Dear campus community,

UMKC prides itself on being a campus where all are welcome. In Pillar 4 of our UMKC Strategic Plan, we lay out a vision for inclusive opportunity and excellence based on our commitment to be a broadly inclusive campus that continually sets high standards and provides the opportunities, tools and support systems for each individual to succeed and reach their full potential.

Since August, I have met with close to a dozen stakeholder groups – representing faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, donors and community members – to review the structure of our inclusion efforts at UMKC and to ensure that we are organized in the best possible way in light of recent national and legislative trends. Many universities have announced changes in recent months, notably our nearest flagship institutions at MU and KU.

In these stakeholder meetings, I found general support for our work at UMKC and for some changes to inclusion efforts that we will put in place this fall.

The key changes: We will close our central division of Diversity and Inclusion and move to a fully decentralized campus inclusion model starting Nov. 1. In addition, we will appoint a new coordinating council comprising cross-campus leadership and others who will be charged with ensuring that we stay focused on achieving the goals and metrics set out in Pillar 4.

UMKC has had a largely successful decentralized model for years. A few examples: the divisions of Student Affairs and Student Success oversee our work on reducing gaps in academic achievement among different student populations. Faculty Affairs and Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) carry out work in faculty training, retention and development. Human Resources handles equal opportunity, bias and discrimination claims. This model will be reinforced and made stronger.

The central office only has 1.5 full-time employees, due to unrelated personnel departures over the past two years. Viviana Grieco, Ph.D., has been serving as the interim vice chancellor, and will remain on as a Chancellor faculty fellow through the end of the semester to help transition the few remaining functions of the office to other units whose responsibilities already align with the work.

Among the transitions:

External Relations and Constituent Engagement, led by Vice Chancellor Curt Crespino, will add annual speaker events (MLK, Chavez) and support for conferences, such as Women of Color Leadership Conference, to its portfolio. The latter conference will continue to be planned by the team that has done it so successfully over the past many years.
Human Resources, led by Associate Vice Chancellor Megan Gonzalez, will be responsible for on-demand inclusion training resources for employees that will augment what is already available to faculty through CAFE.
Curriculum and Assessment, under the leadership of Vice Provost Kim McNeley, will take charge of coordinating the annual Roos Read book event, which already is part of the First Semester Experience course.

My next task will be to appoint a new coordinating council, composed of campus leaders from different functional areas and a few external community leaders, to oversee progress toward Pillar 4 goals. This council replaces the former Chancellor’s Diversity Council. Symbolically, the new council reflects my belief that we ALL have a role in fostering inclusive excellence and opportunity on this campus. When a goal or initiative is centered in one office, or under one leader, it’s too easy to think that work is someone else’s job, not ours. We all must contribute to the mission of ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are welcomed, valued and provided opportunities to succeed here at UMKC.

Thank you again for sharing your views these past weeks. We are immeasurably enriched by having a community of students, faculty and staff who represent many different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. And we have the highest honor of making sure that our welcoming campus also is one where everyone can succeed.

Sincerely,

Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
Chancellor