Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes the achievements of outstanding alumni with an awards celebration. UMKC is honoring Mark McHenry (M.P..A. '89) with its Class of 2020 Alumni Spotlight Award. The Spotlight Award recognizes an alumnus whose accomplishments, leadership and public service have caused regional and national attention to be focused on the university and the metropolitan area.
(M.P..A. '89)
Mark McHenry retired as director of the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Parks and Recreation Department at the end of 2018 but the accomplishments from his 44-year career there — including adding 34 parks, six community centers and doubling the size of the Kansas City Zoo — will endure for generations to come.
McHenry’s leadership was evident not only in the region, but on a national scale as well. A member of the National Recreation and Parks Association since 1984, he was inducted into the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration in 2004 and served as president of the board in 2018. A perennial ambassador for UMKC, McHenry has lent his expertise to the university as a member of the Department of Public Affairs Advisory Council and helping to develop the executive master of public administration program. He recently joined landscape architecture and planning design firm Ochsner Hare & Hare, the Olsson Studio. He was also appointed to the Missouri Conservation Commission by Gov. Mike Parson for a six-year term.
Please discuss a Parks and Recreation project or two that stands out in your mind as particularly rewarding.
In the early 1990s, I was given the opportunity to lead a multi-discipline team to provide a complete renovation of the Kansas City Zoo, the first of its kind in the zoo’s history. Not all of the community was supportive of the changes we were making, which presented some unique challenges; this required several meetings and negotiations with key stakeholders.
Another high-profile public project was my role as project executive for the renovation and expansion of the Liberty Memorial in Penn Valley Park. Through a large team effort, we identified funds from federal, state, local and private resources. The next step was to design a very complicated restoration project and see it through the equally complicated construction phase. Today the Memorial, now known as the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, stands as one of the premier military museums in the world.
In an interview with the Missouri Times about your appointment to the Missouri Conservation Commission you mentioned being a “voice for urban conservation.” What do you hope to accomplish during your time on the commission? How will you help other urban areas in Missouri embrace nature and conservation?
One of the strategic goals of the department is to connect people with nature, which is easier to accomplish in the rural areas of the state because of proximity. While that is more challenging in the urban areas, I believe through expanded programs, services and facilities this challenge can be overcome.
How did UMKC prepare you for/contribute to your success?
UMKC provided me with a great learning laboratory while working for the city and attending classes. It provided me with class assignments that helped resolve real city problems.
About the Alumni Awards
Join us in honoring McHenry and the other Class of 2020 Awardees in our first-ever virtual celebration at 5 p.m. April 16. Go to umkcalumni.com/alumniawards to register for this free event. If you are unable to attend the event but would like to donate to student scholarships, contributions can be made online.