庆祝担任密苏里-堪萨斯城大学校长五周年, 4月17日,校长Mauli Agrawal向学生们发表了一年一度的大学状况报告, faculty, staff and the community. In addition to recognizing student success, he announced news about new facilities development, 校园升级和研究进展以及堪萨斯城大学的其他有希望的细节.
“We have real proof of what we are capable of, 我们的成功和积极势头——人们比以往任何时候都更加关注我们,” Agrawal said. “引用堪萨斯城某两届超级碗冠军四分卫的话:‘我们才刚刚开始.’”
1. Student success
![A first generation college student holds her graduation gap, which she has just decorated, inside the UMKC student union](april-pics/first-generation-college-student-umkc.jpg)
UMKC在过去十年中取得了最高的保留率和毕业率, 成功源于专注于推动学生学业成就的新举措.
One of those, UMKC FirstGen Roos Scholars, 为第一代大学生提供一系列的编程和支持. 因此,这个项目的学者在整体上的表现优于学生群体. Because of this wrap-around support and the determination of the students, the UMKC First Gen Roo Scholars, 在2022年秋季,他的平均绩点为3分,超过了UMKC的全体学生.26 and an 81% retention rate for the first year. Compared to other first gen UMKC students, who didn’t participate in the program, the Scholars achieved a 22% higher GPA and a 10% higher retention rate.
学者计划的成功使UMKC被第一代学生成功中心认可为第一代前进机构, 它认可那些已经证明致力于改善第一代大学生的经历和进步成果的学院和大学.
2. Streetcar-stop development
![Rendering of streetcar stop and potential arena development area](april-pics/potential-arena-750.jpg)
3. New buildings
UMKC has nearly acquired full funding for the Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Building, including a $40 million grant from the state, 1000万美元的联邦拨款,加上桑德兰基金会的3000万美元和霍尔家族基金会的1500万美元. 这座建筑将给牙科和医学院带来急需的救济. 目前,建筑师们正在进行设计,该建筑将于2026年秋季完工.
UMKC will soon break ground on a new School of Medicine building in St. Joseph, funded through federal and state dollars, 它将容纳UMKC已经在那里运作的农村医疗保健项目. It’s on schedule for an opening in Fall 2025.
4. Campus upgrades
This summer, UMKC将在布鲁克赛德开设学生足球休闲场地和板球场, between Johnson Hall and 51st Street.
“我们希望学生们能够享受绿色空间,直到我们确定大学土地的最终未来计划,” Agrawal said.
Also, UMKC即将能够将第51街从Cherry到Rockhill转变为行人专用走廊.
“I can just imagine the transformation: plantings and greenery, string lights, places to sit and gather,” Agrawal said.
Other renovations:
- 该大学已经投资了400万美元对密苏里大学堪萨斯分校音乐学院进行翻新,改造格兰特演奏厅, improving student practice rooms and more. This fall, 院长考特尼·克拉佩尔(Courtney Crappell)将公布进一步分阶段翻新和扩建音乐学院的计划,以满足未来的需求.
- 今年秋天将开始在米勒·尼科尔斯图书馆和阿特伯里学生成功中心开设学生成功项目.
- A new faculty lounge in Newcomb Hall in the fall of this year, a place where faculty can gather for discussion and engagement.
5. Research growth
UMKC is Kansas City’s only public research institution, 通过发现创造新知识,并在整个研究领域开发改变游戏规则的创新. 这不仅有利于UMKC的学生,而且有利于整个堪萨斯城都会区及其他地区.
阿格拉瓦尔承诺在2024财年雇佣更多的教师,以继续其在研究领域的强劲增长.
One example: In the UMKC strategic plan in 2018, 领导者设定了10年的目标,即每年引进总计8500万美元的外部奖励. This year, five years ahead of schedule, UMKC has already blown away that metric, with more than $118 million.
“最近卓越的研究增长将我们提升到了一个水平,我相信我们已经接近R2-R1的尖端,并且可以在不久的将来实现卡内基R1的地位,” Agrawal said. R1的指定将使它更容易雇用额外的优秀教师和吸引高质量的学生. 它还有助于提高国家声誉,从而加强与其他R1机构的合作,并获得更多的研究资金.
从健康科学校区到人文社会科学,再到科学与工程学院,UMKC正在引领突破性的研究.
- Innovative research is what brought U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to UMKC in February. That’s where Buttigieg announced a new $10 million federal grant 授予UMKC开发创新方法,以提高交通基础设施的可持续性和公平性.
- At its meeting this month, 密苏里大学系统管理委员会将表彰来自牙科学院的研究员Rose Wang,她使用人工智能和红外技术识别患者的癌症风险. She received a $430,000 developmental research grant from the National Institutes of Health to help develop this research.