University of Missouri-Kansas City

Lincoln and Lee University Main article: Lincoln and Lee University The school has its roots in the Lincoln and Lee University movement first put forth by the Methodist Church and its Bishop Ernest Lynn Waldorf in the 1920s. The proposed university (which was to honor Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee ) was to be built on the Missouri – Kansas border at 75th and State Line Road. Proponents of the school said it would be a location "where North met South and East met West." In 1930, after the Methodists had brought the Kansas City Dental School into their fold, the two plans were merged. The new school was to be called " Lincoln and Lee, the University of Kansas City ." [ 25 ] and plans were underway to develop it into a four-year school. The university was built on a 40-acre (16.19 ha) plot, southeast of the Nelson mansion. William Volker had purchased and donated this land for the University of Kansas City. The original Volker purchase did not include the Dickey mansion itself. Dickey died unexpectedly in 1931 and Volker acquired it to be the first building.

For the defunct school in Kansas City, Kansas, see Kansas City University (1896–1933) . The two groups were to squabble back and forth, with Ernest H. Newcomb attempting to mediate. The Church did not maintain its ties, and the Lincoln and Lee name was abandoned. The school announced that it would start if 125 students enrolled. The target was met, and the University of Kansas City , or "KCU" for short, held its first classes in October 1933 with a faculty of 17 and a student enrollment of 264. The campus (now expanded to 90 acres or 36.4 hectares ) is called the Volker Campus. The Dickey mansion is now Scofield Hall. The second building on the campus, the library, was named for Newcomb. A Carl Milles fountain on Brush Creek opposite the Nelson Gallery is called the Volker Fountain. [ 26 ] The University of Kansas City grew quickly, and soon incorporated other existing local private institutions of higher learning. The Kansas City School of Law , which was founded in the 1890s and located in downtown Kansas City , merged into the university in 1938. The Kansas City-Western Dental College followed in 1941 and the Kansas City College of Pharmacy merged in 1943. This was followed by the Kansas City Conservatory of Music in 1959. During this period, the university also established the School of Administration in 1953, the School of Education in 1954, and the Division for Continuing Education in 1958.

More information Race and ethnicity, Total ... Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023 [ 37 ] Race and ethnicity Total White 48% Hispanic 16% Black 14% Asian 11% Two or more races 5% International student 4% Unknown 1% Economic diversity Low-income [ a ] 39% Affluent [ b ] 61% Close Bloch School of Executive Management Today, the academic divisions of UMKC are as follows: the College of Arts and Sciences the Conservatory of Music and Dance the Henry W. Bloch School of Management the School of Science and Engineering the School of Dentistry the School of Education the School of Law the School of Medicine the School of Nursing and Health Studies the School of Pharmacy the School of Graduate Studies [ 38 ] The School of Medicine is known for its six-year post-secondary program, wherein a student spends only six years obtaining both a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine degree. The school operates two campuses, one in Kansas City, Missouri , and one in St. Joseph, Missouri . [ 39 ] The School of Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri, is known as the Health Sciences District campus or HSD. It is situated away from the main campus on Hospital Hill , where it is connected to University Health Truman Medical Center , an extensive research hospital. The St. Joseph campus (STJ) is based in St. Joseph, Missouri. Students initially trained within Mosaic Life Care hospital facilities, but in August 2025 UMKC opened a new 22,000-square-foot, $14.5 million medical education building. The facility houses classrooms, simulation labs, and clinical training spaces, and serves as a hub for expanding rural health education. [ 40 ] Harry S. Truman The School of Law is one of four law schools in Missouri ( St. Louis University School of Law , University of Missouri School of Law , and Washington University School of Law are the others). It is one of only seven American law schools to have educated both a President of the United States ( Harry S.

Truman ) and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ( Charles Evans Whittaker ). Truman attended but did not graduate from the law school and never practiced law. The schools that actually have had President-Supreme Court graduates who practiced law are Yale Law School , Harvard Law School , Columbia Law School , the University of Virginia School of Law , the William & Mary Law School and the University of Cincinnati College of Law . [ 41 ] The university is the home of New Letters , a literary magazine , as well as the nationally syndicated public radio program New Letters on the Air . [ 42 ] For over 50 years, UMKC has broadcast live, taped, and syndicated programming over KCUR , the university's radio station and NPR affiliate. In 2004, the Fungal Genetics Stock Center moved to UMKC where it is in the School of Biological Sciences. The FGSC was founded in 1960 and is supported by the US National Science Foundation . The FGSC distributes research materials around the world, and is part of the World Federation for Culture Collections . Collaborators include researchers at the Broad Institute and the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute . UMKC Theatre is considered to have one of the stronger M.F.A. programs in acting in the country. In 2017, 2018, and 2019 the MFA costume design program was ranked in the top 10 best costume design schools in the country by The Hollywood Reporter . The university is the site where the Supplemental Instruction program was established and developed. [ 43 ]