UM System president announces $260 million in investments
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi announced $260 million in strategic investments Friday.
His speech at the Missouri Theatre centered on the future of the university system.
Choi said the strategic investments come after the university cut and reallocated $180 million over the past two fiscal years.
“During the last two years, many people in this room have made difficult decisions,” Choi said. “The cuts and reallocations were painful, but necessary to create a stronger university.
“Now, we must make investments.”
Choi said investments must be focused on the needs of the state and its students. He said that if the university were to operate as “business as usual,” then it would see a dramatic deficit in five years.
“We have to reinvent ourselves each and every day.”
Innovation is key, Choi said, if the system plans to keep up with the challenges facing higher education.
“We are facing a crisis-a crisis of confidence in higher education and the value we provide,” he said.
The one-time money “will be used to invest in students, faculty and staff,” the UM System said in a news release. That money includes:
$100 million for scholarships, with $75 million for need-based scholarships $50 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative and the Translational Precision Medicine Complex to improve technology available to medical researchers at UM $50 million for research and creative works $20 million for digital learning initiatives $12 million to attract professors to increase scholarship and research $10 million for a program to encourage partnerships with industry $8.5 million to support recruitment and retention of faculty from diverse backgrounds $7.5 million to invest in faculty and staff
In addition to the investments, Choi also discussed a five-year plan to boost faculty and staff salaries, and he announced the appointment of Bill Turpin, CEO of the Missouri Innovation Center, to lead economic development efforts for MU and the UM System.
Choi said the UM System has a $5.4 billion impact on our state; that’s a 13 to one return on the state’s investment.
