UM Board and System officials announce plans for alternative funding for UMKC Conservatory

University of Missouri System

June 28, 2017
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Board of Curators and System officials announced today that they will develop plans for an alternative funding match for the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Downtown Campus for the Arts (Conservatory) rather than seek funding from the state under the 50-50 matching program for capital projects.

“This approach will allow construction to begin sooner and save money by avoiding construction cost inflation on a project that will benefit the students of UMKC, the people of Kansas City and the state of Missouri,” UM System President Mun Choi said. “This is a strategic investment to support our key goals in academics and scholarship. That makes it a priority for the UM System and UMKC.”

Choi said that details of the financial plans for the $96-million construction project and the $2M operating costs are being developed without reliance on state funding. These plans will be presented for approval to the Board of Curators at the September meeting.

The UM System has designated UMKC as Missouri’s Campus for the Performing Arts. The Conservatory, founded in 1906, has been praised by The New York Times as “one of the country’s liveliest academies.”  It has a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and four Guggenheim Fellows among its faculty. The Conservatory also trains vocal, instrumental and dance professionals, educators, and music therapists who live, work and teach across the state of Missouri and the nation.

UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton said the decision demonstrates that Choi and the Board of Curators recognize how critical the downtown campus is to the future of UMKC, the city and the state.

“The performing arts are a $1 billion industry for the state of Missouri, and the national and international renown of UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and Dance is a significant piece of the foundation for that industry,” Morton said. “UMKC’s Downtown Campus ...

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