April 28, 2022 - Transform UMSL: Elevating our university, region, state, nation and world
Dear UMSL Community,
It is such an amazing time to be a Triton! As we approach the 60th anniversary of our founding next year, the University of Missouri–St Louis is setting course toward a renewed and reimagined future that will serve our university, region and far beyond for decades to come. Over the past several years, we came together to develop, align and champion our Campus Strategic Plan, Strategic Enrollment Plan and our recently approved Campus Master Plan – all of which serve as the foundations for our future growth and investments.
As you’ve no doubt seen or heard internally and in the media, dramatic transformation is underway at UMSL as we collectively seek to rise up our university community and our region. We are steadily moving forward on our ambitious plan to establish a renewed academic core on the North Campus. We’ve already reached milestones in this effort by relocating key academic units like the School of Social Work to the Social Sciences and Business Building and we will soon welcome our College of Education to the North Campus. We are truly investing in creating premier learning, research and collaborative environments that will serve our students, faculty, staff and community both today and well into the future.
While we reinvigorate our academic core, we are also positioning our South Campus to become the core of our physical and mental health programming. This includes newly renovated and expanded nursing simulation laboratories as well as a build out of the Patient Care Center to fully house the College of Optometry while partnering with SSM Health to establish an express clinic to meet the immediate health care needs of our community.
Additionally, our alumni, donors and friends are investing to create spaces of impact and influence on our campus. This includes a new Welcome and Alumni Center that will soon be announced, renovations and renewal of our University Libraries, and establishing a new home for UMSL Accelerate. It is truly amazing to see and feel the pride, determination and impact that our community is bringing to bear as we collectively transform UMSL and our region.
As these transformations and enhancements occur, we are removing buildings that no longer serve our university or community. Already we have razed Bellerive Hall and will do the same to other spaces on our South Campus to pave the way for a 35 acre North County Workforce and Business District. This district will improve job access and growth, build our workforce, bolster research and economic development, and enhance inclusive prosperity in north St. Louis County. Moreover, the district will create opportunities for public-private development including mixed-use commercial and residential spaces featuring apartments, condominiums, restaurants, grocery and offices.
Each of us will see and experience this transformation over the days, weeks, months and years ahead. To ensure that our community remains up to date, we have launched a new Transform UMSL website that outlines these efforts. This site will be updated and expanded upon regularly as the many moving parts come together. I encourage you to visit the site often to learn the latest on our progress – and to take heart in the incredible future we are all building.
To close, I will again say that this is an amazing time to be a Triton! I mean that with all sincerity. Please know that the work we are committing to today will not only positively impact our campus in the near-term, but will absolutely transform our region, state, nation and world for the next 60 years ahead.
Gratefully forward,Kristin Sobolik
Chancellor
University of Missouri–St. Louis
