After weathering three straight years of tough economic times, UMR and its supporters have the opportunity to tap into new state funds this year funds set aside to help make a UMR education more affordable to many students and, through the creation of new faculty positions, more valuable over the long run.
Current state funding for the four-campus University of Missouri System includes resources earmarked for two special programs. These funds are designed to provide additional state support for private gifts, thereby stretching your donor dollar and giving you more impact for your investment in UMR. The two programs, designed to provide more scholarships and more professorships, are:
Missouri Endowed Scholarship Program. Some of Missouri’s most talented students might miss out on a college education because of their economic situation. But the Missouri Endowed Scholarships Program will ensure that even economically disadvantaged students will have the opportunity for a UMR education. State funding is set aside to match private gifts in increments of $15,000, up to $1 million, for new scholarships through this program.
Here’s how the program works:
The Missouri Endowed Chair Program. Great teachers and researchers form the core of great universities. The Missouri Endowed Chair Program allows UMR to leverage state and university resources by obtaining private matching funds to create new professorships. Based on a successful matching program established in 1995 but eliminated during the state’s economic recession, the new Missouri Endowed Chair Program requires three funding sources: a cash gift of $1.1 million to $1.5 million from one or more private donors, a match from state funds, and a funded faculty position from UMR.
Through this program, UMR is seeking funding for chairs in five areas:
Each proposed faculty position would build on UMR’s strengths while positioning the campus for new research, teaching and economic development opportunities.
These two programs offer special one-time opportunities for UMR’s alumni and friends to make an even greater difference in the lives of tomorrow’s students.
For more information about these programs, contact the UMR Development Office at (573) 341-4944 or send an email message to Julie Turley, director of development, at julie@mst.edu.