Chancellor Kristin Sobolik speaks to journalist Shirley Washington on the latest episode of the Pulse of St. Louis on KTVI (Channel 2). (Screenshot)
Journalist Shirley Washington looks to take viewers inside the St. Louis community with her weekly talk show, The Pulse of St. Louis, on KTVI (Channel 2). The show features in-depth interviews with community and business leaders driving positive change throughout the region.
In the latest episode, Washington sat down with University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Kristin Sobolik and discussed the physical changes that have been taking place across campus over the past three years as part of the $110 million Transform UMSL initiative.
“We’re very excited about everything that’s happening at the University of Missouri–St. Louis right now,” Sobolik said. “The overarching picture is we are in essence remaking the university to make sure it is the relevant anchor that the St. Louis region needs. We need to make sure that higher education, and UMSL, which feeds the professional workforce of St. Louis, are relevant so that when people come to the university, students come, they graduate, and they graduate successfully into jobs that matter for St. Louis.
“In order for us to make sure that happens, we have to make sure that our physical, capital infrastructure really reflects the changing needs for what St. Louis needs, what our students need.”
Talk of the ongoing campus renovations was just a jumping off point for a deeper discussion about the impact UMSL is making across on St. Louis, uplifting students and their economic potential through education and engaging in research that addresses community needs.
Sobolik noted that the university’s research and sponsored activity has more than tripled since she arrived on campus in 2017. In the last fiscal year, UMSL received more than $88 million in research awards with $85 million in research expenditures.
“Most of that is in programming that really matters to the region,” Sobolik said, “like mental health and addiction sciences, supply chain analytics, biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients and geospatial.”
Part of the conversation will air during Fox 2 News at 5 p.m. on Friday and again on Fox 2 News in the Morning between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturday on KTVI (Channel 2). Watch the full episode of The Pulse in St. Louis below:
