UMKC is Engaged
UMKC is engaged – from orientation to graduation. In the classroom, UMKC is committed to its students and their academic careers: grooming the next generation of entrepreneurs, addressing community needs in health and urban education, and preparing tomorrow’s workforce who are comfortable in a global and pluralistic economy.
UMKC is engaged in providing a full student life experience. Offering numerous scholastic opportunities – 124 degrees in twelve academic units, five of which are professional schools – UMKC students benefit from an expanding campus environment including three housing options, a new soccer and recreational facility, a remodeled library with state-of-the-art technology, and a new campus union, each aimed at creating an atmosphere for student success.
UMKC is engaged in research through the provision of resources and advancements in medical, biomedical and basic life sciences, from the development of new drug therapies to Centers focused on musculoskeletal health and the long-term effects of muscle disease on aging. Partnerships with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, Midwest Research Institute and local health care institutions extend the reach of UMKC to the community of Kansas City and beyond.
UMKC is engaged in workforce development. Through our Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, enterprising students at undergraduate and graduate levels learn the skills needed to move business concepts into the marketplace. Here UMKC student teams launch creative product ideas such as the recordable mechanism now available in Hallmark cards, a self-sampling flu test kit, a compact nuclear battery and recreational boating technology. And the Institute for Urban Education (IUE) is committed to solving issues in urban schools by offering four-year scholarships to students in exchange for a commitment to teaching in area urban school districts. Specifically trained to work in urban classrooms, the first class of IUE students graduated in 2009.
UMKC is engaged in the community. Faculty, staff and students spend more than 90,000 hours annually in community service projects, with many of these activities focused on the underserved populations and the needs of disadvantaged youth. As a result, UMKC was one of three American colleges in the U.S. to be awarded the President’s Award for Community Service in Higher Education in 2008. UMKC has maintained a place on the President’s Community Service Honor Roll since 2006.
The community is engaged with UMKC. Through charitable giving, internship opportunities for students and partnerships on new ventures, together UMKC and the Kansas City community invest in the infrastructure of higher education.
Founded by the community for the community, UMKC has evolved into a major intellectual, cultural, educational and economic resource that measures its success through the good work of its graduates as contributing citizens.
Whether a first-time visitor or a returning patron, welcome to UMKC.
Leo E. Morton
Chancellor
