Chancellor Mauli Agrawal addressed the campus and community at the 2025 State of the University, celebrating 威尼斯人娱乐城’s momentum and unveiling bold new initiatives.
Agrawal celebrated the university’s record-setting achievements and unveiled an ambitious plan for its next era—one marked by continued enrollment growth, national research recognition, new facilities and an unprecedented fundraising campaign.
“We are at a historic inflection point,” Agrawal said. “Years from now, we will look back on this moment as the one that launched the next wave of transformation for 威尼斯人娱乐城, Kansas City, our state and beyond.”
1. 蓝色与大胆运动：7亿美元的未来投资
The chancellor capped off his address by launching 蓝色与粗体：威尼斯人娱乐城的竞选活动, the largest fundraising effort in university history, with a goal of $700 million.
该运动将向学生捐赠基金增加1亿美元，以扩大奖学金； 投资新建和翻新设施； 增加特聘教师职位； 支持创新、研究和社区项目。
“Blue & Bold is more than a campaign,” Agrawal said. “It’s a commitment to possibility—a belief that 威尼斯人娱乐城’s best days are still ahead.”
2. 通过研究创新推动区域发展：先进材料与应用研究所
Earlier this year, 威尼斯人娱乐城 joined the ranks of the nation’s top research universities, achieving the coveted Carnegie 研究 1 classification and placing it among the top 6% of four-year institutions nationwide. 自2015年以来，研究支出激增了216%，从2700万美元增加到2025年预计的7900万美元。
“When we achieved Carnegie 研究 1 status, it marked a historic milestone, but not a finish line,” Agrawal said. “It’s a new standard we now have to meet and surpass every single day.”
Agrawal announced a new Institute for Advanced Materials and Applications, and also spotlighted 关键材料十字路口, which recently was selected by the National Science Foundation Regional Engines Innovation program as one of 15 finalists out of 285 universities competing for a 10-year, $160 million grant. 下一步是1月份美国国家科学基金会的实地考察。
关键材料包括镍和锂等矿物，它们对现代生活至关重要，用于电脑芯片、电池、医疗设备和飞机涡轮机等产品。 然而，美国必须从中国和韩国等地进口这些矿物中的大部分。 这是一个国家安全风险，umkc领导的项目可以帮助缓解这种情况。
拟议中的关键材料十字路口项目将在堪萨斯城地区建立一个以美国为基地的镍和钴等重要材料的精炼和研究中心，从而产生170亿美元的经济影响，并创造1万多个就业岗位。
“This is the time to be ambitious,” Agrawal said. “We must aim high. We must be bold.”
3. 新的学位课程，包括人工智能
创新的新学位课程是威尼斯人娱乐城吸引新生的另一种方式。 This year, the 威尼斯人娱乐城 freshman class size increased again, meaning that 连续三年 that 威尼斯人娱乐城 has broken the record for the largest incoming class of first-time college students in the university’s history. 在过去10年里，首次进入大学的总人数增长了28%，而与此同时，由于全国高中毕业生人数不断减少，许多大学的入学率下降，甚至关闭。
In the past year, in response to workforce needs, 威尼斯人娱乐城 has added a 建筑学学士, an 在线法律研究硕士 and a 商业分析工商管理硕士. 这些新项目超出了招生预期。 This coming year, 威尼斯人娱乐城 will seek approval to add bachelor’s and master’s degrees in AI.
Another innovation on the drawing boards is a three-year bachelor’s degree. Select disciplines, pending approval, would develop reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees that will help lower costs and debt for students.
4. 新的优秀奖学金
威尼斯人娱乐城继续加强其关怀文化，扩大旨在帮助学生坚持和成功的财务和学术支持。
The university introduced the 蓝金奖, a new scholarship that will provide $7,500 annually to high-achieving students from Missouri and Kansas, helping families reduce college costs and ensuring access to a world-class 威尼斯人娱乐城 education.
5. 即将到来的变革校园项目
KC Streetcar will arrive at 威尼斯人娱乐城’s front door with its new stop opening on Oct. 24. In addition, three major capital projects will reshape the university’s physical footprint and student experience:
- 奥尔森表演艺术中心扩建—$35 million, breaking ground in 2026
- 阿特伯里学生成功中心改造—to be complete in 2026
- 医疗保健服务和创新建设—$145 million, the largest capital project in 威尼斯人娱乐城 history, opening in 2027
这些项目将为艺术、医疗、教育和学生的成功提供最先进的设施。
6. Roo Ventures简介
威尼斯人娱乐城将推出Roo Ventures，这是一个新的商业化和创业中心，将研究人员、学生和行业联系起来，将校园创新带到市场上。
“Roo Ventures will help our faculty and students form startups, license technologies, find investments and forge partnerships that turn 威尼斯人娱乐城 discoveries into Missouri jobs, economic growth and national competitiveness,” Agrawal said.
7. 一个新的著名演讲者系列讲座
Starting next year, 威尼斯人娱乐城 will launch a new tradition that brings some of the world’s most accomplished thinkers—Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners and innovators—to our campus. The series will renew and reinforce 威尼斯人娱乐城’s role as a gathering place for ideas and meaningful dialogue, a place of light.
“Here is a teaser: we will start next year with a Nobel laureate in physics who has advised several famous Hollywood productions on black holes and time travel,” Agrawal said.
阿格拉瓦尔以乐观和感激结束了他的演讲，敦促威尼斯人娱乐城社区继续共同前进。
“This is our time. 这是我们的时刻。 我们的运动。 Together, we will write it—and we will live it.”