Park University’s School of Business will have a new home, thanks to a seven-figure donation the school recently received.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, Park announced that the Robert W. Plaster Foundation of Lebanon, Mo. gave a monetary gift toward constructing the new building on the Parkville, Mo. campus. The approximately 20,500-square-foot project will be known as the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center.
Along with the School of Business, the Plaster Center will also be the new home for the Park Global Warrior Center, which assists service members and veterans transitioning in and out of the military. Along with classroom and office space, the Plaster Center will include a state-of-the-art finance lab, video production studio, lounge for commuter students and a special innovation and entrepreneurship lab.
Having the School of Business and Global Warrior Center in the same building is a natural fit, according to the school.
Military Times selected Park as the No. 4 “Best for Vets” private college/university in the country in November 2016, and the School of Business ranks as the No. 2 “Best for Vets” business school in the country among private colleges/universities, also according to Military Times.
“We are passionate about our vow to equip students for success in a fast-paced, ever-evolving workforce and world,” Park University president Greg Gunderson said in a statement. “This new building will provide the type of modernized, state-of-the-art facility needed to keep our promise. We are grateful to the Plaster Foundation for its generous gift that will ensure the university continues to offer the best in modern and applicable education.”
The mission of the Robert W. Plaster Foundation is to promote expanded educational opportunities pride in America and belief in the free enterprise system, for the benefit of America’s youth, through named capital projects.
The Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center is planned to be built on Park’s flagship Parkville Campus of the east side of the university’s main entrance off of Highway 9. Fundraising and planning for the building continues with groundbreaking anticipated in 2018.
HELIX ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN/Contributed photo
A rendering of the interior of the proposed 20,500-square-foot Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center at Park University in Parkville, Mo. that could begin construction in 2018.