From national recognition and historic milestones to student achievements, new facilities and expanded academic pathways, 2025 was a momentous year for Missouri S&T. We’re looking back and reflecting on some of the biggest news at S&T throughout the year.

We’re R1!

Missouri S&T earned the Carnegie Foundation’s highest research classification, R1: Very High Research Activity, placing our university among just 187 of over 4,300 U.S. colleges and universities with that distinction. To qualify, S&T surpassed thresholds for research expenditures and doctoral degrees awarded. 

Students claim world championships 

Our Mars Rover Design Team won the 2025 University Rover Challenge at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah with their rover, Talos. The student-built robot excelled in multiple missions and design review, placing first overall against 38 international teams.

A group of mining and metallurgical engineering students won the Metallic Student Design Competition at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Annual Conference. S&T’s team competed against global teams, designing a lithium hard-rock mine and proving its economic feasibility through rigorous phases.

Welcome Center opens

Future students and families start their visits at our new 32,000-square-foot Welcome Center, at the heart of the Havener Arrival Complex. The Welcome Center is our new “front door,” offering prospective students and their families an inviting first stop when visiting campus. It houses interactive exhibits that showcase the Miner experience, enrollment management and admissions services, and spaces designed to highlight S&T’s academic programs and opportunities.

Celebrating five years of transformation

Five years ago, alumnus Fred Kummer and his wife, June, made history with a $300 million gift to Missouri S&T. The five-year impact has been incredible: $229 million provided by the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation in support of capital projects totaling nearly $500 million, $14.5 million in student aid and programming, $2 million invested in faculty research projects that led to external awards totaling $11.5 million; and $5.7 million in support of endowed faculty. The gift helped establish the Kummer College and our STEM Center for Education, which provides robust education and outreach to preK-12 students and teachers throughout Missouri.  

Miner Athletics makes history

After the winningest season in Missouri S&T’s men’s basketball history, the Miners advanced to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Regionals for the first time since 1995-96. Head Coach Bill Walker was named Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Coach of the Year and NCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year. 

Owen Fraser became the first S&T student-athlete in field events to win a national title. He won the discus with a throw of 59.29 meters. He was named Field Athlete of the Year at the GLVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The men’s golf team was ranked No. 1 heading into the NCAA Midwest/Central Super Regional and continued to shine with a No. 3 overall finish. They advanced to the national quarterfinals in their most successful season to date. The team won six tournaments and their first Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) title.

New leaders step up 

Dr. John Harris, formerly dean of the College of Engineering and Science at Florida Institute of Technology, became Missouri S&T’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs on July 1. He brings decades of leadership, research experience and academic achievements from Florida Tech and a 29-year career at the University of Florida. As our chief academic officer, he oversees all academic programs and S&T’s three colleges, online learning and educational innovation, University Libraries, enrollment management, faculty affairs and the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

Katharine Keune joined S&T on Oct. 27 as vice chancellor for communications, outreach and engagement. She is responsible for guiding the university’s communications and engagement strategy, facilitating partnerships, and enhancing the university’s presence and reputation. Keune oversees the STEM Center for Education and marketing and communications teams. 

Breaking ground for biomedicine 

Missouri S&T leaders broke ground in April for the Bioplex, a new 127,000-square-foot life sciences and biomedical research facility expected to be completed in 2028. It will be the university’s largest capital project, serving workforce training and advanced research in biomedical engineering and science. The Bioplex will include labs for 24 research teams, a cognitive neuroscience suite, teaching labs, classrooms, and shared core facilities, all powered sustainably by geothermal energy. It aims to centralize the Center for Biomedical Research and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple science and engineering disciplines.

Planning for our business school 

In November, Missouri S&T announced a $12.5 million gift from alumnus Dennis Jaggi and his wife, Janet, to create the Dennis and Janet Jaggi School of Business. When it launches in the coming year, the school will be dedicated to teaching future leaders financial accounting and business acumen needed to grow companies, accelerate economic development, and strengthen the communities where they live and work.

“I want S&T students to have the opportunity to learn about business and entrepreneurship earlier than I did,” Jaggi says. “My vision for the school is that it will instill in students the confidence they need to take two or three years and give entrepreneurship a try. If it turns out it’s not for them, they will have learned a lot of new and very valuable skills.”

S&T earns Purple Heart University status 

In November, the Military Order of the Purple Heart designated Missouri S&T as a Purple Heart University. The designation is given to colleges that show strong support and commitment to military veterans, especially those wounded or killed in combat. It honors services and resources for veterans, active service members, and their families, recognizing the institution’s efforts to make campus welcoming and supportive of military-connected students. 

Employee named university photographer of the year 

The University Photographers’ Association of America named Missouri S&T photographer Michael Pierce the 2025 Mark A. Philbrick Photographer of the Year and the 2025 Overall Annual Photo Contest Winner during the association’s annual symposium in Tennessee in July. 

“Whenever possible, I want my photos to not only show what something looks like — but what it feels like,” Pierce says. “I also believe photography should show who someone is, not just what they’re doing. At S&T, I try to highlight the ambition, spirit and humanity that is special to our campus.”

Expanding academic offerings

Missouri S&T continues to expand its academic portfolio to meet evolving student and workforce needs through a range of new programs and credentials. These include professional development courses for alumni and industry professionals; a new bachelor’s degree in semiconductor engineering; bachelor’s and master’s degrees in data science; a master’s degree program in artificial intelligence (AI+X); and the nation’s first master’s degree in geospatial engineering. The university is also launching a hybrid master’s degree in engineering management in St. Louis beginning in January 2026. In addition, the Kummer College now offers Team Innovation Projects that connect students with real-world, industry-driven challenges.

After the storm

S&T became a key hub for community relief and recovery after a March 14 tornado struck Rolla, Missouri. The university hosted a Multi-Agency Resource Center helping hundreds of households access services like counseling, legal aid and repair assistance. S&T opened facilities for showers, laundry, device charging, water stations and children’s activities. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni volunteered for debris removal, food and water distribution, and drone damage assessments to support local recovery. The St. Pat’s Board donated over $10,000 to the Red Cross, and many in the S&T community pitched in to help Rolla rebuild. 

‘Best Salaries’ and other accolades 

Missouri S&T is the only Missouri university in the Wall Street Journal’s top 10 list of universities with the best salaries. S&T is ranked eighth in the nation. This is the second consecutive year S&T has been in the top 10, moving up from No. 9 in last year’s rankings.

Missouri S&T remains the top school in the state and among the nation’s best in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings for public engineering programs. The university rose to No. 49 (tied) nationally among public universities for graduate engineering programs, up four spots from last year. Among both public and private universities, S&T moved up two places this year and tied for No. 81. U.S. News also ranks our online engineering management graduate program fifth in the nation. 

Money Magazine listed S&T in its Best Colleges 2025 report. S&T earned 4.5 stars (out of a possible five stars) and was listed in the publication’s categories for Best Public Colleges, Best Colleges in the Midwest and Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates. 

Princeton Review again ranks Missouri S&T third among the nation’s top public universities for best career placement. The ranking is based on student ratings of career services collected by Princeton Review and graduate salary data from PayScale.com. 

Celebrating decades of dedication

In October, S&T leaders and members of the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation Board honored Gary Havener at a celebration featuring a statue in his honor at the Rolla Building Pedestrian Plaza.

Havener, a 1962 mathematics graduate, has supported S&T for over four decades through philanthropy, leadership and service. His contributions include support for the Havener Center, Toomey Hall, Bertelsmeyer Hall, the Kummer Student Design Center, and multiple scholarship and academic initiatives. In 2024, he made a historic gift of $25 million to support the university’s Havener Arrival Complex, a transformation of the university’s entrance. 

Preparing for the Protoplex

Construction is nearly finished on the 116,000-square-foot Missouri Protoplex, with a dedication planned April 15, 2026. The facility brings together industry, academia, and workforce development to help Missouri manufacturers adopt and excel with advanced technologies, processes and materials. It will serve as the anchor of S&T’s planned manufacturing and innovation campus, offering research labs, high-bay prototyping and testing spaces, workforce training and resources to strengthen competitiveness and economic growth in the state.