MU Strategic Advantages …

                           MU Strategic Advantages
                      Preliminary Ideas from the Task Force
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   1. Interdisciplinary culture; entrepreneurial faculty.

       Faculty work across disciplinary boundaries and are very entrepreneurial in
       putting together unusual and forward-looking initiatives.

   2. Program mix of Vet Med, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture

       Most notably this positions MU as one of a very small number of institutions to
       do comparative medicine.

   3. The largest reactor at any US university

   4. Missouri is a microcosm of the US in many dimensions

       Missouri is a microcosm of the U.S. for many dimensions of variation in
       American Society: rural/urban, eastern/western, ethnicity and race and other
       demographic characteristics, economic. For many social and cultural aspects of
       the U.S., Missouri is like a virtual lab for doing research and testing interventions.

   5. Media studies, Journalism: focus on "audience control" and/or "the media world"

       Our distinguished Journalism program, combined with many other resources
       (major firms such as AT&T, Sprint, the Missouri press associations, the KC Star
       and St. Louis Post Dispatch) as well as a mix of academic programs including
       engineering, writing, and graphic design.

   6. Program cluster of Plant Sciences and Informatics, along with Danforth Institute,
      Monsanto, and the broader plant-based agriculture industry of Missouri

   7. Program mix of design disciplines and imaging technologies

       MU has a broad array of disciplines with strong design components, including
       Journalism, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Textiles, Theater, computer design
       technologies in Engineering and elsewhere, along with imaging technology
       programs including film and animation technologies, geospatial, and other
       imaging program components.

   8. Program mix and broad-based infrastructure for Healthy Lifestyles

       MU has a diverse and unusual mix of programs with healthy lifestyle theme,
       including aging, nutrition, exercise, social work, financial management, rural


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       medicine, family and community medicine, nanomedicine, telehealth, and others;
       infrastructure includes such diverse components as Tiger Place, the new
       Recreation Center, and the KATY Trail.

   9. Program mix and nearness to Jefferson City: diverse assets in policy analysis

       The Truman School is the anchor for policy and public administration research
       and education at MU, but rich resources are found in many other areas including
       health, education, environment, economics, law, agriculture, and economic
       development.


   10. Program mix: psychological and neuropsychological sciences; Autism Center

       Counseling Psychology is one of the top programs in the country; strengths in
       Psychology, computing, imaging, and other areas complement these core
       strengths, as does the high-profile Autism Center.

   11. Mix of undergraduate education programs

       MU has nationally recognized programs in areas including FIGS, the Writing
       Program, Service Learning, Math Education, and undergraduate research. Strong
       residence life, rec center, and other facilities based elements give undergraduate
       education at MU a special flavor of engagement.

   12. Landgrant status, extension, and other public-oriented programs are pervasive at
       MU




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