Endure, and keep yourselves for days of happiness. – Virgil UMKC 87th Spring Commencement University of Missouri-Kansas City May 2020 A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES, FAMILY AND FRIENDS A MESSAGE TO GRADUATES, FAMILY AND FRIENDS Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D. Chris Longly, EMBA Dear UMKC graduates and families: Wishing you the best in your next chapter. Congratulations! We take pride in recognizing our graduating students for completing one of life’s great Welcome to the UMKC alumni family! milestone achievements: a college degree. Starting today, you can count yourself among the more than 132,000 UMKC graduates who are making This year, the age-old tradition of commencement is taking a new form, as we cope with significant challenges a difference here in our community and in communities across the globe. The UMKC Alumni Association that previous graduating classes could scarcely have imagined. One thing that has not changed, however, is is more than just a group — it is a network, far-reaching and well-connected, offering real value for those the significance of this achievement. Years of effort and sacrifice — by our graduates and by the loved ones who engage and participate, especially in difficult times like those we find ourselves in. who stood behind them — led to this celebration of achievement and transition. Your degree is not only a credit to you but also to those who provided support and encouragement to you. There really are Roos everywhere, and your alumni association is your direct connection to that network. The association offers you the opportunity to maintain connection with classmates, tap our career and To reach this point, our graduates persevered through unprecedented challenges in the final months of their professional development resources and stay in touch with what’s happening on campus. These connections degree programs. The Class of 2020 will long be remembered for that perseverance and for degrees that are more important than ever. are particularly well-earned. As you move forward as alumni, I urge you to maintain your ties to La Familia at UMKC. UMKC will always be part of you, and I hope you will always see yourselves as part of UMKC. Congratulations on completing your degree, and we look forward to your lifelong relationship with your alma mater. Keep in touch, stay connected and go Roos! C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D. Chancellor Chris Longly (EMBA ’13) President, UMKC Alumni Association Governing Board Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jennifer Lundgren, Ph.D., FAED Brandon Henderson Dear UMKC graduates: Dear Graduates: Letters like this typically invoke an array of boundless opportunities that await the new class of graduates. Today is a day for celebration. Earning a college degree is not easy, and it took a lot of hard work to get As you well know, these are not typical times. to this point. I hope you’re feeling proud of what you accomplished. As graduates, you are walking out into a world that is very different from the one that existed when Given the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, I imagine many of you are scared of what the future holds. you enrolled. As you cross this threshold, keep two important facts in mind. First, as a college graduate, As you begin the next chapter of your life, remember that you are not alone. Between the robust alumni you could not be better prepared to meet the challenges — and yes, seize the opportunities — that await you. network that you’re now a part of and the friends and mentors you met during your time at UMKC, you have a lot of people in your corner. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help. Second: You are going out into a world that has never needed your knowledge, your abilities and your contributions as much as it does today. You have spent years preparing to be a person who makes a difference Before you leave, I have one request of you. Whatever your next step is, or wherever life takes you from here, in this world. Now the time has come to apply what you have learned in service to the greater good. do as much as you can to help the least fortunate around you. With your education comes the responsibility to pay it forward. Give this world your best, and the best of it will come back to you. Congratulations on your well-earned achievement. As our country begins to recover from the coronavirus, people will look for leaders in their communities to give them hope. From one Roo to another, I’m confident you have what it takes to be one of those leaders. Jennifer Lundgren, Ph.D., FAED Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Brandon Henderson President, Student Government Association 2 University of Missouri-Kansas City 2020 Spring Commencement 3 UMKC LEADERSHIP C. Mauli Agrawal Lisa Baronio Curtis J. Crespino Kimiko C. Black Gilmore Chancellor UMKC Foundation President Vice Chancellor, External Chief of Staff to the Chancellor and Chief Advancement Relations and Constituent Officer Engagement Andy Goodenow Sheri Gormley Carol Hintz Mary Anne Jackson Chief Information Officer Chief of Staff to the Provost Vice Chancellor, Interim Dean, School Human Resources of Medicine Sharon Lindenbaum Yusheng (Chris) Liu Jennifer Lundgren Brandon Martin Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Research Provost and Executive Director of Athletics Finance and Administration Vice Chancellor Maria Meyers Anne Hartung Spenner Susan B. Wilson Assoc. Vice Chancellor of Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Diversity Economic Development Strategic Marketing and Inclusion and Communications 4 University of Missouri-Kansas City UMKC ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP UMKC ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP Chrisanthia Brown Kelli Cox Diane Filion Barbara Glesner Fines Russell B. Melchert Justin Perry Diane Petrella Bonnie S. Postlethwaite Interim Vice Provost Vice Provost, Institutional Deputy Provost Dean, School of Law Dean, School of Pharmacy Dean, School of Education Dean, Conservatory Dean, University Libraries for Student Affairs Effectiveness and Dean of Students Sheri Gormley John Herron Kristi Holsinger Mary Anne Jackson Marsha A. Pyle Joy Roberts Kevin Truman Theodore White Chief of Staff to the Provost Interim Dean, College Interim Senior Vice Provost, Interim Dean, School Dean, School of Dentistry Interim Dean, School of Dean, School of Computing Dean, School of Biological of Arts and Sciences Student Success of Medicine Nursing and Health Studies and Engineering and Chemical Sciences Brian Klaas Jennifer Lundgren James McKusick Kim McNeley Dean, Henry W. Bloch School Dean, School of Dean, Honors College Vice Provost, of Management Graduate Studies Undergraduate Studies 6 University of Missouri-Kansas City 2020 Spring Commencement 7 2020 ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS 2020 ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS Boundless Inspiration UMKC and the Alumni Association celebrate graduates whose accomplishments make us proud. Meet the 2020 campus-wide alumni awardees: ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR SPOTLIGHT AWARD Alexander Norbash Mark L. McHenry M.D. ’86 M.P.A. ’89 An interventional neuroradiologist, Alexander Norbash has been instrumental in inventing and Mark McHenry retired as director of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Parks and Recreation Department implementing new technologies for treating strokes and brain aneurysms. Currently, Norbash serves as at the end of 2018, but the accomplishments from his 44-year career there — including adding 34 parks, chair and professor of the Department of Radiology, associate vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and six community centers and doubling the size of the Kansas City Zoo — will endure for generations to come. Inclusion and adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). He recently joined landscape architecture and planning design firm Ochsner Hare & Hare, the Olsson He is also president of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments and president-elect Studio, to help with local and regional business development. Last summer, he was appointed to the of the American Roentgen Ray Society. Additionally, he’s founding chair of the American College of Missouri Conservation Commission by Gov. Mike Parson for a six-year term. A perennial ambassador for Radiology (ACR) Head Injury Institute. UMKC, McHenry has lent his expertise to the university as a member of the Department of Public Affairs Advisory Council and helped develop the Executive Master of Public Administration program. THE BILL FRENCH ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD James Polsinelli J.D. ’67, H.D. ’13 Since starting a law firm in 1972 with two fellow UMKC alumni, James Polsinelli’s name has become synonymous with legal services in Kansas City and across the country. In addition to a successful, 51-year legal career, Polsinelli is known for his ardent and longstanding support of UMKC and the Kansas City community. He currently serves as chair of the UMKC Board of Trustees and on the UMKC Foundation Board of Directors. His passion for giving back to the community extends beyond UMKC and includes work with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Rockhurst High School and the Kansas City Bar Association. LEGACY AWARD The Edelman Family Pictured (left to right): Doris (Tager) Edelman, William Edelman, Mark Edelman, Ron Edelman and Alexander Edelman DEFYING THE ODDS AWARD The Edelman family’s UMKC legacy began with 12-year-old Doris Tager, who fled Nazi Germany in 1938. Sponsored by members of the local Jewish community, her family traveled to the Netherlands and Cuba before arriving in Kansas City. She’d go on to attend the University of Kansas City Hagos Andebrhan (now UMKC) and graduate in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and economics. That same year, Doris met her husband, William Edelman, B.S.C.E. ’78 a fellow Roo who would graduate in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Doris had a successful career as a stockbroker and was the first female vice president and partner of B.C.