KCUR leaders are pleased to announce that the University of Missouri-Kansas City plans to transition ownership of KCUR and Classical KC to a community-led nonprofit organization.
UMKC and the University of Missouri System Board of Curators expressed support last week. Curators also supported a similar move for St. Louis Public Radio, which will take place through a similar but separate process.
“We’re excited to start this new chapter in our longstanding relationship with the University of Missouri system,” said KCUR General Manager Sarah Morris. “Our association with UMKC has made it possible for us to provide Kansas City audiences with essential news and entertainment programs for decades. But as our industry evolves ever more quickly, this bold move allows us the flexibility to adapt in real time.”
KCUR has been a community service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City since 1957. KCUR’s journalists operate independently of the university, while its studios are housed in a building owned by UMKC, which also provides administrative services such as information technology and financial and human resources administration. The University of Missouri Board of Curators owns the licenses for KCUR and Classical KC.
The University’s new plan would transfer those licenses and administrative functions to an independent 501(c)(3). Plans to create such an organization are already underway.
In a news release, UMKC Chancellor Mauli Agrawal said a group of community leaders had contacted the university to express their intent to form a nonprofit to manage KCUR and Classical KC.
“The radio stations have been a valued part of our campus and Kansas City community for many years, informing and engaging our community with their high-quality news and programming,” Agrawal said. “This transition will set the stage for them to flourish and grow for decades to come. We remain committed to actively supporting this transition and will work closely with the station and the community-led nonprofit to ensure they have the resources and tools needed to succeed.”
“KCUR is a bedrock institution in the Kansas City region and beyond, so we are already seeing strong interest in creating the organization that will be the station’s new home,” said Pete Browne, chair of KCUR’s Community Advisory Board. “It’s an enormously complex project, but that’s what makes it so exciting.”
Browne and Morris said the university’s three-year timeline will allow for a smooth transition. They added that retaining and supporting the talented employees is chief among their priorities.
Morris noted that many of the strongest public media outlets in the country are community licensees, so KCUR’s transition will not be unique.
“Other university-licensed public media organizations have made similar transitions in recent years, so we have great models to follow,” Morris said, citing Iowa Public Radio, which gained independence from the University of Iowa in 2022. IPR is a partner in both Harvest Public Media and the Midwest Newsroom, both headquartered at KCUR.
Still, Monday’s announcement raised myriad questions that station leaders will now begin to answer.
“There’s a lot we know, but even more that we don’t know as this process begins,” Morris said. “We will proceed with the same thoughtfulness and care that we bring to our work every day, and we’ll definitely keep everyone up to date on our progress.”
