Members of the University of Missouri-St. Louis community:
It is with much excitement and pride that I share the appointment of Dr. Kristin Sobolik as your chancellor.
Dr. Sobolik has served the University of Missouri-St. Louis with distinction since she joined this community three years ago. Serving in the dual role of interim chancellor and provost, Dr. Sobolik has a demonstrated track record of supporting student success and retention at UMSL. In addition, she has had success in growing research, building connections with St. Louis leaders and engaging donors. I am confident she is the right leader for UMSL during this most critical time.
During her tenure at UMSL, Dr. Sobolik has led the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan 2018-2023, and research expenditures have increased 55% since her appointment as provost. She also led a highly successful reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission resulting in reaffirmation of UMSL’s accreditation for 10 years.
Dr. Sobolik has worked with faculty leaders to introduce new academic programs in areas such as computing technology, cybersecurity, international relations, actuarial science and entrepreneurship, to name a few. Additional highlights of Dr. Sobolik’s tenure include establishing the Community Innovation and Action Center, engaging UMSL’s executive leadership team in the USC Equity Institute and launching the Student Academic Support Services unit to support student learning.
Dr. Sobolik has focused on maintaining and building UMSL’s areas of growth, strength and excellence to serve the university’s student population and develop the workforce and civic-minded citizens of the broader St. Louis region.
As an interdisciplinary scholar, Sobolik is a leader and helped develop the fields of archaeobiology and paleonutrition with over 100 publications, books and presentations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Iowa and a master's and doctorate in anthropology from Texas A&M University. Prior to her service at UMSL, she served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wright State University and was professor of anthropology and climate change at the University of Maine.
My special thanks to the Chancellor Search Committee, co-chaired by Dr. Beth Huebner, professor of criminology and criminal justice, and Kirk Richter, a member of both the alumni board and Chancellor’s Council. We had an excellent pool of candidates from across the nation, and I’m so pleased that Dr. Sobolik will continue to lead this great institution.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Sobolik as your next chancellor. She will assume this permanent role effective immediately.
Sincerely,
Mun Y. Choi, Ph.D
President
Reviewed 2020-04-09