新的UMKC博士. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center opened in the Student Union today with a ceremony to celebrate enhanced access to support services for the university community.
的 Agrawal Care Center provides resources for students to address food and housing insecurity, financial wellness and mental health services. 的 Roo储藏室 is located within the center on the first floor of the Student Union and is designed to ensure students’ basic needs are met. 的 Care Center is designed to be a welcoming place.
“当一个学生走进我们的门, 我做的第一件事就是倾听,——泰勒·布莱克蒙, student basic needs coordinator for the Care Center, 说. “In our initial meeting, I give them the time to talk through their story.”
Blackmon noted that when students have the resources they need, they can focus on achieving their personal definitions of success.
“博士. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center is a reflection of the university’s commitment to supporting the whole student,布莱克蒙说. “That goes beyond earning a diploma and getting a good job. Establishing the Agrawal Care Center in the heart of campus helps to grow a culture where everyone understands that there is no shame in asking for help. It assures our students that we are here for them – from the first day of orientation, until they move their tassels at graduation.”
“博士. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center is a reflection of the university’s commitment to supporting the whole student.”
苏Agrawal, 毛利·阿格拉瓦尔总理的妻子, offered a tribute to her mother-in-law and the Care Center’s namesake, Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal. Raj Agrawal opened a private elementary school with her husband, and 苏Agrawal praised her dedication to supporting the whole student on the path to education.
“She made sure the students had healthy lunches,” 苏Agrawal 说. “She supplemented packed lunches if a student was lacking. She spoke to the parents about healthy habits and children’s development. She understood what student success really meant, and you may understand a little better now the origins of the Chancellor’s holistic view of student success.”
Chancellor Agrawal noted that the center is addressing a critical need, though many people may be surprised by the level of food insecurity among college students.
“More than a quarter of all college students report some level of food insecurity,” he 说. “的 number is higher – 32 percent – among undergraduates. Indeed, some students are helping to support their families,” he 说. “In addition, their available resources are scarce. 的 majority of students are not eligible for food stamps. 在调查中, we discovered that half the respondents were lacking a basic need in some form – food or housing.”
“I talk about UMKC being a family, and I mean it. At your worst moments, your family should be there for you. 这就是我们在这里要做的——帮助."
He noted that many students are not aware that emergency funds are available. In other cases, students knew about aid resources but deferred to others.
“Some students did not apply – despite their own need – because they thought other students needed it more. 让我们想一下. Students did not ask for help, because they thought others needed it more.”
Agrawal assured the crowd that that there is no stigma in needing help, and that is part of the mission of the center.
“I talk about UMKC being a family, and I mean it. At your worst moments, your family should be there for you. 这就是我们在这里要做的——帮助. 的re is strength in being able to ask for help. When students come here and let us know what they need, 我们将努力帮助他们, because we are bound together – through our search for knowledge, 通过我们对人际关系的需求, 但最重要的是, 因为我们是鲁斯, 我们是一家人.”
博士的成立. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center was made possible through donations to the Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal Memorial Fund established December 2020. 的 fund recognizes and honors the life of Chancellor Agrawal’s mother, who was grateful for the opportunity to engage with the many generous friends and alumni of the university and cheer on UMKC students.