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THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN Volume 7, Issue 4 July/August 2005   KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION AIMS TO IMPROVE LOCAL MATH AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has announced two new grants, totaling $2.15 million, for local programs aimed at improving math and science performance among Kansas City area students. The local grants mark the beginning of an emerging educational objective for the Kauffman Foundation: helping the greater Kansas City area become a national model for outstanding math and science education. "One of the most critical educational and economic issues facing Kansas City and cities across the United States today is the rapidly growing knowledge deficit among youth in the subjects of math and science," said Carl Schramm, Kauffman Foundation president and chief executive officer. "America's competitive edge in the global economy depends on an education system capable of producing a steady supply of young people who are well trained in the math and science skills that are absolutely required for 21st century work." Making Math and Science 'Cool' For More Area Students A Kauffman Foundation grant of up to $2 million over three years to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization will significantly increase local participation in the FIRST Robotics competition. In the competition, teams of high-school students work with teachers, professional engineers and other volunteers to design, assemble and test robots capable of performing specific tasks. FIRST operates local, regional and national robotics competitions that engage tens of thousands of students throughout the United States each year, giving them the chance to apply math and science skills in ways that provide immediate, positive feedback. Currently, there are only two Robotics teams in the five-county Kansas City area. The Kauffman Foundation's grant will make it possible to expand to more than 60 teams - thus providing the opportunity for most high schools to form a team and participate. The grant will also allow the Kansas City FIRST organization to host its first regional Robotics competition in the spring of 2007. "FIRST is a varsity sport of the mind that makes science, math, engineering, and technology as exciting to youth as sports are today," said the Kauffman Foundation's Director of Youth Education Initiatives Craig Armstrong, who is overseeing the FIRST grant. "The Kauffman Foundation's vision is to make Greater Kansas City the nation's model for the FIRST Robotics program, giving high-school students throughout the area the chance to experience the excitement of using math and science skills to solve real-world problems." Armstrong added that the value of the Robotics program goes well beyond the competition. "Colleges, universities, corporations, businesses and individuals provide scholarships to participants," he said. "Involved engineers experience again many of the reasons they chose engineering as a profession, and the companies they work for contribute to the community while they prepare and create their future workforce." FIRST Lego League To bring the excitement of technology and robotics to area middle-school students, the Kauffman Foundation also has awarded a $150,000 grant to FIRST to support its Lego League. Through this program, middle-school students use basic math and science concepts to build robotic devices from Lego blocks. FIRST Lego League participants also develop a sense of teamwork and learn how to overcome obstacles in a fun, non-threatening environment. GUY H. BAILEY SELECTED AS NEXT UMKC CHANCELLOR Guy H. Bailey, provost and executive vice president at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), will become the next chancellor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Bailey, 54, will begin his new duties on January 1, 2006. Bailey was chosen by University of Missouri President Elson S. Floyd from a list of three finalists determined by a committee of UMKC faculty, staff, students and alumni, and community members. "Dr. Bailey has an outstanding record in public higher education as an administrator, teacher, and scholar," Floyd said. "He is regarded as one of the top provosts in the University of Texas System. He is highly respected for his personal integrity, his passion for students, and his ability to forge excellent relations with faculty and staff based on mutual trust and respect. He has been highly effective in building and maintaining major partnerships and strategic alliances with San Antonio by matching the capabilities of the university to the needs of the community." Guy H. Bailey During Bailey's tenure as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, UTSA has increased enrollment from 18,000 students to 27,000 students, made a strong commitment to diversity, doubled research efforts and external funding, raised hiring and performance standards for faculty, and added 200 high quality tenure track faculty in five years. He led the expansion of doctoral programs offered by the university and managed five major partnerships between the institution and business and civic interests to capitalize on UTSA's academic and research offerings. "The committee was very impressed with the urban acuity of Dr. Bailey. He understands the unique problems metropolitan universities face," said David Atkinson, UMKC professor of Political Science and Law, and chair of the UMKC Chancellor Search Committee. "We believe he is an outstanding choice among a field of very strong candidates." Bailey has been instrumental in attracting an exceptional administrative team to UTSA and successfully managing extensive organizational change. He was involved with the creation of the Center of Excellence in Bioprocessing and Biotechnology Education and Research (CEBBER), the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) and the Materials Science and Engineering Center. Some of the other research centers and institutes Bailey helped to create include the Institute for Cell and Molecular Primatology, the Institute for Bioengineering and Translational Research and the Cajal Neuroscience Institute. These initiatives and others have netted UTSA many millions of dollars in congressional earmarks. Bailey's scholarly contributions are substantial. Author of more than 90 books and articles and 120 conference papers, Bailey's work has received international and national recognition and is frequently cited in dialectology and sociolinguistics. His work also has been featured in The New York Times, National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, CNN Headline News and more. "It is an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to serve as Chancellor of the University of Missouri at Kansas City," said Bailey. "The combination of a general academic component with a comprehensive set of professional schools makes UMKC one of the most distinctive institutions in American higher education. The strong support of the Kansas City community for UMKC, the commitment of President Floyd and the University of Missouri System to the success of the institution, and the commitment of the faculty and staff to academic excellence make this a unique and most attractive opportunity." Stephen Lehmkuhle, senior vice president for Academic Affairs of the University of Missouri, will continue as UMKC's interim chancellor until December 31, 2005. ROCKHURST DEDICATES DISPLAY OF JESUIT HISTORY Rockhurst University President the Rev. Edward Kinerk, S.J., recently hosted a dedication ceremony for a new wall display highlighting notable Jesuits throughout history. Kinerk took time to familiarize guests with the accomplishments of the men depicted, including St. Francis Xavier, the founder of the Society of Jesus; Christopher Clavius, inventor of the calendar we use today; and Walter Ong, Rockhurst alumnus and world renowned scholar. The display fills the north wall in the newly christened Finucane Jesuit Center, which is in the lower level of the Greenlease Library. Those interested in viewing the display during business hours can call 816-501-4888 to make arrangements. NEW BASEBALL COMPLEX A HOME RUN WITH BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS Representing just a few of the 1,000 youth participating in the Boys & Girls Clubs Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) program, members of two teams celebrated the recent opening of the brand new baseball complex in Cleveland Park at 43rd Street and Cleveland Avenue. The opening of these four new diamonds is the first of three baseball/softball complexes the Boys & Girls Clubs wants to build to serve 2,500 youth in RBI by 2010. Over 1,000 RBI games will be played around Kansas City this summer. PARTNER UPDATES Lisa Cordes has joined the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival as Executive Director. Cordes has been involved in Kansas City's theatre community as an actress, director and playwright and most recently served as the executive director of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. The Shakespeare Festival wrapped up its 13th season in July with a four-week run of Much Ado About Nothing, which attracted almost 21,000 people to performances in Southmoreland Park Bruce Bubacz, Curators' Distinguished Teaching Professor in the School of Law and Philosophy Department, has been named the University of Missouri-Kansas City's interim provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. In his 32 years with UMKC, Bubacz has also served as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and interim chair in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and for 13 years, was chair of the Philosophy Department. The search for a permanent Provost has begun. Douglass National Bank of Kansas City has received $1 million of $7 million in deposits Sprint Corporation has made in three minority-owned financial institutions. Sprint said the deposits enable the banks to finance economic development projects in their communities, as well as expand its business-to-business relationships with financial institutions to represent a more diverse portfolio. Douglass National Bank is a member of Brush Creek Community Partners. Former Kansas City Kansas Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of the Wyandotte County Unified Government Carol Marinovich is Fleishman Hillard Kansas City's senior vice president of Public Affairs. As leader of the Kansas city and county, Marinovich is credited with affecting a dramatic turnaround in the community's overall economy and cohesiveness. Fleishman Hilliard is a member of Brush Creek Community Partners. BNIM Architects has earned international recognition by receiving a 2004 Sustainable Leadership Award. BNIM was recognized in the Architecture/Interior Architecture category as a firm that demonstrates best practices and design excellence and a commitment to the interior built environment that balances social, economic and environmental aspects. The firm was selected for the honor for best exemplifying the principles of environmentally designed buildings, having been an industry leader for three decades. BNIM Architects is a member of Brush Creek Community Partners and its Design Principle Steve McDowell serves as a member of BCCP's Board of Directors. SUBSTANTIAL GIFTS AND GRANTS Three members of the board of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art have pledged up to $50 million in combined matching funds to the institution's endowment. These gifts from board Chairman Henry W. Bloch and Trustees Don Hall and Estelle Sosland are part of a new initiative to add an additional $100 million to the endowment, further supporting the financial stability and continued growth of the institution as the museum nears completion of the Bloch Building construction. In addition to the endowment gifts, the Museum has recently been awarded four competitive grants for 2006 from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services totaling over $1.2 million. These funds will provide for: a South and Southeastern Asian Art Curator position and the rehousing and preservation of the museum's collection; the production of a new handbook of the collection in conjunction with the 165,000 square foot expansion opening in 2007; and the conservation of four of the Nelson-Atkin's important sculptures, including the Shuttlecocks. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has received a $1 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Legacy Fund. The gift will support the museum's Youth and Family Programs and will be applied to programs that model exemplary teaching in the visual arts and provide dynamic museum-based experiences for youth, particularly those that might not otherwise participate in museum programs. Henry Bloch, co-founder and honorary chairman of H&R Block Incorporated, has provided a $3 million gift to endow two new chairs in the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration. The gift supports the Henry W. Bloch Chair in Financial Services as well as the Bloch Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The endowment is matched annually from a state funded-University of Missouri System commitment and a UMKC contribution to support the salary of the distinguished scholars who will hold those chairs. The Eye Foundation of Kansas City has given UMKC $1.5 million to create an endowed chair in vision research. The new faculty position will be in the School of Medicine and named for ophthalmologist Felix Sabates and his wife, Carmen. Sabates is founder of the Eye Foundation and is chair of the school's Department of Ophthalmology. Brush Creek Community Partners and University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Architecture, Urban Planning & Design Invite you to a Symposium for the Planning and Design Studio III Brush Creek Corridor Mapping Project Friday, September 9 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center Auditorium 3700 Blue Parkway, Kansas City, MO Please RSVP by September 2 to 816-523-2991, extension 14 MAURICE WATSON WATCHES BRUSH CREEK IMPROVE EVERY DAY New Brush Creek Community Partners board member Maurice Watson grew up near Brush Creek, left Kansas City to study at Harvard and Harvard Law School, and has now come about full circle. From his office he looks down over Brush Creek. And Watson is pleased with what he sees in the panoramic view from his top floor office of the Plaza Colonnade, where he is a partner in the law firm Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin. In the years since he has grown up, the creek has become a magnet for residential development, commercial growth and cultural activities. The progress he's seeing in the Brush Creek Corridor and the chance to be involved on the BCCP board reminds Watson why he came back to Kansas City after starting a successful career in Washington, D.C. He likes the "big fish in the small pond" opportunities available to him in Kansas City. Maurice Watson "One of my mentors was Irv Hockaday (retired president and chief executive officer of Hallmark Cards Inc.), said Watson. "He said to me, 'A lot of us spent a lot of time and support on you. If you stay in D.C., our investment won't be returned.'" Watson realized he would have opportunities to do things in Kansas City that he could not do in Washington. One of the things Watson hoped to do was work with public schools. Blackwell Sanders has represented the Kansas City School District since 1917, and the firm lured him back in 1987 with the promise he could work for the district in which he received most of his pre-college education. Watson says public schools are not getting the support they need. "People have abandoned the educational system in the cities. It strikes almost a death blow to the community." He believes Kansas City needs to attract an increasingly large population, and improving the schools is one way to do that. Watson also spends a great deal of time working in another area of great passion to him. He is Chair of the Children's Mercy Hospital Central Governing Board and is a member of the boards of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions and the National Association of Independent Schools. Watson explains why he's involved in BCCP by pointing east at the view from his law firm's office window. "I think one of the most compelling arguments for Brush Creek Community Partners is that it supports the Plaza to the east as well as to the west." While the view of the Plaza is beautiful, he gets real joy out of seeing the creek snaking east past the Kauffman Foundation, the Missouri Department of Conservation Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center and other new development toward the east, the direction of his childhood neighborhood. Over the next ten years, Watson says he hopes Brush Creek will see "a combination of new ventures, some kind of sports facility and some kind of hotel" in the Corridor. He also sees challenges facing BCCP. "We have to figure out what our role is in convening improvements, both business and cultural. As a not-for-profit, we have to play a facilitating role.” The challenge is how to raise the resources to do what needs to be done. As the public turns its attention to improvements going on in downtown Kansas City, Watson thinks improvements in Brush Creek are responsible for some of that momentum. "I think but for the strength of development along Brush Creek, there wouldn't have been as much interest in gambling on downtown."