The new UMKC Dr. 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.
The Agrawal Care Center provides resources for students to address food and housing insecurity, financial wellness and mental health services. The Roo Pantry is located within the center on the first floor of the Student Union and is designed to ensure students’ basic needs are met. The Care Center is designed to be a welcoming place.
“When a student walks through our door, the first thing I do is listen,” Taylor Blackmon, student basic needs coordinator for the Care Center, said. “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.
“The Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center is a reflection of the university’s commitment to supporting the whole student,” Blackmon said. “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.”
“The Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center is a reflection of the university’s commitment to supporting the whole student.”
Sue Agrawal, wife of Chancellor Mauli Agrawal, 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 Sue Agrawal praised her dedication to supporting the whole student on the path to education.
“She made sure the students had healthy lunches,” Sue Agrawal said. “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 said. “The number is higher – 32 percent – among undergraduates. Indeed, some students are helping to support their families,” he said. “In addition, their available resources are scarce. The majority of students are not eligible for food stamps. In our survey, 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. That is what we will do here – help."
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. Let’s think about that for a minute. 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. That is what we will do here – help. There is strength in being able to ask for help. When students come here and let us know what they need, we will work to help them, because we are bound together – through our search for knowledge, through our need for human connection, but most of all, because we are Roos, and we are family.”
The establishment of the Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal Care Center was made possible through donations to the Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal Memorial Fund established December 2020. The 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.