Big win for UMKC: Unlocking top tier research status gives KC new competitive edge
February 14, 2025 | Tommy Felts
A new milestone for the University of Missouri-Kansas City — achieving status as Kansas City’s first Carnegie R1 research institution — is expected to help boost the region’s ability to start, grow and scale more startups, leaders said this week, emphasizing the role university-led research plays in innovation across industries and communities.
“It’s absolutely massive for Kansas City,” said Tim Cowden, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), noting the critical timing of such developments as the region prepares for the international spotlight of the World Cup. “R1 status elevates Kansas City on the world stage, attracting businesses, creating high-paying jobs and fostering a competitive edge in the global marketplace.”
The Carnegie Foundation on Thursday officially announced UMKC as one of 187 institutions given the R1 designation. It reflects a university’s commitment to high research activity, defined by a threshold of $50 million in total research spending and 70 research doctorates awarded annually. (UMKC spent $55 million, and awarded 134 doctorates.)
“From 2018 to 2023, UMKC more than doubled its research expenditures and almost quadrupled total research and sponsored grants,” said Mauli Agrawal, chancellor of UMKC. “And we are just getting started.”
University leaders, students, economic development advocates and community members gathered on campus for a rally Thursday to celebrate the news — a big win for UMKC that was achieved five years ahead of a 2030 goal set in the university’s strategic plan.
“Carnegie is basically the crown at the top that recognizes you as one of the top research universities in the country,” Agrawal said, alluding to such existing R1 institutions as Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Stanford and Yale.
Click here to learn more about the behind-the-scenes efforts at UMKC to achieve R1 status.
“The affirmation of UMKC’s research enterprise as an R1 institution is a public demonstration of what Kansas City has known for a long time: UMKC is a world-class research institution,” said Melissa Roberts Chapman, president of the KC BioHub and Kansas City’s regional innovation officer. “What particularly excites me about this announcement is that UMKC’s efforts to grow its research enterprise have been paired with a strong focus on commercialization and entrepreneurship support.”
“This means that UMKC will continue to grow as a leader in scientific discovery, but also grow in the application of that research and its development into companies that drive our regional economy and improve the human condition,” she added.
Kasey the Kangaroo, flanked by UMKC officials, celebrates the university’s new Carnegie R1 research status; photo courtesy of UMKC
UMKC’s key research areas include advancing healthcare, defense and more with specialties in electromagnetic radiation and energy; advanced and critical materials; unmanned platforms; artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data science and digital humanities.
Tangible impacts — from attracting world-class talent and culture to boosting the learning environment for students — will have a lasting ripple effect, said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
“Carnegie R1 status enhances UMKC’s ability to address critical issues, like access to opportunity and fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems, that are central to our work,” she said. “The university’s dedication to innovative, community-driven research will amplify efforts to create a more dynamic Kansas City economy.”
In addition to UMKC, Missouri University of Science and Technology — another University of Missouri System campus — and St. Louis University also achieved R1 in 2025.
Click here for the full list of this year’s research activity designations.
Other nearby R1 universities include the University of Missouri in Columbia and Washington University — as well as regional innovation research hubs at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Leveraging these collective resources in tandem with UMKC’s new designation can cultivate a new era stretching far beyond campus boundaries, said Roberts Chapman.
“Now, we can say publicly what we have known for a long time: that our region is home to four R1 research institutions,” she said. “Together, our four R1 universities rival the research expenditures and impact of a top-25 research university. To realize that potential, they must continually expand their capacity and willingness to work collaboratively.”
“The next horizon for the growth and development of our regional research enterprise will be for our four research institutions to coordinate and collaborate as effectively and seamlessly as if they were one world-class institution,” Roberts Chapman added.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Afraid of needles? This Kansas startup just raised $1M to inject its no-show solution into testing
A fresh funding injection for an Overland Park-based medical device company is expected to help the startup’s products clear federal regulatory hurdles, as well as advance and expand its research and development efforts. Love Lifesciences is on a mission to revolutionize the patient injection experience to make medications both easier and safer to use, said…
‘Younger eyes’ at Street Wearhouse see opportunity to win through the screen as digital personality meets quality printing
The owners of a recently-opened print studio hope to make an imprint on the industry by taking a different approach to garment design and production, they said. Street Wearhouse, co-founded by Alex Trinkle and Tyler Love, specializes in printing and embroidering T-shirts, hats, and other apparel from its North Kansas City production facility. Trinkle, who…
One of KC’s hottest smashburgers is at this all-natural wine bar; how Big Mood uncorked its potential with popup food, live music
Kansas City’s first all natural wine shop has evolved into more than simply a place to buy wine, said Richard Garcia; Big Mood Natural Wines now is the go-to spot for food, drinks, live entertainment and community. “Big Mood has morphed organically over the past few years into what it is now. When we first…
MVP in his field: Royals groundskeeper earns his own bobblehead for keeping The K green amid ups and downs
For the club’s first-ever Ag Night, the Kansas City Royals are celebrating — and bestowing the honor of a bobblehead — on their very own farmer. That’s what Trevor Vance — who has been keeping the field at Kauffman Stadium perfectly manicured for nearly 40 years — considers himself and other groundskeepers, he shared. “We’re…