April 14, 2023 - Forward momentum as we near the close of the academic year
Dear University Community,
There’s a buzz of activity on campus as our community works steadily toward the end of the semester and the ultimate celebration of our 1,400 spring graduates. There are so many ways in which we congratulate, showcase, and applaud the many efforts of our students and community during this time of year that our campus literally becomes a movable feast. I highlight a few of those activities here and encourage everyone to check out our calendar and UMSL Daily for updates.
We just hosted educators from across the region for the Gateway Writing Project’s spring conference. Our latest cohort of UMSL Accelerate’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Accelerator showcased their entrepreneurial spirit at the latest Demo Day. We recently hosted our second in a five-part Alumni Conversations series centered around the theme of “Ethics: A Foundation of Success.”
Our students have unique opportunities to work alongside our talented faculty to conduct cutting-edge and groundbreaking research and are highlighting their projects from the semester. Just last week, UMSL students were invited to showcase their work for and take questions from legislators, government officials, and other stakeholders at the Missouri State Capitol during the UM System Undergraduate Research Day. Our graduate students will share their research next Friday at the annual Graduate Research Fair and the Undergraduate Research Symposium will take place on April 28, both to be held in the MSC.
UMSL was once again designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus” from the Fair Elections Center‘s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The designation is meant to recognize higher education institutions for their work planning and implementing practices to encourage their students to register and vote and this marks the fourth time UMSL has received the designation.
UMSL Facilities will soon share progress on our Transform UMSL initiatives, which include renovations of the University Libraries as well as the south section of JC Penney into the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center – all to begin within the next two months. And, work is quickly wrapping up on the build-out of our Patient Care Center to house the College of Optometry. With the current UMSL Strategic Plan coming to a close this year, we are making steady progress toward our renewed five-year strategic plan – which is aligned with the Transform UMSL initiative.
Finally, I encourage our community to engage in our two active executive searches. We hosted the final candidates for the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences this week and will soon share candidate visit schedules for the Vice Provost for Student Affairs search.
As you can see, there’s much going on and much to be proud of as we continue the spring semester. Keep up the great work and know that commencement is just around the corner!
Gratefully forward,
Kristin Sobolik
Chancellor
University of Missouri–St. Louis
