The Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise and Research Center

The Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise and Research Center, commonly known as the Plaster Center, was dedicated on Oct 1, 2021. The $32 Million, 57,800-square-foot building features eleven research labs as well as classrooms and offices for UMKC's School of Science and Engineering. Highlights of the building include a 3D printing lab, a 2-story drone testing facility, augmented and virtual reality equipment, a fabrication shop, and an FAA-approved flight simulator. The center's Innovation Studio is available to university students and staff, as well as members of the community, who can create models and prototypes of their products and designs. The Plaster Center was made possible by the financial support of 25 separate donors, including the Robert W. Plaster Foundation, which has helped establish similar centers at several other universities across the Midwest. The site is located at the former site of the rock quarry used to create today's Scofield Hall and was home to a campus pond for several generations.

In 1963, Missouri native Robert W. Plaster founded Empire Gas, which became one of the largest gas distributors in the United States. Hoping to provide educational opportunities to young people, particularly in Missouri and the Midwest, he created the Robert W. Plaster Foundation in 1983. The organization has funded educational facilities at institutions across the Midwest, including community centers, schools of business, athletics facilities, and art galleries. Plaster was also a cofounder of the organization Students in Free Enterprise, today known as Enactus, which promotes entrepreneurship and and community service on college campuses. Plaster's foundation established numerous "Free Enterprise Centers" at midwestern universities to provide resources to support entrepreneurship and small business development at universities and their surrounding communities. Mr. Plaster died in 2008, and his foundation has continued to provide educational opportunities and resources. Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Centers can be found across the Midwest, including Pittsburg State, Park University, and Missouri State University.

In 2015, UMKC plans for the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise and Research Center on the southeast corner of Brookside and Volker (now Martin Luther King) Boulevard. That site was home to an unused office building owned by the university, and UMKC demolished the building and began preparation for the new center. However, when Kansas City announced the expansion of its streetcar line, the university worked with the city to change the location and selected this site adjacent to Florsheim Hall.

In 1912, this site was a quarry for the stone used to build the Dickey Mansion (today Scofield Hall). The Dickey family converted the former quarry site into a small duck pond, and for generations of students, the pond was a beloved feature of the Volker Campus. The university decided to remove the pond in the 1990s during the construction of Flarsheim Hall, and at that time, a small surface parking lot occupied this site. That construction also necessitated the removal of the original carriage house of the Dickey Mansion, a small stone building that had always been part of the university. The former carriage house had served the campus over the years as a small gymnasium, police station, a maintenance facility, and in recent years, a robotics laboratory. The university removed the carriage house in 2018 and put its roofing tiles and stones into storage for future use in another campus project.

Construction of UMKC's $32 Million, 57,800 square foot Plaster Center was completed in 2021. In addition to the grant from the Plaster Foundation, 24 other donors, including the Sunderland Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, and the Hall Family Foundation, provided funding for the building. The center includes 11 high-tech labs, classrooms, offices, and student study spaces. A two-story drone testing lab and FAA-approved flight simulator facilitate the School of Science and Engineering's drone design and Unmanned Aircraft Training programs. The 3D printing lab and fabrication shop provide resources so students and area entrepreneurs can create models and working prototypes for their designs. The center's Innovation Studio is available for community use and provides these university resources to anyone wanting to develop a product or business.

UMKC Innovation Studio, community.umkc.edu. Accessed October 17th, 2024. https://community.umkc.edu/engagements/umkc-innovation-studio/.

Newton, Riley. UMKC Welcomes Public to $32 Million High-Tech Research Center, UMKC Today. September 23rd, 2021. Accessed October 17th, 2024. https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2021/september/umkc-to-debut-32-million-high-tech-research-center-on-oct.-1.html.

Haynes, Kelsey. $32 Million Research Center to Open in 2020, UMKC Today. September 20th, 2018. Accessed October 17th, 2024. https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2018/september/32%20Million%20Dollar%20Research%20Center%20to%20Open%20in%202020.html.

Partnerships, Robertplasterfoundation.org. Accessed October 17th, 2024. https://www.robertwplasterfoundation.org/partners.