Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, Missouri, recently broke ground on a new $62 million building that will serve as a hub for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and research at the HBCU, according to a report from St. Louis Public Radio. The new center will be a major upgrade from the HBCU’s current STEM building, which is over 100 years old.
“The need for STEM talent has never been greater. STEM careers are among the fastest growing and highest paying in the nation,” said Harris-Stowe State University President LaTonia Collins Smith at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Students from underrepresented communities remain significantly underrepresented in these fields. However, Harris-Stowe is changing that reality.”
“This new building is going to give our students the opportunity to work in brand-new labs, using brand-new equipment that’s being used in the industry today,” said Freddie Wills, the university’s vice president for STEM initiatives and research partnerships. He added, “One of the most important things is that we’ve worked with industry and the STEM workforce to make sure that this building is going to be equipped with the equipment that’s being used in the workforce today. So once our students leave here, they’re not foreign to what they’re going to see once they get into the workforce.”
Construction of the new STEM center is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
