Gift Provides New Home for School of Business and Warrior Center

Park University announces that the Robert W. Plaster Foundation of Lebanon, Missouri has made a substantial seven-figure gift toward a new building to house the University’s School of Business.

When the approximately 20,500-square-foot project is completed, the building 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. Park was selected as the No. 4 “Best for Vets” private college/university in the country by Military Times in November 2016, and the School of Business is ranked as the No. 2 “Best for Vets” business school in the country among private colleges/universities, also by Military Times.

“We are passionate about our vow to equip students for success in a fast-paced, ever-evolving workforce and world,” says Greg Gunderson, Ph.D., Park University president. “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 on the east side of the university’s main entrance. Fundraising and planning for the building continues, with groundbreaking anticipated in 2018.

For more information or to support the building project, contact Jenny Keane at jenny.keane@park.edu and 816-584-6846.