The James S. McDonnell Foundation is supporting the new UMSL School of Engineering with an $8 million grant that will help the university hire high-caliber faculty to teach and to engage with St. Louis industry as well as provide resources for immediate and endowed scholarships for students in the new school. (Photo by August Jennewein)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is building a new UMSL School of Engineering as it continues to address the high demand for trained engineers across the St. Louis region and the state of Missouri.
Those efforts have received a significant boost with an $8 million grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, one of the largest one-time philanthropic gifts in the history of the university.
As UMSL welcomes its first cohort of engineering students next fall, this funding will provide crucial financial support for new high-caliber faculty to teach and to engage with St. Louis industry, in addition to support staff and student success resources. This gift will ensure that curriculum and learning opportunities align with industry needs so students gain the tools necessary for professional success.
The grant funds immediate and endowed scholarships that will support students over the school’s first five years and for decades into the future, training students for in-demand careers with high earning potential. UMSL’s pre-collegiate Bridge Program will receive a $1 million endowment to support STEM college readiness programs to prepare students for engineering degrees.
“We are so grateful for the generous support of the James S. McDonnell Foundation as we work together to strengthen the future of St. Louis,” Chancellor Kristin Sobolik said. “This is truly a historic moment. UMSL shares the foundation’s vision for a thriving region where inclusive growth helps lead to shared prosperity and enhances the quality of life for all of its citizens. We believe ensuring our workforce has the skilled engineering talent it needs is critical to its long-term success and vitality.”
JSMF’s mission focuses on investing in organizations and initiatives working to improve economic mobility for St. Louisans facing the starkest disparities.
“We understand that economic mobility and inclusive economic growth aren’t going to happen on autopilot,” JSMF President Jason Purnell said. “This investment is a down payment on the infrastructure necessary to make sure that people have opportunities to succeed, and that the region succeeds as a result.”
Since its founding, UMSL has served as an institution of opportunity for all St. Louisans by providing access to a tier-one, high-quality education. UMSL boasts one of the most diverse student populations in the state and has established itself as a national leader for academic quality and for social mobility, helping students from low-income backgrounds improve their socioeconomic status by earning a college degree.
UMSL has taken on a critical role in developing the region’s workforce with roughly 75% of its 117,000 alumni calling St. Louis home.
The launch of the UMSL School of Engineering aligns with Greater St. Louis Inc.’s 2030 Jobs Plan, a 10-year roadmap for boosting economic growth as well as increasing the number of quality, living-wage jobs.
The school will operate alongside the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program, building upon the joint engineering program’s 30-year track record of success with ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science degree programs in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. While the joint engineering program is designed to cater to the needs of nontraditional learners by offering courses in the evening, the new school is expected to serve more full-time students with classes on the UMSL campus, increasing the capacity to serve students and produce in-demand engineering professionals.
A 2021 market analysis showed significant shortcomings in the number of students earning degrees in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering at universities in the state, with thousands of jobs in those fields going unfilled each year.
UMSL received an initial capital investment of $15 million in Missouri’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget to support the planning, design and construction of labs, classrooms and student community spaces in the Science Complex that will be used to train more engineering students. Those renovations are underway, and the university is in the midst of a search for a new director who will oversee the operations of the new school.
But the university has been working to secure private financial support to offset costs associated with both the startup of the new school and increasing availability of scholarships for students wanting to pursue an engineering degree.
“We are grateful to the James S. McDonnell Foundation for their lead support in the launch of the UMSL School of Engineering and continue to be encouraged by the enthusiastic reaction from industry leaders and alumni throughout the state,” said Lisa Capone, UMSL’s vice chancellor for advancement. “Private gifts will have a direct impact on the lives of our future engineering students while enhancing the future of the St. Louis region.”
