State Technical College of Missouri

State Technical College of Missouri
Former names	Linn Technical Junior College; Linn Technical College; Linn State Technical College;
Type	Public technical school
Established	1961
President	Shawn Strong
Undergraduates	2,037 (fall 2021)
Location	Linn, Missouri, United States; 38°28′04″N 91°48′52″W / 38.467695°N 91.814527°W
Campus	Rural; 360 acres (1.5 km2)
Mascot	Eagles
Website	www.statetechmo.edu

State Technical College of Missouri (State Tech) is a public technical school in Linn, Missouri. In 2018, the college saw its highest enrollment at 1,483 students for the 2018–2019 school year and there were about 600 graduates in May 2019.^[1]^[2] Enrollment exceeded 2,000 students for 2021's fall semester,^[3] and State Tech was named Missouri's fastest growing college by The Chronicle of Higher Education.^[4]

History

State Tech began as Linn Technical Junior College in 1961, later being awarded the status of Area Vocational Technical School by the Missouri State Board of Education after the U.S. Vocational Education Act of 1963. The school dropped "Junior" from its name in 1968. In 1991, the college was granted the authority to give associate degrees. In 1995, Linn State Technical College separated from Osage County R-II School District after it obtained its own Board of Regents to govern it. In 2013, The Missouri House of Representatives voted to change the school's name to its current one, effective July 1, 2014.^[5] The new name emphasizes the school's status as Missouri's only state-funded technical college, not funded by local property taxes, drawing students from throughout the state.^[6]^[7]

Facilities and resources

State Tech has various facilities and resources for use by its faculty, students, and local community.

Main campus

The main campus in Linn includes 11 academic buildings, cottage-style student housing, an activity center, and an airport. The most recently constructed academic buildings as of 2019 are the 21,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) Health Science Center and 10,200-square-foot (950 m²) Welding Technology Center. The 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m²) activity center opened in 2008; it includes three basketball courts, an elevated walking/running track, a fitness center, and an indoor archery range. The airport has a 3,400-by-60-foot (1,036 by 18 m) runway and hangars available for public rental. Ninety-five percent of the academic and housing building space uses geothermal energy for its heating and cooling. The campus library is a charter member of MOBIUS, which provides interlibrary lending access across Missouri and several nearby states.^[8] The college acquired a 110-acre (0.45 km²) farm just east of the main campus, and rebuilt the ground floor of its farmhouse in 2017 to be used as the president's home and for social activities.^[9]

Osage County Community Center

Adjacent to and managed by State Tech, the Osage County Community Center provides the college and community with an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m²) facility for meetings, conferences, training, and social events. The center's 3,200-square-foot (300 m²) auditorium includes a catering kitchen.^[8]

Foundation

A non-profit foundation named for State Tech is its primary organization for fundraising to enable scholarships, faculty development, instructional equipment, facility construction, and other support to the college.^[8]

Recognition

Forbes magazine ranked State Tech as the third-best two-year trade school in the nation in 2018.^[10]

References

^ Watson, Bob (August 22, 2018). "State Tech sees record enrollment". News Tribune. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
^ Roberts, Nicole (May 12, 2019). "State Tech graduates see bright future ahead". News Tribune. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^ Pivoney, Ryan (August 25, 2021). "State Tech begins classes with record breaking enrollment". News Tribune. Jefferson City, Missouri. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^ Gerber, Cameron (October 19, 2021). "State Tech named fastest-growing college in Missouri". The Missouri Times. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^ "History". State Technical College of Missouri. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
^ "Linn State to get a new name". KBIA. Associated Press. July 12, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2019. Missouri's only state-funded, two-year technical college
^ "Linn State becomes 'State Technical College of Missouri' today". KBIA. Associated Press. July 1, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2019. unlike community colleges, which get funding from local property taxes
^ ^a ^b ^c "2019–2020 College Catalog" (PDF). State Technical College of Missouri. 2019. pp. 5–6, 37. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^ Watson, Bob (July 3, 2017). "State Tech president's home almost done". News Tribune. Jefferson City, Missouri. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^ Watson, Bob (17 August 2018). "Forbes ranks State Tech nation's 3rd-best 2-year college". News Tribune. Jefferson City, Missouri. Retrieved 16 September 2018.