The work to determine our university’s academic and financial future, through the UMKC Forward process, continues. I want to offer my sincere thanks to the Faculty Senate, the deans, the Graduate Assistantship Task Force led by Chris Liu and all others who have been working hard on various UMKC Forward initiatives.
In my letter of Aug. 12, I shared a list of ideas and recommendations from the UMKC Forward committees, designed to streamline and focus our attention and our resources so that we can become the excellent urban research university we are called to be.
You may recall that many of the UMKC Forward committees were working toward a Dec. 1 deadline to give me additional recommendations and input. Reports from the review groups are still pending, but are expected soon. I will be reviewing and considering their recommendations in close consultation with others over the next several months. You can expect the final outcomes from this process sometime in mid-March.
Profound economic, technological and social forces are driving UMKC, and all of higher education, to conduct a fundamental reexamination of what we do, and how and why we do it. In the coming months, we need to make some hard decisions in order to free up revenue, resources and energy to invest in what we do best and what our stakeholders need most.
The sincere commitment so many of you have devoted to this vital process is a testament to your professionalism and dedication, and I am grateful to you for investing so faithfully in the future of this university and the community we serve.
