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UM System Will Invest $260 Million in Students, Faculty, Staff

UM System President Mun Choi announced Friday that $260 million will be invested in students, faculty and staff over the next five years. This $260 million will come from reallocated funds, according to a release from the UM System. “Through administrative changes at the UM System and good financial management of our investments, we are able to reallocate these funds and focus them on the needs of our students, faculty and staff, directly supporting our teaching and research missions and the Missouri Compacts,”  Ryan Rapp, vice president for finance, said in the release.

Here is how the $260 million breaks down:

  • $100 million for scholarships
    • $75 million for Promise and Opportunity Scholarships – scholarships based on need
    • $25 million for Next Generation Merit Scholarships – academic scholarships
  • $50 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative and Translational Precision Medicine Complex – this will provide researchers with necessary technology for medical research
  • $50 million for research and creative works – university leaders hope this investment will lead to even more external research funding
  • $20 million for digital learning initiatives
  • $12 million for Missouri Distinguished Professorships – according to the release, “this initiative will help university leaders attract members of the National Academies who will significantly increase scholarly and research output.”
  • $10 million for engagement to encourage industry partnerships
  • $8.5 million for inclusive excellence – specifically to support “recruitment and retention of faculty from diverse backgrounds.”
  • $7.5 million for faculty and staff success 
  • $1.25 million to support the expansion of KC SourceLink to MO SourceLink
  • $250,000 to partner with American Public Square, which brings diverse individuals together at each university to initiate conversations about important issues

Although there’s a general outline for how this money will be used, each university will have the opportunity to submit funding proposals and will be expected to match the money given to it from the UM system. “It may be a proposal about scholarships, or it may be a proposal about increasing research, or about increasing staff development or student programming. The proposal would be focused on a particular part of the announcement the president gave on Friday. Then those proposals will be reviewed by officials that represent all four universities, and the decisions will be made in the next few months about where and what proposals will be funded,” Christian Basi, director of  the University of Missouri News Bureau, said

Basi also said that the proposals will vary university to university. “It’s not a one size fits all situation.” “We want to encourage each university to develop a strong proposal in one or more of those areas,” Basi said. “So, if UMKC decides ‘hey we’ve got a great proposal for a scholarship,’ there would be some expectation that they’re also adding some money to that as well.” 

To watch President Choi’s announcement, visit this link.