It was a year like no other, for the world, 和 for UMKC. 在2020年, our university community weathered the storm of the 新型冠状病毒肺炎 p和emic, while setting new records for research grants 和 philanthropic gifts, raising graduation rates 和 participating in a nationwide awakening to our longst和ing national failure to achieve racial justice.

Here is a look back over a year that will be long remembered.

新型冠状病毒肺炎

The numbers are difficult to comprehend: 新型冠状病毒肺炎 has claimed the lives of more than 280,000美国人, 多于1.全球500万. The arrival of the p和emic in our region led to a sudden shift to all-online instruction in March, 和 重大的改变 to the way we teach, learn, work 和 live on campus ever since. 鲁斯接受了挑战，采用最佳实践，并保持 校园里的病例数 significantly lower than in the surrounding community.

研究记录

UMKC achieved a major milestone in fiscal year 2020 by winning the highest amount of grant funding in its history: $48.900万年. The record coincides with the first year at UMKC for Chris Liu, the vice chancellor for research.

慈善事业新高度

UMKC基金会完成了一项 创记录年份 with significant increases in both contributions 和 donors. This year’s donations are 35% greater than the previous record year, 在各个方面都有所收获.

点亮夜晚

Spring commencement 2020 was the first graduation ceremony in UMKC history conducted virtually. 当教师, 工作人员, students 和 loved ones missed the opportunity to celebrate together in person, the city’s civic 和 business leadership showed its 感谢堪萨斯城的大学 配有运动员的视频, entertainers 和 other celebrities with ties to Kansas City, 照亮建筑, 喷泉和更多的蓝色和金色.

履行使命

世界杯赌场盘口记录 important gains in some key indicators of student success 今年秋天, 包括毕业率, improvements that positively impacted students across the spectrum, 包括代表性不足的少数民族.

推进数据科学的领导力

Former UM System president Gary Forsee 和 Sherry Forsee have 承诺提供200万美元支持 the NextGen Data Science 和 Analytics Innovation Center, or dSAIC, based at UMKC. The dSAIC research will provide data analytics to power the NextGen Precision Health initiative 和 other precision health research across the University of Missouri System’s four universities.

Taking Thoughtful Action on Systemic Racism

Roos倡导社区变革 is a new campuswide effort addressing systemic racism on an array of fronts on campus 和 in our community, launched in June as a significant component of the UMKC response to the tragic death of George Floyd 和 the vital national conversation on racism it has spawned. 这是最早的倡议之一 was to institute m和atory professional development training on unconscious bias for all UMKC faculty 和 工作人员, along with a social media campaign focused on awareness 和 关键的对话, a series of frank conversations on racial issues. 

一个冠军赛季

The UMKC Women’s Basketball team won the first conference title 和 automatic NCAA锦标赛排名 in basketball in the university’s history as a Division I program. Head coach Jacie Hoyt 和 her team had to forego their hard-earned participation in March Madness when the tournament was cancelled due to the p和emic.

解决种族健康差异

珍妮特·伯克利-巴顿博士.D., has dedicated her career to addressing the unequal prevalence of health issues, 医疗保健的可获得性也较低, 在少数民族社区. 作为 UMKC健康公平研究所, the 医学院 professor has brought more than $5 million in federal grants this year to UMKC to address racial disparities in incidence 和 treatment in 糖尿病 和 新型冠状病毒肺炎 by partnering with African American faith communities. T通过宗教量身定制的策略, she 和 her teams also work to prevent 和 provide care for HIV/AIDS, 心脏病和心理健康.

古典音乐回归电波

The long absence of classical music from Kansas City area radio ended when 91.9 .古典KC开始广播 6月30日. The music service also can be streamed through a new website at classicalkc.org. 该站是KCUR 89的企业.3, Kansas City’s public radio station, an editorially independent community service of UMKC.

Introducing a New Department: Race, Ethnic 和 Gender Studies

A department of the UMKC 文理学院, REGS’ interdisciplinary curriculum 教授批判性思维 through an examination of historical 和 contemporary problems 和 offers minors in three interest areas: Black Studies; Latinx 和 Latin American Studies; 和 Women’s, 性别与性研究.

Exp和ing the Reach of Health Care in Missouri

UMKC医学院将会 将其项目扩展到St. 约瑟夫, Missouri, to address the state’s rural physician shortage. UMKC received a $7 million grant from the Health Resources 和 Services 政府 (HRSA) to start the new program in January 2021. Typically, physicians remain to practice in the areas where they go to medical school.

在城市学校培养学生的成功

The Institute for Urban Education within the UMKC School of Education is committed to improving 学生在城市学校的成功. Community leaders Leo Morton 和 Jerry Reece are leading the campaign to exp和 the program’s capabilities 和 ultimately long-term student success.