The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) offers top-ranked academic and research programs in the schools of Health Professions, Medicine, and Nursing. It has campuses in Kansas City, Salina, and Wichita, as well as partnerships with clinical affiliates and educational partners in communities across the state. KUMC is an urban campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence which will also participate in the CUMU membership.
“KUMC is a long-time anchor institution in Kansas City, KS and community engagement is one of the pillars of our strategic plan, so our outreach efforts, values and mission are a near perfect match with CUMU’s. We are delighted a be a new member institution.” Ryan Spaulding, vice chancellor, Institute for Community Engagement.
The University of Kansas Medical Center’s mission is to improve the lives and communities in Kansas and beyond through innovation in education, research and health care. Over many decades, KUMC has developed award-winning outreach programs in both urban and rural underserved areas and values its commitment to bettering the health and education of all citizens. A few of the key divisions that serve the urban Kansas City, Kansas community include: the Center for Service Learning, which leverages campus and community partnerships to advance service learning, community engaged-scholarship, and civic engagement that fosters a commitment to participation for a diverse, just and global society; Frontiers, the CTSA-supported outreach initiative for training a diverse workforce, listening, learning and partnering with all stakeholders and surmounting barriers to innovation, and achieving equity across the lifespan; the Institute for Community Engagement for supporting health technology, community practice development and statewide workforce preparation; Juntos: Center for Advancing Latino Health for generating and disseminating knowledge to eliminate health disparities in the underserved Latino communities in Kansas; and the Office of Community Relations, which serves as a front door for community partnerships such as Kansas City metropolitan businesses, neighbors and civic organizations who want to partner with KUMC.
These are just a few of the many programs that serve our local communities and our state. Most importantly, KUMC strives to train the next generation of community leaders who are active citizens, compassionate neighbors and well-rounded human beings, with a commitment to their communities through a sense of obligation to the world around them. Our CUMU membership will enable our multi-campus communities to connect with CUMU colleagues to work together to address critical challenges in higher education and to share impactful solutions.
“We look forward to connecting our faculty, staff and students with the resources that CUMU has to offer. Building relationships with our CUMU colleagues offers us a welcome opportunity for sharing, learning and growing our commitment to university-community partnerships,” said Kim Huyett, senior director, community relations.
Join us in welcoming University of Kansas Medical Center to the CUMU membership!