Chancellor's Initiatives
Key Initiatives Focus on Innovation and Impact
UMKC is embracing a future defined by innovation, impact and opportunity. These Chancellor-led initiatives reflect our most urgent priorities and most promising opportunities – from transforming healthcare access across the region to building the research, technology and talent infrastructure of tomorrow. Each of these efforts points the way forward, signaling where we’re going and how we’ll get there.
Chancellor’s Key Initiatives
From transforming healthcare access across the region to building the research, technology and talent infrastructure of tomorrow, each of these initiatives points the way forward, signaling where we’re going and how we’ll get there.
Training Healthcare Professionals Where They’re Needed Most
Missouri’s rural communities face growing shortages of physicians, dentists and pharmacists, and UMKC is answering the call. From our new School of Medicine building in St. Joseph to satellite School of Pharmacy campuses in Columbia and Springfield to a proposed dental satellite in St. Joseph, we’re expanding training pathways for rural students and increasing access to care in underserved areas across the state.
Developing a Critical Materials Crossroads
UMKC is emerging as a national leader in research and workforce development tied to the rare earth elements and critical materials crucial to national security and sustainability. Our location in the heart of the United States and our advanced research capabilities make us an ideal hub for public-private collaboration and innovation in this vital sector.
Building the Future of Healthcare
Opening in 2026 on the UMKC Health Sciences Campus, the $145 million, state-of-the-art Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building will bring together community dental clinics, cutting-edge simulation labs and biomedical engineering learning spaces — all under one roof. It will serve as a springboard for interdisciplinary research while providing an innovative showcase for collaborative care models and next-generation health education.
Bringing Ideas to Market
Innovation doesn’t stop at discovery, and neither does UMKC. Our latest initiative, Roo Ventures, focuses the collective impact of researchers, students and industry partners to support entrepreneurship and the commercialization of university innovation. This initiative will fuel a more vibrant pipeline of startups and bringing new ideas to life — from research labs to the boardroom, expanding the impact of our Carnegie Research 1 achievements.
Using AI to Power Efficiency
UMKC is integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the day-to-day operations of the university, from streamlining administrative tasks to enhancing campus services to sharpening institutional decision-making. By applying AI in strategic, high-impact ways, we’re committed to leading with technology — not catching up to it.