How do donor contributions make a difference for UMKC students, faculty and Kansas City? Check out these gifts in action!
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DJ’s Extensive Collection Enhances Marr Sound Archives
by Patricia O’Dell
The late Gordon Spencer was a disc jockey and enthusiastic collector who interviewed jazz greats and other musicians and composers
Gordon Spencer interviewed many of the remarkable jazz artists of the 20th century including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. He began his career in radio in 1951 at WSRN, the student radio station at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania when he was a junior. His widow, Hannelore Rogers, has donated his extensive collection of albums, CDs and his reel-to-reel interview tapes to the Marr Sound Archives so enthusiasts and scholars can benefit from his remarkable career. (more…)
Bloch Student and Business Owner Supports COVID-19 Relief
by Patricia O’Dell
Aubrey Larkin has turned her entrepreneurial efforts to help the UMKC student assistance fund through design and sale of a new T-shirt
Like many UMKC students, Aubrey Larkin is living at home, going to Zoom classes online and hoping and waiting for the COVID-19 crisis to subside. But Larkin, who says she comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, mobilized her online shop, Aubrey’s Attic Company, to create a product that will help students in need. (more…)
Nontraditional Engineering Alumnus Gives Back With a Scholarship
Jason Painter builds solid future for his family and future students
Jason Painter (BSME ’12) always liked school, and math was his strong point. But following high school graduation, he decided college wasn’t for him. He married his high school sweetheart and started working in residential construction. But after a few years, he began to reconsider his decision to forego a college degree. (more…)
Donors Strike a Chord with New Scholarships Honoring World-Renowned Faculty
Individual and foundation giving have common theme for UMKC Conservatory student success
Bobby Watson and Vinson Cole have been influential professors at the UMKC Conservatory in addition to being internationally recognized musicians. (more…)
Dreams Are Built on a Solid Foundation
On Aug. 29, the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) Foundation hosted “Dreams are Built on a Solid Foundation,” its annual donor dinner.
More than 100 guests gathered at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in midtown Kansas City to celebrate the legacy of first-generation college graduates at Kansas City’s urban-serving public research university. (more…)