Press Releases

April 16, 2024

MSSU to host 9th Annual World Music & Cuisine Festival

The 9th Annual World Music and Cuisine Festival will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Missouri Southern’s Young Gymnasium. Students and community members will serve international dishes while a variety of musical groups perform. For $15 guests receive a wristband to access unlimited food samples while supplies last. Thirty countries are expected to represent their cuisine including offerings from local restaurants Thai Time, Magic Noodle, and Taste of Italy.

April 10, 2024

Missouri Southern to Host Innovative Health Summit

Missouri Southern State University will host its first Willcoxon Innovation in Healthcare Summit on April 11-12, an event featuring speakers and provoking discussion about technology enhancements and innovative practices in healthcare.

April 10, 2024

Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center Groundbreaking to be Held on April 11

Senator Roy Blunt will be the special guest during a public groundbreaking ceremony at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, for the new Roy Blunt Health Science Innovation Center at Missouri Southern State University. Due to weather the ceremony will now be held in the Taylor Performing Arts Center.

March 29, 2024

ArtDEfacs Exhibition Opening at Spiva Gallery

The MSSU Spiva Gallery is pleased to present ArtDEfacs a collaborative exhibition of works presented by the MSSU Art & Design Faculty. The show will run from April 1- April 24, 2024.

March 25, 2024

MSSU to host Women’s Panel

To celebrate International Women’s Month, Missouri Southern’s Social Work department and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) will present the Women’s Panel—Powerhouse Hour on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, from 6-8 p.m. at MSSU’s Ron Richard Athletic Center.

March 18, 2024

MSSU hosts inaugural Rod Anderson Sports & Recreation Management Symposium

The recently established Sports & Recreation Management department kicked off the first Rod Anderson Sports & Recreation Management Symposium on Feb. 23, 2024, in Corley Auditorium. The goal of the event is to bring global and local expertise in the sports industry to Missouri Southern students and help them understand the power of sports in the region.

March 18, 2024

MSSU’s Performing Arts hosts The Great Gatsby

From the rafters of Bud Walton Black Box Theatre, Nick Carraway observes the guests in modern formal wear joining Jay Gatsby’s party. Carraway and his companions immerse the audience in their memories, letting them witness their tragic fates.

March 15, 2024

Missouri Southern Board Approves New Degree Program

issouri Southern State University’s Board of Governors approved the creation of a new Food Science and Nutrition program Friday, which will allow for students to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Nutrition at the university.

March 15, 2024

Missouri Southern to Host Annual Regional Science Fair and Missouri Junior Academy of Science Presentations

The 35th annual Missouri Southern Regional Science Fair will be held Tuesday, March 26, in Billingsly Student Center’s Connor Ballroom. The competition for high-school and middle-school students is affiliated with the Society for Science and the Public.

March 01, 2024

Plain White T’s set to perform at Fred G. Hughes Stadium

Joplin, Mo – The Missouri Southern Campus Activities Board presents Plain White T’s at 7 PM on Friday, May 3, inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

February 23, 2024

Joplin- How Culture Affects Typography

Please join the MSSU Spiva Gallery for a solo exhibit by author, designer, and nationally recognized speaker Nikki Villagomez, “How Culture Affects Typography”. The exhibit will run from February 26 - March 20, 2024. There will be an artist talk at 6 pm on Thursday, March 14 in Corley Auditorium, with a reception to follow.

January 31, 2024

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

In collaboration with the local NAACP chapter, Missouri Southern will host the city’s 24th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Monday, Feb. 5 from 6-8 p.m. in the Ron Richard Athletic Center, formerly the North End Zone.

January 25, 2024

Missouri Southern hosts Disney College Program workshop

Missouri Southern’s Student Success Center hosted a workshop covering the Disney College Program on Thursday, Jan. 25 in Billingsly Student Center’s Room 309. Opened to any interested MSSU student, the event included a presentation detailing the Disney College Program and its application process.

January 22, 2024

Missouri Southern Campus Closed 1-22-24

Due to icy road conditions, the Missouri Southern campus will be closed on Monday, January 22, 2024. MSSU will pivot to an online learning and telework model.

January 19, 2024

Missouri Southern Names Health Science Building in Senator Blunt’s Honor

Missouri Southern State University’s Board of Governors unanimously approved a request to name its soon-to-be-constructed Health Science Innovation Center in honor of Former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. Ground is expected to be broken on the new facility this spring.

January 19, 2024

MSSU Spiva Gallery to Host a Solo Exhibition by artist JSTN CLMN

“In We Buy Houses” JSTN CLMN presents an ongoing body of work titled Raised Here; Razed Here, that investigates housing insecurity and issues of gentrification through a selective assessment of material and visual language of a neighborhood in transition, in economic flux and tension of decline and development. In assessing the environment, Clmn asks, “How can the material and aesthetic effects of looking at crumbling buildings and homes in disrepair be translated into ceramic material and vessel form?

January 15, 2024

Campus Closed Jan 16

Due to inclement weather and challenging road conditions, the Missouri Southern campus will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 16. MSSU will pivot to an online learning and telework model. Students, please check Blackboard for communications from your professors.

January 08, 2024

Missouri Southern to host 24th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration

In collaboration with the local NAACP chapter, Missouri Southern will host the city’s 24th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Monday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Ron Richard Athletic Center, formerly the North End Zone.

December 15, 2023

Missouri Southern Commencement Scheduled for Saturday

Missouri Southern State University will award degrees to 315 students in a 10 a.m. ceremony on Saturday. The event, to be in the university’s Leggett and Platt Athletic Center, will celebrate the conferring of master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees to the students.

December 14, 2023

Gay Burns Makes Impactful Gift to the Lions Forward Campaign

Gay has recently made a significant contribution to her alma mater, Missouri Southern, by including the university in her estate plans. Her generous support is dedicated to the Gay Burns Mathematics and Data Analytics Endowed Scholarship, which she initiated with a current gift. This scholarship is designed to assist students from Missouri and Kansas, including refugees who now call the Missouri/Kansas region home and who possess a deep-seated passion for utilizing their knowledge to address global or industry challenges

December 12, 2023

Lion Cub Academy Awarded Two Grants

“These funds will allow us to provide a significant cost reduction for high-quality early childhood education in our area,” said Nikki Tappana, director of the Lion Cub Academy. "Parents with children going to kindergarten next year could be able to take advantage of this grant program.”

November 14, 2023

Famed Novelist, ‘Brooklyn’ Author, Visits Joplin Thursday

Famed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín will be the capstone speaker for MSSU’s Ireland-themed semester. The author of Brooklyn, the story of a young Irish immigrant in Brooklyn in the 1950s, will discuss his novel at the Taylor Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, an event that includes a “meet the author” book signing event at 6:30 p.m. and immediately following his presentation. Admission is free and open to the public

November 10, 2023

Missouri Southern Board Names Facility for Ron Richard

The Missouri Southern State University Board of Governors voted Friday to rename a building on campus in honor of Ron Richard, their former colleague and a well-known community leader. In a unanimous vote, the Governors chose to rename the North End Zone facility in the campus’ Plaster Sports Complex to become the Ron Richard Athletic Center. A formal naming ceremony, along with appropriate signage associating the building with Richard, will take place in early 2024.

September 19, 2023

MSSU Hosts Voter Registration Event and Women's Suffrage Exhibit

MSSU hosts voter registration event and women’s suffrage exhibit. Missouri Southern’s George A. Spiva Library is partnering with League of Women Voters of the Greater Joplin Area to help the community register to vote or update their registration today, Tuesday Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the third floor of the Library.

September 19, 2023

Missouri Southern New Student Enrollment Increases

New student enrollment at Missouri Southern State University has increased 6.5 percent for the fall 2023 semester, the second consecutive year of growth in total freshmen, transfer, and graduate students new to campus. Last fall, new students grew 1.7 percent.