Throughout our history, State Technical College of Missouri has served as one of the foremost institutions of higher education in Missouri. It all started with Thurman Willett, Superintendent of Osage County R-II Schools, who had a vision of a higher education institution that would be an alternative to a baccalaureate or liberal arts junior college choice. He got his wish.

Linn Technical Junior College and later Linn Technical College (1968), supported by a grant to the Osage County R-II School District from the National Defense Education Act of 1958, offered its first program in electronics in Fall 1961. By 1965 the College was awarded the status of an Area Vocational Technical School by the Missouri State Board of Education through the federal Vocational Education Act of 1963.

In 1991, statutory authority was established for the granting of associate degrees and certificates. In 1995, Senate Bill 101 created “Linn State Technical College.” The College continued to be governed by the Osage County R-II School Board until July 1, 1996 when the Board of Regents accepted full responsibility for the institution as Linn State Technical College.  It became Missouri’s first and only public institution devoted solely to technical education at the Associate of Applied Science level.

In 2013, House Bill 673 changed the name of the institution to “State Technical College of Missouri,” effective July 1, 2014. This change better reflects the institution’s statewide role in technical education.