University of Missouri president touts investment plan in State of the University speech
Watch the address in full in the player above.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
University of Missouri President Mun Choi touted the university's Mizzou Forward initiative to invest $1.5 billion to enhance research and education over the next decade during his State of the University address Tuesday.
More than 700 people were in attendance for the address, which was also streamed online. The speech touched on topics including positive momentum in enrollment, state funding, research growth and investments to support student success and faculty recruitment.
Choi said that $500 million dollars will go towards performance-based salary increases for faculty and staff over the next five years. This is an effort to ensure the university retains the most qualified staff to teach its students.
University 2021 enrollment
Data from the university's website shows overall student enrollment was up by nearly 1% last fall compared to the previous year. Student enrollment at the University of Missouri for fall 2021 was 31,121 students.
The university also saw a more than 1% increase in the total undergrad and transfer student enrollment. Total undergraduate enrollment for fall 2021 was 23,533 students.
Student success
Four million dollars from MizzouForward will fund 51 projects to support student success. Earlier this month, the University of Missouri announced that 95% of recent Mizzou graduates had found successful career outcomes within six months of spring graduation.
Data from the university's website also shows an increase in the average freshman's incoming ACT score which now sits at 27. The state and national average ACT score for incoming freshmen is around 20.
