Dear Friends,
What an exciting time at Missouri Western. Our marketing slogan touts that everything is possible at Missouri Western, and that rings truer than ever as we kicked off our Centennial in January 2015.
We started our Centennial year in style that month, starting first with the announcement of the Kansas City Chiefs summer training camp remaining in St. Joseph for the next three years, with two one-year options for renewal after. This was fantastic news for Missouri Western and for the St. Joseph region. The St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that 40,000 people come to Chiefs camp every summer, having an economic impact on this region of $6.3 million annually. The camp also gives Missouri Western and St. Joseph a national platform, receiving coverage in news outlets throughout the country. The extensive media coverage of the contract renewal alone resulted in a potential viewership of 131 million in states as far flung as California, Florida, Washington and Idaho, among others, not to mention national coverage on Fox Sports and ESPN.com.
The good news continued as we held the official kickoff of Missouri Western’s Centennial and Centennial Capital Campaign, a historic moment for the University. Our $20 million initial campaign goal is record setting for Missouri Western, and our progress toward that goal has been remarkable. Thanks in part to the largest gift in Missouri Western’s history, I am proud to say our campaign has already raised $17.2 million in pledges. And we’re not done yet.
In this issue, we are celebrating what we love about Missouri Western. Your passion and enthusiasm for the University is evident as we celebrate our Centennial year and the beginning of the public phase of our Centennial Capital Campaign. As Horace Mann, the father of American public education, once said, “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” As we continue creating opportunities for thousands of students from a variety of backgrounds, I think Horace Mann would be very proud of us.
Robert A. Vartabedian
President, Missouri Western State University