A lot has happened at UMKC since the last issue of Perspectives arrived. Here are a few of the highlights we’re most proud of from the 2018-19 school year (and beyond!).
August 2018
UMKC becomes the first campus in the U.S. to install CityPost, a digital bulletin board system that shares alerts, events and resources with campus visitors.
September 2018
The School of Computing and Engineering breaks ground on its new research and laboratory building, the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise and Research Center, set to open in Fall 2020. The building will provide leading research and development technologies to both the UMKC campus and the Kansas City community at large.
November 2018
UMKC partners with KC Scholars to announce $20 million in new scholarships for local high school students. The additional funds will help 400 low-to-modest-income students attend college over the next nine years.
December 2018
Athletic director Brandon Martin begins his tenure at UMKC after a national search. Martin, who most recently served as athletic director for California State University, says his goal is to rally even more support around UMKC’s Division I athletics teams.
January 2019
The Conservatory announces its plans to build a new home directly adjacent to the existing Olson Performing Arts Center, facing Volker Boulevard and creating a dramatic new “front door” to campus.
February 2019
UMKC launches a new marketing campaign showing Roos’ impact on Kansas City and beyond. The new look is on billboards, downtown streetcar stops, digital ads, T-shirts, bumper stickers and elsewhere throughout the Kansas City area.
March 2019
Several big-name guests visit campus: Former first lady Laura Bush and her daughter, Barbara Pierce Bush, headlined the Starr Women’s Hall of Fame induction event, and Sarah McBride, National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, was the featured speaker at the UMKC Pride Breakfast.
April 2019
Chancellor Mauli Agrawal reveals five signature initiatives for the university at his investiture ceremony, all centered on the idea of creating a “community of excellence.” The five initiatives focus on student success, research, professional education, healthy communities and building pride.
May 2019
The UMKC Enactus team places fourth in the country at the 2019 Enactus United States National Championship. Enactus is an international nonprofit organization that encourages students to use entrepreneurship to help people in need.
July and August
The Sunderland Foundation commits $15 million to UMKC campus renovations and construction. Additionally, the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation donates $21 million to the UMKC Foundation to support Bloch School programming, improvements to Bloch Heritage Hall and support of RooStrong, the university’s new program for increasing student retention, six-year graduation rates and career outcomes.