Mary Anne Jackson, M.D., has been appointed interim dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Her appointment will begin July 1.

Jackson is a 1978 alum of UMKC’s innovative six-year degree program and has been a faculty member since 1984. She is a professor of pediatrics with a specialization in infectious diseases, holding a clinical appointment with Children’s Mercy, one of the school’s partners in the UMKC Health Sciences District.

Jackson is internationally respected for her impressive record of scholarly achievement. She serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Red Book Committee on Infectious Diseases, a publication that provides guidance on the diagnosis, treatment, manifestations and epidemiology of more than 200 childhood conditions. She is a journal reviewer for American Journal of Infection Control, Journal of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal and JAMA Pediatrics, among many other research publications.

Jackson has won numerous awards for her mentorship including the Children’s Mercy Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Mentoring award in 2015, and Golden Apple Mentoring Awards in 2012 for mentoring fellows and 2013 for residents. In 2012, she received a Take Wing Award, presented annually at the School of Medicine to one who has demonstrated excellence in his or her chosen field and exceeded the expectations of peers in the practice of medicine, academic medicine or research.

In 2017, Jackson was selected to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. She also serves on the American Heart Association’s Committee on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young as well as numerous additional national, regional and local committees.

Steven L. Kanter, M.D., who served as dean since 2014, is leaving UMKC this summer for an international leadership opportunity in academic health in Washington, D.C. He will be president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Association of Academic Health Centers and the Association of Academic Health Centers International.

Interim Chancellor and Provost Barbara A. Bichelmeyer has named Barbara Glesner Fines as Dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Glesner Fines has been serving as Interim Dean since March 2017. She is preceded by Ellen Y. Suni, who served as dean for 13 years.

Endowed as the Rubey M. Hulen Professor of Law, Glesner Fines received her master of law degree from Yale University and her J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Her research addresses issues in professional responsibility, family law, and legal education. She has pioneered important innovations in teaching professional responsibility and the formation of professional identity and was recognized with the 2016 Trustees Faculty Fellowship Award.

“The strong reputation of UMKC Law allowed us to attract a group of strong applicants. Barbara Glesner Fines stood out from that field by virtue of the compelling vision she presented for the school’s future growth and development; and the remarkable bridge-building skills she has demonstrated as a leader of the UMKC School of Law,” Bichelmeyer said. “I am looking forward to working with her and with Chancellor-Designate C. Mauli Agrawal to realize this vision.

“Barbara brings great skills to the table as the next dean, particularly her abilities as a connector,” Bichelmeyer added. “She has helped build important bridges between law school faculty and the philanthropic community; between the law school and other UMKC academic units; and between the law school, the legal community and the broader community. Now she will lead the construction of a bridge between our illustrious past and the promising future of the UMKC School of Law.”

Agrawal said he appreciated Gleaner Fines’ strong ties to the community as well as her academic credentials.

“I am looking forward to working with Dean Glesner Fines and the rest of UMKC’s academic leadership as we work to make UMKC an exemplary model of the modern urban university,” Agrawal said. “Barbara Glesner Fines is an example of the kind of leader who has demonstrated commitment to both students and the community, which is vital to raising a great city and a great university to new levels of excellence.”

School of Law Professor David Achtenberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lajuana Counts, co-chairs of the search committee, issued a joint statement:

“Barbara Glesner Fines is clearly the right person for the job and will be an outstanding dean. We look forward to working with her as UMKC Law School continues to educate lawyers who have a profound, positive effect on the legal system in Kansas City and beyond.”

Time for Spectacular to Happen

A cheering crowd of students, faculty, staff and Kansas City community members gathered in the Olson Performing Arts Center Feb. 9 to extend a warm welcome to University of Missouri-Kansas CityChancellor-Designate C. Mauli Agrawal.

The text of Agrawal’s speech is below:

Thank you, President Choi. I feel honored and privileged that you and the Curators of the University of Missouri System have chosen me for this very important position. And I feel truly humbled. At the same time, I am very excited about the opportunity to lead UMKC to new levels of excellence.

I would like to also thank the members of the search committee; the campus and community leaders who have been so warm and welcoming to me and my family; the students, faculty, staff and stakeholders gathered here this morning; and particularly our interim chancellor and provost, Barbara Bichelmeyer. I truly look forward to a long and fruitful partnership as we work to create the great university that Kansas City needs and deserves.

Good morning Roo Nation!!

It was only a few weeks ago that I was approached at a meeting in Austin, by a very dear friend and mentor of mine, Dr. Guy Bailey, who as some of you may recall, was a former Chancellor at UMKC. He told me about the chancellor search here and encouraged me to apply. But he also told me I should look into it quickly – the deadline to apply was in 48 hours. And so, I drove home and got on online. What I found was truly amazing!

UMKC, with its top rated programs in the arts and theatre, its various schools in the medical disciplines, biological sciences, engineering, management, and education, has all the elements that are needed to make a great university. But that alone is not sufficient. You also need the right environment.

So, I looked at Kansas City. And I nearly fell off my chair – I do not know how you all have been keeping this such a secret but this place is a city on the rise. It is on so many top ten lists –high paying jobs, entrepreneurship, cities to watch, music scene and yes, barbecue!

The combination of UMKC and Kansas City, if put together in a dynamic, symbiotic, rhythmic partnership, can make extraordinary things happen here. This combination, right here, is waiting for “spectacular” to happen!

I would like to tell you a little bit about my journey to this day. Sir Isaac Newton once wrote and I paraphrase:

The reason I have been able to see far is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants who came before me.

He was talking about other scientists who preceded him. However, all of us here today, are here because we have stood on the shoulders of our own giants. My giants were my parents. My father came from a small village in India and was brave enough to be the first generation to college. My mother came from an educated family, but was the first female in her family to go to college. But she did stop there. At a time when few women in India went to college, she went on to get a Ph.D. and teach college.

I grew up in humble circumstances. My parents were entrepreneurs who worked together at small scale manufacturing businesses. They made just enough to put food on the table and I did not grow up with a TV, or air conditioning, or a refrigerator. That can be a bit tough when the temperature outside is 115 degrees, but that was life. My parents made immense personal sacrifices to make sure that I went to the best high school in town and the best engineering school in the country. My giants are my parents and the reason I stand here today is because they gave me the gift of education. I have lived the American Dream and truly, truly believe that education is the key to success.

After finishing college, I worked in the automobile industry for a while and then came to the U.S. to get a Masters. The plan was to go back.  But I fell in love.  In love with the American model of academia and research.  And in love with someone else.

I like to tell the story that on the third day after my arrival in the U.S., I chanced upon this female graduate student in engineering registering for classes next to me. Five years later she became my bride. And this June we will be celebrating our 30^th anniversary. My wife and best friend, Sue, is here today. Sue, will you please stand up and wave?

The most important reason for working at a university is to inspire and prepare students. This mostly happens through the interaction between students and faculty where knowledge transfer and discovery take place.

I will ensure that UMKC has a culture that is student focused. We should always try to meet the student where they stand academically, even if they are not where we want them to be. Then, without dropping any standards, we should provide all the help to the student to graduate. When it is clear that a student needs help, we should ask ourselves the question – “What would I do if this was my own child”? And if we do, we will always know what to do next. I think of all students as my children, which would mean that I will have roughly 17,000 UMKC children. That is a big relief because currently I have 31,000!

I think of myself primarily as a faculty member. This year is the first time in my career that I have not taught a full course. Over the past few years I have been teaching a freshmen course with 60-70 students. And I loved it! I have also continued to be involved in research and publications despite my 12-13 years in administration.

So UMKC faculty, you will have a friend in me and I look forward to involving you in finding solutions to the problems that confront us. Provost Bichelmeyer, the deans, and I will work closely with you to help you make our students successful, perform extraordinary research and scholarship and make UMKC the great university it is destined to be.

UMKC staff, you will be at the table as well. I realize that staff are the glue that holds the university together and your role and your input are both exceedingly important.

Public universities were created with the goal of bringing enhanced prosperity to their region. They do this by being knowledge enterprises – they both disseminate knowledge and create new knowledge. I believe they have an unwritten but binding social contract with their communities to be instrumental and perhaps even partly accountable for the economic development of the region and the social, cultural and health well-being of the city and the region.

This is where the modern urban university can play a very significant role. In this model, the city becomes a test bed for solutions for societal issues – solutions that are based on university research and scholarship to impact the neighborhoods and communities that surround us.

In my new role, I will work with the Mayor, the city manager, civic and business leaders and our alumni and assist them in building a 10- to 20-year master plan for the economic development of Kansas City and make sure that UMKC will be able to produce a workforce with the specific skills needed for this growth.

For Kansas City to be great, UMKC has to be great because all great cities are anchored by a great university. I am confident that with UMKC and the city working together, UMKC will become a university recognized widely for its excellence and Kansas City will emerge as one of the top cities of the 21^st century.

IT US OUR TIME AND OUR TURN FOR “SPECTACULAR” TO HAPPEN.

In summary, I will propose five pillars for our path forward at UMKC. And these align well with the strategic plan.

1. Exceptional Student Experience
2. Thriving Knowledge and Discovery Enterprise
3. Exemplary Model of the Modern Urban University
4. Invigorating Globalism and Multiculturalism
5. Strong and Resilient People, Process and Physical Infrastructure

These may seem like wonderful plans, but to be able to execute them we will have to confront the realities of declining resources and the lack of college readiness of many students. We will have to continually look for efficiencies in our processes, realign resources to focus on strategic initiatives, and also look to generate new revenue sources such as stackable educational programs delivered online. We will have to be bold and take some risks.

An old saying states “Ships are safest in a harbor, but that is not why ships are built – they are built to sail the seas.”

And bold we must be, because we are in the business of transforming lives. Some of you have already heard me tell this story but let me go ahead and tell it again. My wife’s passion is childhood literacy and she works extensively with non-profits in this arena. One day, she was volunteering her time stacking books they had collected and got talking to a young man volunteering next to her. Turned out it was a student from UTSA, my current institution. Sue did not reveal who she was (i.e. the wife of the UTSA Provost) and soon the student told her more about himself. He was getting a double major in cyber security and criminal justice. Upon graduation this young man would easily fetch a salary of $70-80k. Turns out he was from Uvalde, a small, hot, dusty Texas town, south of San Antonio. His father is a ranch-hand and for a living fixes barbed wire fences in the hot Texas sun. In one generation, through the power of education, his son will lead a very different life. That is why, despite all challenges, we cannot stop doing what we do. I know UMKC has these stories, too, and I look forward to creating more of them with you.

Lastly, I will close by emphasizing the need for continued diversity and inclusion on our campus. Projections show that the forthcoming increase in college students will come primarily from minorities and under-represented groups. Often, the support systems needed to make these students welcome and successful are different from what most universities have traditionally put in place. The universities that adapt and create an environment of belonging and affinity on campus will survive.

I will create a strong sense of family on campus – la familia as we say in south Texas. As part of that, we need to have great pride in UMKC. Pride that is unabashedly and unapologetically loud at times.

At my present institution we introduced a chant that first became very popular among our students and then got adopted by our faculty and staff as well. It is now not unusual for groups to spontaneously break into this chant at gatherings.

I am sure that they would not mind at all if we borrowed this chant and modified it to make it our own. I will give you a demo with the help of a few enthusiastic students here and then let us all join in. And be LOUD! THANK YOU!

UM – KC
UM – KC
UM – KC
Go – Roos – Go!

UMKC Chant (Download video from reception)

>Read the story from the welcome reception for C. Mauli Agrawal

“The fundamental mission of the university police force is to provide the leadership and professional support required to sustain and improve the University System’s efforts to develop a balanced police-University community effort against any lawlessness or disorderly conduct which could interfere with the general missions of the University System. As such, the UMKC Police Department is an essential university partner promoting a safe and orderly learning environment and enhanced quality of life with a reduction of crime, social disorder and fear of crime.”

The University of Missouri-Kansas City Police Department has received first-time accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

Accreditation is not required of university and college police departments. Less than three percent of college and university police departments are accredited. To obtain the accreditation, Officer John Sulzer gathered data and compiled reports over a period of more than a year. The process also included a three-day on-site assessment.

“The department pursued accreditation as a means to assure the public, parents and university community that your campus police agency adheres to the highest professional standards,” Sulzer said.

Chief Michael Bongartz, who has served the UMKCPD since 1987, was appointed chief in January 2009.

“Accreditation is a means by which we monitor, assess, and evaluate the standards and professionalism of our department,” Bongartz said. “We provide a multitude of different services to the campus and community. Accreditation holds us accountable to the community we serve.”

The UMKC Police Department was formed in 1971 from what was the Traffic and Safety Department that was started in 1963. UMKCPD is a full-service law enforcement agency that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The staff is comprised of 28 sworn positions and 13 civilian positions (6 dispatchers and 7 security officers).

UMKCPD has a memorandum of understanding with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. Both agencies work closely together to provide the university and the community with the best possible protection.

Located in the northwest corner of the Cherry Street Parking Structure, the UMKCPD office space includes a large training area, evidence-processing area and temporary detention and processing areas. The agency is divided into two major functional areas. Support Operations, commanded by Capt. Joseph Rucinski, houses the professional standards, communication, training, property/evidence, crime prevention/victim assistance and criminal investigation functions. Patrol Operations, commanded by Capt. Donald Simmons, includes all patrol and security (non-sworn) functions.

The UMKC Police Department can be reached by calling 816-235-1515 or 911 on campus.

Agrawal will be introduced to Kansas City campus on Friday

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri System President Mun Choi announced today that C. Mauli Agrawal, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), has been appointed chancellor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, effective June 20, 2018.

“I’m thrilled that Dr. Agrawal has agreed to serve as the next chancellor of UMKC, and I’m confident that the university will reach new heights of success in research, education and outreach through his leadership,” Choi said. “UMKC has an outstanding team of administrators, faculty, staff and alumni supporters who will work closely with him to achieve our collective vision.”

“We had a very strong finalist pool, but what made Dr. Agrawal stand out was his combination of strong academic credentials with proven entrepreneurial skills,” said David Steelman, chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. “He understands the mission of UMKC, but he also knows that mission can only be fulfilled through innovative approaches and risk; he is not a status quo leader.”

Prior to his current appointment at UTSA, Agrawal served as vice president for research and dean of the College of Engineering. He also has been a professor of orthopedics and bioengineering at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, one of the largest medical schools in the United States. He obtained a doctorate from Duke University in 1989, a master’s degree from Clemson University in 1985 and a bachelor’s degree of technology from IIT-Kanpur, India.

“I’m very excited to be chosen to help lead this great university. The potential for the University of Missouri-Kansas City is immense and exciting,” Agrawal said. “UMKC has all the elements necessary to make a great university. With strengths in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, business, engineering, arts and theater, the university is an exceptional anchor for economic development in the Kansas City region. I’m looking forward to working with UMKC’s faculty and staff as well as Kansas City’s civic leaders who are passionate about higher education and are constantly working to make Kansas City a great place to live, learn and work.”

During his tenure as dean, Agrawal led the UTSA College of Engineering to a 40 percent increase in student enrollment, a 50 percent increase in faculty, and a 400 percent increase in research funding. In 2010, he worked closely with the city of San Antonio and Mayor Julian Castro to establish the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute at UTSA, which received a $50 million pledge of support from CPS Energy, the city-owned utility operation.

“Mauli is a beloved member of the San Antonio community who has earned admiration and respect from the university community, the business community and civic leadership,” current San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “I certainly wish him the very best at UMKC. You have an absolute gem of a man to lead the university forward. He understands the important role that a university plays in the civic life of a city and has a unique skill set of translating that role into meeting the needs of the university. His skill set is one of a kind.”

Agrawal has served on the editorial boards of various scientific journals, including the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Tissue Engineering, the Journal of System of Systems, and the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.

Agrawal’s research specializes in the area of orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials/implants, and he has authored more than 300 scientific publications and holds 29 patents. He is a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.  Additionally, he served as president of the Society for Biomaterials in 2006. His bioengineering research group has been responsible for starting three companies in San Antonio.

He serves on the board of trustees of the Southwest Research Institute and Clemson University’s College of Engineering Advisory Board. He also is a member of United Way’s Master’s Leadership Program in San Antonio, Biomed SA, the Texas Research Park Foundation and the San Antonio Medical Foundation.

“I’m very grateful for the work of the search committee members who spent countless hours reviewing and interviewing candidates,” Choi said. “I’m also extremely appreciative of Dr. Barbara Bichelmeyer, who has made important contributions as interim chancellor and provost at UMKC. Dr. Bichelmeyer will continue in her role as interim chancellor during the transition period and will return to her provost role when Dr. Agrawal arrives in June 2018.”

Bichelmeyer is leading a number of key initiatives that will continue to move forward at UMKC, including academic reorganization, academic portfolio review, strategic plan development and the budgeting process.  She has the full backing and support of Choi to implement changes to achieve UMKC’s goals of excellence in student success, research breakthroughs and effective engagement.

“I will work closely with Dr. Bichelmeyer to make the important and necessary changes during the transition period,” Choi said. “We are indebted to her for her work in continuing to move UMKC forward. She will be a great asset to Dr. Agrawal as he moves into this position.”

Bichelmeyer said she looks forward to working with the new chancellor.

“I’m excited to partner with Chancellor-designate Agrawal and look forward to his arrival in Kansas City,” she said. “His background and experiences complement the mission and vision of UMKC – and together, with all the great partners on this campus and in this metro area, we will keep the momentum going as we grow UMKC into the great university this region needs.”

Expanded program covers contiguous states from Kansas to Ohio to Texas

In a move to accelerate enrollment growth and attract more students from throughout the Midwest, the University of Missouri-Kansas City has expanded two non-resident tuition programs.

UMKC has created a new Kansas Rate, which will enable residents of every county in the Sunflower State to enroll at a rate equivalent to the in-state rates of Missouri students.

Under the new Heartland Rate tuition program, students who are residents of 15 contiguous Midwestern states will pay just 150 percent of the in-state rate for Missouri residents, a significant savings over out-of-state tuition rates.

The new Kansas rate is equal to the in-state rate of $278 per student credit hour. The new Heartland Rate is $417 per student credit hour, compared to $768.90 for residents of states outside the Heartland region, and $278 per student credit hour for Missouri residents.

The two programs were approved by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri System earlier today. Both new rates go into effect for Fall Semester 2018, beginning in August.

“People in the Greater Kansas City area and the state of Missouri have long known the value UMKC provides,” said Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, Ph.D., interim chancellor and provost of UMKC. “Now we’re ready to expand our horizons. Our university offers outstanding undergraduate research opportunities, a low student-faculty ratio, and the opportunity to engage with a major American city as both a great place to learn and a great place to live. We can’t afford to allow cost to be a barrier to young people who appreciate those advantages and view UMKC as the perfect launching pad for their careers.”

The new Kansas Rate comes as several universities in Kansas have recently expanded various special-rate programs to attract more students from Missouri, in an increasingly competitive environment for college recruiting.

The new Heartland Rate represents an expansion of an existing program in which UMKC already participates, the Midwest Student Exchange Program. That compact is a reciprocal agreement for universities in the states of North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, where institutions in each state agree to let students from other states attend for 150 percent of instate tuition. The Heartland Rate at UMKC removes other restrictions of the MSEP compact and adds the states of South Dakota, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, but without a reciprocal agreement with schools in those states.

The Collaborative to Advance Health Services at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies, in partnership with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, has been sub-awarded a $8 million dollar grant for two years as part of a $24 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support primary-care providers in the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorders.

The grant is in response to national leaders in October declaring America’s opioid epidemic a public-health emergency — a designation typically reserved for natural disasters. At that time, SAMHSA announced a new technical-assistance effort in providing state-of-the-art clinical support to providers and to address preventing, treating and supporting recovery from substance-use disorders with a focus on opioid use disorders.

“This award to address the opioid epidemic in Missouri and other states demonstrates the unfailing commitment of UMKC and its School of Nursing and Health Studies to our citizens in the Kansas City region and the state,” said Ann Cary, dean of the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies. “Our uniquely talented professionals and support staff in our Collaborative unit within the school offers unrelenting quality in the provision of health services to our communities, and we are grateful for their enduring talent and leadership.”

The Collaborative to Advance Health Services at UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies is home to several national-based centers that implement evidence-based clinical practices into substance use and mental health treatment. It will receive $4 million a year for two years. This project is an unprecedented alliance of physician, nurse, allied healthcare and behavioral health organizations with broad national, regional and state networks and technical expertise in preventing, treating and supporting recovery from substance use disorders.

The Collaborative will lead 10 regional Addiction Technology Transfer Centers to leverage well-established state-level relationships to build the national technical-assistance infrastructure using proven implementation strategies, said Holly Hagle, co-director of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network, UMKC assistant research professor and principal investigator on the grant for UMKC. Other Collaborative members on the project are Laurie Krom, co-director of the ATTC Network, and Pat Stilen, director of the Mid-America ATTC Network.

“The team members of the Collaborative to Advance Health Services at the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies are very excited to do this important work at a time of crisis for the country,” Hagle said. “Our hope is that it will have an impact on the people and communities who are suffering.”