Sprint Foundation awards $1 million to UMKC School of Education

Gift supports endowed professorship for Urban Education Research Center 

 

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and the UMKC Foundation are pleased to announce a $1 million grant from the Sprint Foundation. The grant will fund an endowed professorship for the upcoming Urban Education Research Center in the School of Education. The grant will be paid over five years.

The center will focus on conducting and disseminating research that addresses local issues, problems and questions in urban schools and communities with national applicability, and the endowed professor will be a vital part of that center.

"UMKC recognizes the urgency of this national challenge and has made a long-term commitment in its 2010-20 Strategic Plan to strengthen student success in Kansas City's urban schools -- from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade," said Wanda J. Blanchett, School of Education dean and Ewing Marion Kauffman/Missouri Endowed Chair for Teacher Education. "Through the generosity of the Sprint Foundation, we will seek an outstanding educator and active scholar with an exceptional background in urban education or urban teacher education."

The center will utilize scientific methodology to accurately assess the effectiveness of the school's teacher preparation and other professional education programs, and provide the necessary tools and resources for scientific investigation of issues and problems for improving conditions in urban schools. Additionally, the center will identify the needs and opportunities for research that address critical areas aimed at improving conditions in urban schools and communities.

"This gift -- along with the recent gift from Marny and John Sherman -- will provide the center with two endowed positions and start-up funds," said Murray Blackwelder, president of the UMKC Foundation.

"The Sprint Foundation has long been a supporter of UMKC and education," said UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton. "This gift is a continuation of the commitment the foundation has made to UMKC, to education and to our community."

"As longtime supporters of quality education, particularly education that reaches disadvantaged young people, Sprint and the Sprint Foundation recognize the importance of UMKC's mission," said Ralph Reid, president and executive director of the Sprint Foundation. "This grant allows us to further ensure that all children have the education they deserve, while also allowing us to give back to our hometown of Kansas City, a community that has played an integral role in Sprint's success."

UMKC, the UMKC Foundation and the School of Education are grateful for this gift from the Sprint Foundation, which will give back to our community and citizens for many generations.