Kummer Institute
Annual Report
2023-2024
As each story in this report illustrates, the vision that inspired the $300 million gift from June and Fred Kummer in 2020 continues to transform how S&T prepares students to lead in the future.
A message from Dr. Richard K. Brow, executive director of operations for the Kummer Institute
Greetings from Missouri S&T and welcome to the annual report for the Kummer Institute for Student Success, Research and Economic Development.
It has been four years since the transformational gift from Fred and June Kummer created the Kummer Institute. In this report, we review a few of the many ways that gift continues to have a significant impact on S&T.
Our Impact
Since the founding of the Kummer Institute in 2020, the Kummer Institute Foundation Board of Directors has made significant investments in S&T, including buildings, scholarships, endowed faculty positions and more.
$3.3 million
$450,300
awarded for research through the Kummer Missouri S&T Ignition Grant Initiative.
$4 million
13
invention disclosures made by Kummer Ignition Grant recipients and Kummer I&E Fellows in FY23 and FY24.
163
summer camp scholarships totaling $95,015 offered by S&T’s Kummer Center for STEM Education.
$750,000+
Transformational Change in Record Time
The gift from Fred and June Kummer is transforming S&T. It funds scholarships for undergraduates and doctoral students in each of S&T’s three colleges. It supports the expansion of STEM-focused summer camp offerings that introduce young minds to academic and career options they didn’t know existed. It’s also supported construction of buildings designed and equipped to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and hone their instinct for innovation.
An academic entrepreneur
James D. Sterling joins Missouri S&T as vice provost and founding dean of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development.
STEM Outreach and Engagement
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Igniting curiosity
A $300 million gift to a university is likely an abstraction in small, often-underfunded communities, but for students who come to S&T for a STEM camp, the impact has the potential to…
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STEM Outreach
The Kummer Center for STEM Education welcomed over 5,000 visitors to Missouri S&T’s campus during the past year to introduce children and teens to possible careers they may not have imagined before.…
Student Impact
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Creating value for students
Creating value for students Rachel Kohman explains Kummer Student Programs by describing the impact it has on student success. “We connect the dots across campus, bridge the work from…
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The freedom to explore
Conleigh Hardin, a senior in civil engineering from Austin, Texas, attended a large high school but was in a program with fewer than 200 students. She liked the scaled…
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Bringing more power to smaller spaces
When Gracie Boyer was a child, one of the many questions she asked her father, a diesel mechanic, was how their refrigerator worked. After he explained, she had several…
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Concrete contributions
I&E Fellow seizes opportunity to contribute knowledge to the scientific community After completing his Ph.D. in industrial chemistry in Nigeria, his home country, Ugochukwu Ewuzie worked as a laboratory…
Research Centers
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Empowering Missouri manufacturers to compete across the globe
The Kummer Institute Center for Advanced Manufacturing, working with two other schools in the state, is embarking on a mission to help Missouri manufacturers become and stay globally competitive…
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Sustainability in pursuit of the big‑picture vantage point
One way the Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability is having an impact is fairly obvious. Over the last year, led by the center director Shelley Minteer, who joined…
With Gratitude
Missouri S&T is grateful for the leadership and dedication of those who have served on the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation Board of Directors during our third year of operation.
Dr. Mohammad “Mo” Dehghani
President and chief executive officer
Missouri S&T chancellor
Dr. George P. “Bud” Peterson
Chair (2021–24)
Retired president of Georgia Institute of Technology
R. Timothy Bradley
Retired president of Houston‑based Kinder Morgan CO2 Co. and 1977 S&T graduate
Bipin N. Doshi
Treasurer
Retired chair, president and CEO of Schafer Industries Inc. and 1962 S&T graduate
Gary Havener
Owner of Havener Companies and 1962 S&T graduate
Joseph D. Lehrer
Secretary
Of counsel with St. Louis law firm UB Greensfelder
Maureen E. Midgley
Retired vice president of Amazon, senior vice president of Henkel, and 1982 S&T graduate
Eric G. Politte
Engineer, entrepreneur, business leader and investor, and 1982 S&T graduate
Susan M. Simmons*
Retired senior resident engineer for Anheuser-Busch Inc. and 1984 S&T graduate
Richard F. Wacker
Retired president and CEO of American Savings Bank and 1984 S&T graduate
Kathryn E. Walker
Chair (since July 2024)
Managing director at OpenAir Equity Partners and 1982 S&T graduate
Dr. Joan B. Woodard
Treasurer (2020–24)
Retired executive vice president and deputy director of Sandia National Laboratories and 1973 S&T graduate