UM System Board of Curators to meet in Kansas City with several items up for vote

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
University of Missouri System Board of Curators will be meeting at 8 a.m. Thursday morning in Kansas City, with several topics up for vote on the agenda.
University leaders are expected to vote on the $83 million renovation project for the Keene Street Medical Center, formerly known as the Women's and Children's Hospital.
The medical center is part of MU Health Care's growth strategy and will make less-severe outpatient procedures more convenient and easier to navigate, according to the meeting agenda. The Keene Street project will allow for more major surgeries and procedures to be done at the main hospital.
Leaders are also set to vote on a 5.2% price increase to MU campus housing and dining rates starting July 1, increasing prices from $13,130 to $13,807.
This comes as first-time college applications at MU for Fall 2026 are up 7% compared to last year.
Curator members will also be voting on changes to the academic calendar. If the vote is "yes," the change would be a 15-week semester and fall classes starting on the third Monday of August every year. These changes would result in the loss “Reading Day”, also known as “Stop Day” by students and alumni, -- to make up classroom hours lost from Veterans Day falling on a Wednesday.
In December, the MU Faculty Council was considering two proposals that would allow for scheduling flexibility, given that Veterans Day is now a paid holiday for UM employees. The proposals would also provide more room between the end of the fall semester and winter holidays.