Missouri Western formally opens innovative technology center

Nov. 15, 2024-Missouri Western State University, North Central Missouri College and numerous public and private partners formally cut the ribbon on the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology on Nov. 15.

"The Houlne Center is a shining example of how Missouri Western serves as a career-focused university, for everyone," said Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Missouri Western's president. "From the very beginning, we sat down with leaders from industry and the community to determine what their workforce development needs are and how we can help. I am incredibly proud of the way that Missouri Western and NCMC have been responsive to those needs, aligning our academic experience with the expectations of students and employers."

"We're grateful for the partnership with Missouri Western, the State of Missouri, and the many other investors in this project," said Dr. Lenny Klaver, NCMC president. "This facility was built with the future in mind, and I'm so grateful to the partners involved who saw that in this project. We thought of this idea a long time ago, and we did it, together, to prepare the workforce for today and tomorrow."

The Houlne Center is a 20,000-square-foot learning laboratory that delivers practical, applied learning instruction in skilled manufacturing and construction professions as well as innovative service technologies like AI, robotics, GIS, sensor technologies, information technology and cybersecurity that drive those sectors and others. The Center is home to a broad range of certificate and degree programs as well as targeted workforce training, designed to meet the needs of incumbent workers. Its applied learning labs mimic the equipment and facilities used in factory floors and job sites.

"This modern facility, and the partnerships it represents, sends a message that Missouri is a land of opportunity for both employers AND employees," said Dr. Bennett Boggs, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development and a speaker at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "And as a result, Missourians will be competitive in the workforce, able to support their families, and positioned to prosper economically. This cutting-edge center is designed to prepare Griffons and Pirates for impactful careers in manufacturing and construction."

The Center is named for Missouri Western alumnus Tim Houlne '86, an entrepreneur, author and visionary in the field of artificial intelligence. Houlne is founder and CEO of Humach, a Dallas-based provider of AI technology-driven contact center solutions for hundreds of clients across a variety of industries and regions. He committed $3 million to the Center's Project Fund, which will help support the Center's launch and ongoing programs. It's the third largest outright gift in Missouri Western's history.

Houlne's gift is emblematic of the private support that the project generated. All told, about 20 private firms and individuals have donated more than $7 million to the project.

"We are extremely grateful to all of our public and private partners for their unwavering support of the project," said Marc Archambault, vice president for advancement and executive director of the MWSU Foundation. "One of the exciting things about this particular project is we had support not only for construction and equipping of the building, but for things like operating expenses, scholarship support and professorships that will make the Houlne Center sustainable and accessible to students."

The Houlne Center consists of a large central shop area and four specialty bays, along with a conference room and gathering space. There are no offices in the Center; it is strictly an educational facility. Several areas of the Center have been named in recognition of donors:

• Gray Manufacturing Workshop Bay (the central shop area)
• Altec Manufacturing Technology Bay
• Triumph Foods and Daily's Premium Meats Industrial Technology Bay
• Humach Cyber Science Bay
• Nestle Purina Gathering Space
• Bradley Family Conference Room

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, $1.3 million in gifts were announced for the first time:

• $250,000 from the Bradley Family for the Center's general fund
• $100,000 from Nestle Purina for the Center's general fund
• $500,000 from Herzog for workforce development scholarships for any engineering technology or cybersecurity student
• $250,000 from the Beavers Charitable Trust for professorship funds
• $100,000 from Pete and Staci Gray for endowed scholarships
• $100,000 from Paul Gray for endowed scholarships