March 14, 2025–Missouri Western State University has named Rebecca Lobina as director of workforce development. Lobina, currently continuing professional education director at Northwest Missouri State and regional director of the Missouri Small Business Development Center, will begin her duties April 1.
“I am thrilled and very excited to bring Rebecca to MO West,” said Dr. Jay Johnson, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Rebecca has several years of experience and success in workforce development. She will be a major asset as we continue to invest in our future and work closely with the community and local industry to provide opportunities for our region to thrive.”
Lobina will oversee all workforce development initiatives for Missouri Western, collaborating with faculty and staff and area industry partners to address the workforce needs of the region. She will implement training programming at the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology and other programming related to upskilling and continuing professional education through development of non-credit and for-credit programming.
“It’s exciting to see the direction that MWSU has been pursuing in the past few years under the leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy,” Lobina said. “Now, with the Houlne Center and this position, Missouri Western is engaging businesses directly in a way that goes beyond encouraging collaboration, and instead engages both businesses and their workforce to make relevant, meaningful change as a result of an educated workforce.”
Lobina has been with the Small Business Development Center since 2007, providing thousands of small businesses in the region with both training and one-on-one advising. As continuing professional education director, she created a trio of revenue streams, including non-credit certifications, corporate trainings and conferences. Lobina received a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Science in Administrative Studies from Missouri State University.
Missouri Western State University is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit missouriwestern.edu.