To the UMKC Community:

It is my sad duty to inform you that a member of our community was killed Friday evening during an armed robbery at the restaurant where he was assisting family friends.

Sharath Koppu was a graduate student in the School of Computing and Engineering. We offer our sincere sympathies to Sharath’s family and friends in the wake of this senseless tragedy.

Sharath was a gifted student who had many friends among students and faculty. A native of India, he was pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Science. His violent death is shocking and painful – to his friends, and to our entire community as well. We are distressed by all acts of violence that affect our Kansas City community, but especially by any act of violence that affects our students.

I will be reaching out to Sharath’s family in India to offer my condolences and all the support that UMKC can offer in their time of sorrow.

Our campus leadership is connecting with Sharath’s friends here in Kansas City and we are making counseling services available to members of our university community. For any faculty, staff or students who would like to seek out counseling or support in this difficult time, please do not hesitate to reach out to the university’s counseling services center, or directly to the Director of Counseling, Health, Testing and Disability Services, Dr. Arnold Abels, at Abelsa@umkc.edu or 816-235-1218.

As an international graduate student, Sharath Koppu came to UMKC to further his knowledge and achieve his dreams, following in the footsteps of thousands of international students who came before him at UMKC. Let us honor his memory together as one community in the work that we do.

Sincerely,

C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
Chancellor