.1 billion in economic impact for the state, strengthen communities assets, and bolster workforce development programs.
Parson says he hopes to take each universities’ top project and get it done. For Missouri Southern, that’s a $30 million project to create a Health Science Innovation Center. The University says the goal of that project is to create a “best in class” education and training facility to further cement MSSU’s status as a leader in health-science education and research.
In the coming months, MSSU will seek the $15 million in matching funds and advocate with the Missouri Legislature for funding of the project.
“If we’re going to change society, it all starts with kids,” he said as he also touted early childhood development, pushing for lower costs of childcare and open more childcare centers across the state.
On the infrastructure front, Parson says nobody has a better location in the United States than Missouri, and Joplin is a perfect example of that. He says big companies want to be able to move their products down the road quickly, and with the crossroads of I-44 and I-49 in the area, that’s a big deal.
“You look at the trucking arena you have here. You look at the technology sector you have here, the education, the healthcare you have in Joplin..people are starting look from the east and the west coast and say ‘where can I bring my business’,” said Parson, adding that they are looking at the workforce of the community to be able to do that.
Since the beginning of his tenure, infrastructure has been a top priority for Parson. He says it’s key to the expansion of Missouri. “The cost of doing business in Missouri is by far better than any state touching our border — when it comes to the corporate taxes and what it does for even the taxes of everyday citizens.”
