Lincoln University Opens $45.5 Million Health and Security Sciences Institute

Lincoln University of Missouri officially opened its new Health and Security Sciences Institute (HSSI) on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a transformational investment in health care education, public safety training and workforce development.

The $45.5 million, 40,000-square-foot facility integrates health care, public safety and emergency management education and public service by expanding Lincoln University's School of Nursing and providing a new home and collaborative hub for the Security Sciences Institute and its partners. Designed as a hybrid-use facility, HSSI combines classrooms, simulation laboratories and specialized training environments with the capability to support real-world emergency operations, creating new opportunities for collaboration among health care providers, public safety agencies and emergency management partners throughout Missouri.

"The opening of the Health and Security Sciences Institute in the year we celebrate the 160th anniversary of the founding of Lincoln University is not lost on me," Lincoln University President John B. Moseley said during the ceremony. "The founding motto, 'To Labor and Study,' still guides us today, and it will be evident in the work that is done here in this building that stands at the intersection of education and service."

Lincoln University's new $45.5 million Health and Security Sciences Institute brings together education, workforce development and emergency response in one hybrid-use facility, expanding opportunities for students while strengthening partnerships that serve communities throughout Missouri.

HSSI expands Lincoln University's capacity to prepare nurses, emergency managers, law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel and other public safety professionals. Together with the university's renovation of Eliff Hall, the institute significantly expands instructional and simulation space for Lincoln University's School of Nursing. HSSI also strengthens partnerships among higher education, health care providers, public safety agencies and private organizations.

HSSI represents a new model for preparing the next generation of health care and public safety professionals, according to Darius Watson, dean of the College of Professional Studies and assistant provost for workforce development.

"By bringing together education, workforce development and emergency response in one facility, we're creating opportunities for students to learn alongside practitioners while strengthening partnerships that improve health care, public safety and emergency preparedness throughout Missouri," Watson said. "This facility provides a foundation for innovation, collaboration and service that will benefit our state for years to come."

Guests gather outside Lincoln University of Missouri's new Health and Security Sciences Institute on Tuesday, Aug. 4, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the $45.5 million facility, which expands nursing education, public safety training and workforce development opportunities.

The opening marks the culmination of a major investment in Missouri's future health care and public safety workforce. In 2021, then-Governor Mike Parson invited Missouri's higher education institutions to submit proposals for transformational projects that could be supported through a combination of state budget surplus funds and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars. Lincoln University proposed the Health and Security Sciences Institute, securing $40 million in state support.

Construction of HSSI ultimately was made possible through a broad public-private partnership that included support from the State of Missouri, Lincoln University, Cole County, the City of Jefferson and numerous university and community partners. In addition to the state ARPA funding, the project received $1 million in ARPA funding from Cole County and $500,000 from the City of Jefferson.

"We are celebrating this building as a transformational project, but the building won't bring change - people will," Moseley said. "Students will prepare for their calling here to become nurses who lead with compassion. Emergency responders will hone critical decision-making here, both in training and in real-time if necessary. It will be this work and more that we haven't even begun to imagine yet that will affect and change lives."

Click here to view more photos from the ribbon-cutting and open house.