Curators’ Professorships and Curators’ Teaching Professorships

A Curators’ Professorship is the highest and most prestigious academic rank awarded by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri. It is awarded to a select few “outstanding scholars with established reputations.” Each Curators’ Professor becomes a resource of the University and is expected to contribute to the entire University through such teaching, scholarship, service and outreach activities. Appointments to these prestigious positions are for five-years, and are renewable at the discretion of the Chancellor.

Appointments to Curators’ Professorships are made by the University of Missouri Board of Curators’ on the recommendation of the Chancellor. Faculty members and deans may nominate faculty members for these appointments by sending the provost a recommendation and a portfolio containing a narrative of nominee’s accomplishments, the nominee’s curriculum vitae, letters from nominators, and testimonial letters from UMKC peers and others. In assessing the nominations, the Provost solicits the advice of a review committee that evaluates the portfolios. Following the review, the provost sends his/her recommendations to the Chancellor. If approved, the Chancellor forwards a recommendation and the portfolio to the President of the UM System who, if approving, presents the candidate for approval by the Board of Curators. Appointment to a Curators’ Professorship includes a salary stipend and support for creative/research activities. Policies on this appointment are available here.

A current list of active UMKC Curators’ Professors appears below, including name, title, academic unit, and year of appointment.

• Felicia H. Londré, Curators’ Professor, A&S Department of Theater (1987)
• Wai-Yim Ching, Curators’ Professor, A&S Department of Physics (1988)
• George J. Thomas, Curators’ Professor, School of Biological Sciences (1988)
• J. David Eick, Curators’ Professor, School of Dentistry (1989)
• Bruce Bubacz, Distinguished Teaching Professor, A&S Department of Philosophy (1998)
• James Mobberley, Curators’ Professor, Conservatory of Music (1999)
• Max Skidmore, Curators’ Professor, A&S Department of Political Science (1999)
• David Atkinson, Distinguished Teaching Professor, A&S Department of Political Science (1999)
• Yanching (Jerry) Jean, Curators’ Professor, A&S Department of Chemistry (2002)
• Ashim Mitra, Curators’ Professor, School of Pharmacy (2002)
• Charles Wurrey, Distinguished Teaching Professor, A&S Department of Chemistry (2002)
• Joan Dean, Distinguished Teaching Professor, A&S Department of English (2003)
• James Durig, Curators’ Professor, A&S Department of Chemistry (2003)
• Carla Klausner, Distinguished Teaching Professor, A&S Department of History (2004)
• Khosrow Sohraby, Curators’ Professor, School of Computing and Engineering (2004)
• Paulette Spencer, Curators’ Professor, School of Dentistry (2004)
• Lynda Bonewald, Curators’ Professor, School of Dentistry (2005)
• Nancy Levit, Curators’ Professor, School of Law (2005)
• Joan Gallos, Curators’ Teaching Professor, Bloch School of Business, Administration and Finance (2008)
  

-Written by Ronald MacQuarrie, Vice Provost, and Rebecca Edmundson, Faculty Affairs Specialist

Celebrating Accomplishments

Bibie Chronwall, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Faculty Development, is retiring at the end of March following 20+ years of service to UMKC.

On Monday, March 16th we will be celebrating her accomplishments and tenure at UMKC. In 1988, Dr. Chronwall began her work at UMKC as an Associate Professor of cell biology and biophysics and has continued to teach courses throughout her career. She was Assistant Dean and Director of Curriculum and Undergraduate Programs in the School of Biological Sciences and since 2003 has served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Having published nearly 100 scientific papers and edited three books, gained support through grants topping over $1,000,000, she is well respected for her accomplishments. You can see her most recent efforts in the New Faculty Teaching Scholars program, the Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching (FaCET), and the Students Engaged in Artistic and Academic Research (SEARCH) program.

Please join us in celebrating Bibie Chronwall’s retirement at the following event provided by faculty & staff donations:

Ice Cream Social
Honoring Dr. Bibie Chronwall
Monday, March 16, 2009
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Plaza Room, Administrative Center

You are encouraged to share your farewell remarks and favorite Bibie memories by clicking on the comments link below. Or email your remarks/memories (including photographs) to Beci Edmundson for compilation and presentation to Bibie at the party. There will also be a memory book at the party for everyone sign or write comments for Bibie.

Academic Affairs looks forward to sharing our appreciation for Bibie Chronwall’s legacy of work at UMKC with you on the 16th, and hope to see you there.

Promotion & Tenure Information Sessions

The Provost Office has scheduled the following open Promotion & Tenure Information Sessions at the Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching (FaCET, located in the Miller Nichols Library) for faculty members interested in the promotion and tenure process.

These annual sessions provide opportunities for faculty members to learn about the P&T process and ask questions about how to prepare for it. Topics covered in the recent Hospital Hill P&T Info Session included portfolio preparation (electronic and hard-copy), how to select external evaluators, how mid-tenure reviews and annual evaluations assist in P&T preparation, how portfolios are reviewed, and a quick review of the 2009-2010 P&T calendar/timeline.

Sessions are open to all Faculty members interested in the promotion and/or tenure process, and will highlight the upcoming 2009-2010 review period. Scheduled over the lunch hour, all attendees are welcome to bring and eat their lunch during the session. Hosted by Dr. Ronald MacQuarrie, Vice Provost

Monday, March 16, 2009 Noon – 1:30 pm (Brown Bag)
Miller Nichols Library, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching (FaCET) Room 122 MLN

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Noon – 1:30 pm (Brown Bag)
Miller Nichols Library, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching (FaCET) Room 122 MLN

Watch Video by UMKC Student on PBS

Jordan Kerfeld's documentary on the Marr Sound Archives will air on PBS, Thursday, February 19th at 7:50PM. See his blog to learn more.

Faculty and Students Receive National Recognition for Service

Congratulations to the UMKC faculty and students who have been actively engaged in providing national and community service!! The University of Missouri Kansas City was recognized at the American Council on Education (ACE) annual meeting for receiving a Presidential Award from the Corporation for National and Community Service and for being part of The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Provost Hackett received the award on behalf of the university during the ACE meeting in Washington, D.C. The University of Missouri Kansas City was one of the six 2008 Presidential Award Winners, which included California State University – Fresno, Emory University, Michigan State University, Duke University and Brookhaven College. (Read more about the award here.)

As part of the national recognition for UMKC, Dr. Jacob Wagner, Assistant Professor, Architecture, Urban Planning and Design, participated in a panel presentation as an example of the work that is being done by UMKC faculty and students at the national and local community level. Other panelists from Cal State Fresno, Emory, Michigan State, Duke and Brookhaven provided examples of initiatives from their institutions which were the basis for receiving this national recognition. Dr. Wagner and the other panelists discussed the importance of this work for the community and the significant learning experience it is for our students. Panelists also discussed how this work was imbedded in the work of university faculty. A lively discussion with the panelists and the audience represented the energy found in doing this very important community work.

Many times this type of faculty work and student learning goes unnoticed by the university community and the local/national community. NOT TODAY!!! Thank you Dr. Wagner for your excellent presentation on behalf of UMKC and thank you to all of the UMKC faculty and students who continue to work and learn by using service learning as an engaging pedagogy and for doing volunteer work in our local and national communities.

-Written by Cindy Pemberton, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

If you would like to read more about Cindy see our December 31st, 2008 post.

Impressive Activities and Intellectual Resources

One of the most interesting and rewarding features of my new position as Interim Vice Provost for Research is the many opportunities for me to meet and interact with the UMKC community.

Some interactions are new, as my current duties take me to places and people on campus that, even after almost 20 years at UMKC, I had never been exposed to. One example is the Innovation Center and its Director, Maria Meyers. This Center at 4747 Troost operates with the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration to aid entrepreneurial and technological transfer activities in the community. Maria is chair of the Economic Development Strategic Planning Committee and is using her expertise to help derive plans to enhance the economic well being of the entire Kansas City area using the intellectual resources of the UMKC community. Another of Maria's activities is KCSourceLink which helps small businesses connect to the technical, educational, financial and marketing resources they need. This initiative has spread to the entire state of Missouri as MOSourceLink, which launched last September with 221 Resource Partners and is being extended nationally as the U.S.SourceLink network.

Some interactions are old, such as my renewed acquaintance with Dr. Betty Drees, Dean of the UMKC School of Medicine. Betty has been remarkably successful in enhancing the research stature of the School. An impressive group of faculty has been recruited, including the recent additions of Dr. William Lafferty, the Hicklin Missouri Endowed Chair , and Dr. Peter Koulen, the Sabates Missouri Endowed Chair. Both are tremendous assets for UMKC and for the Kansas City community. Dr. Lafferty stated in his University of Washington Website: "I believe that there are enormous opportunities to improve health. Most are based on ameliorating social problems such as poverty, racism, and violence. The greatest value from medical practice will come when all people have equal access to high quality primary care.” And Dean Drees said of Dr. Koulen “Dr. Koulen is an outstanding scientist, and his research leadership will allow the Vision Research Center to pursue its mission of understanding and preventing diseases that cause blindness. This is the type of research that translates new discoveries into improved health and well being in our community.”

These are only a few examples of the impressive activities and intellectual resources which UMKC brings to the community as part of its Mission as Kansas City's University.

-Written by William T. Morgan, Ph.D. , Interim Vice Provost for Research

If you would like to read more from Bill see our December 31, 2008 post.

The Latest on Accreditation

As many of you are aware, UMKC is currently in the process of preparing a self-study report to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for our 10-year reaccreditation. This effort has been ongoing since early 2007, and is on schedule for completion. The HLC site team visit is scheduled for October 12-14, 2009.

The Accreditation Steering Committee, and the five subcommittees representing the five Criteria for Accreditation, are composed of faculty from all of the academic units, as well as staff members from all administrative departments. In fact, our new Chancellor, Leo Morton, as well as his Chief of Staff, Dr. Margaret Brommelsiek, both strongly support the accreditation effort and serve as Co-Chairs of Criterion Five Committee (Engagement and Service).

At this writing, the first drafts of most of the Criterion chapters have been received by the 3-member Edit Team, which was drawn from members of the Steering Committee. The Edit Team is in the process of reviewing the initial drafts for compliance with HLC Criterion requirements, as well as general editorial style criteria. The next step in the process is for the Edit Team to return the chapter drafts to the five Criterion Committees, with requests for additional “Examples of Evidence” and/or suggestions for editorial fine-tuning. After approval of all chapters by the Edit Team, the report will go to the full Steering Committee for review.

Concurrently, the electronic Resource Room is being populated with the hundreds of documents required by HLC regulations to support the self-study report, as well as to confirm our adherence to HLC guidelines for “good practice.” Many of the documents are available for viewing by the general UMKC community at the Resource Room link. A physical Resource Room will be created prior to the site team visit; it will contain hard copies of the self-study report, along with key documents cited in the report, and computer terminals for all of the anticipated site team members.

Along with the research and documentation needed to create the self-study report, the Steering Committee has been utilizing various media in an effort to inform the UMKC community about the accreditation process. Informational letters and postcards were sent to faculty, staff and students in 2007. In 2008, bookmarks were printed which emphasize the University’s Mission Statement and the importance of accreditation; these bookmarks are being distributed each semester to the UMKC community through the academic departments, as well as the University Libraries and Bookstores. Recently, Chancellor Leo Morton recorded a video in which he emphasized the importance of accreditation and the ways in which the Core Components, as defined by the HLC, are intrinsically tied to the University’s four-part Mission.

When the self-study is completed, it will be shared with the entire UMKC community; feedback will be requested through a link on the accreditation website. It is anticipated that this will occur toward the end of this semester, which will allow time for corrections or changes to the report prior to our self-imposed deadline for printing in early summer. You may address any questions or concerns regarding the accreditation process to Dr. Max Skidmore, Steering Committee Chair (skidmorem@umkc.edu) or to Teresa Crew, Coordinator for Accreditation (crewt@umkc.edu).

-Written by Teresa Crew, Coordinator for Accreditation

If you would like to read more about UMKC Accreditation see our October 28th, 2008 post.