July 20, 2023 - Progress continues as the fall semester at UMSL approaches
Dear Colleagues,
These warm summer days continue to move us ever forward toward the start of our fall semester when we will welcome new and returning Tritons to our campus.
UMSL’s $100 million campus transformation took a huge step yesterday with the continued demolition work on the JC Penney South Building, making way for the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center. It’s exciting to see the physical transformation coming to life. The center, which is funded by an appropriation from the State of Missouri and private donors, including UMSL alumni Kirk and Maureen Richter, is scheduled for completion next year.
Additional building demolitions are also taking place across campus as part of the Transform UMSL initiative, including the former post office on North Campus and the Sassin Building on South Campus.
Last month, Gov. Mike Parson signed off on the legislature’s FY24 state fiscal budget, which included an additional $20 million in state support for our Transform UMSL initiative.
While these investments are necessary and critical to our growth and impact, you are at the core of our university’s success and that of our students. What you do each day has a direct impact on our students, university, community, region, state and world. Your impact is truly immense.
Earlier this week, the campus community was invited to join us at a new campus tradition - New Student Convocation - to welcome our new Tritons alongside their families and friends to the UMSL community. Please mark your calendar to attend the convocation ceremony on Friday, August 18, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. You can learn more about the event and rsvp online.
As you know, this year we will celebrate and honor the 60th anniversary of the founding of our university. To date, we have graduated more than 112,000 alumni who exemplify our mission. These alumni bring a more than $13 billion economic impact to the state. But more so, they bring a collective impact to our region, state, nation and far beyond through their work, creativity, focus and engagement. We invite you to nominate individuals for our 60 for 60 Alumni Spotlight and to showcase your talents and create a lasting legacy at UMSL by composing music for a new alma mater as part of our 60th celebration.
Just last week my cabinet and I reviewed the latest nominations for our UMSL Hero Award, and it was clear to all of us that we have an amazing team focused on transforming lives through their work. I encourage you to submit nominations for this prestigious award as we move into the new semester so that we can continue to highlight the efforts of our amazing staff and faculty.
Keep up the excellent work and remember that together, we transform lives.
Gratefully forward,
Kristin Sobolik
Chancellor
University of Missouri–St. Louis
