Ambrose Appreciation Reception Aug. 23 Honors His Service to UCM

By Jeff Murphy, August 17, 2018

WARRENSBURG, MO – University of Central Missouri faculty, staff, students and alumni will recognize former President Chuck Ambrose’s eight years of service to UCM and publicly thank him during an appreciation celebration 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23, at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Open to the community, Ambrose will be joined by his wife, Kris, at the event which includes refreshments along with remarks by the former president, as well as Interim President Roger Best, and Board of Governors President John Collier.

Ambrose, who has served UCM since August 2010, announced in late June he has accepted a position as CEO and president of KnowledgeWorks in Cincinnati, Ohio. The new KnowledgeWorks leadership position is a career change for the longtime professional educator, who has spent 20 years as a college and university president, the last eight of which he saw more than 25,000 UCM students cross the degree finish line.

KnowledgeWorks is a national nonprofit organization that was founded nearly 20 years ago, and has created opportunities for more than 135,000 students in 20 states through competency-based learning and early college. Its team works to establish partnerships with schools, state and federal policymakers, and is dedicated to helping advance personalized learning that empowers every child to take ownership in their success.

Ambrose was UCM’s 15th president. Throughout his tenure, he was a strong advocate for servant leadership. He also gained a national reputation as an innovator in higher education by leading  the charge to create partnerships such as the Missouri Innovation Campus, which is a joint initiative between UCM,  Lee’s Summit R-7 School District and Metropolitan Community College with nearly 50 Kansas City corporations. Touted as a model for the state and nation by individuals such as former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and President Barack Obama, this program received the 2013 Governor’s Economic Development Advancement Award for helping to provide students with valuable skills needed by industry, while also accelerating time to degree completion, reducing the cost of an education and student debt load. Working with the UCM Board of Governors, Ambrose’s leadership contributed to a trailblazing agreement with the Lee’s Summit School District, which led to the construction and 2017 opening of a new MIC building owned by the school district and leased by the university.

Among his many achievements, Ambrose established the Learning to a Greater Degree Contract for student completion with a goal to help students graduate on time and enhance the value proposition of a UCM degree. His commitment to access to a college degree led to agreements with the United States Air Force, Missouri National Guard, Johnson County Community College, and Linn State Technical College.  He encouraged UCM to take elements of the MIC program to scale through Innovation Track agreements which are helping high school students in communities such as Warrensburg, Knob Noster and Lee’s Summit to get a jump start on their college education.

Many other accomplishments during his tenure include construction of UCM’s first retail-student residence hall, The Crossing-South at Holden; guiding the institution through years of state reductions in appropriations with initiatives such as Strategic Governance for Student Success and the Strategic Resource Allocation Model; establishing the most aggressive student completion agenda  in the state of Missouri; and much more.