Last week, we welcomed Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and leaders from around the state for a meeting of the Hawthorn Foundation Board. After gathering in the Walsworth Family Columns Club in Memorial Stadium, we also offered tours of the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building.

We shared Mizzou’s impact, recent record successes, as well as our vision to do even more with the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR).

I described how investing in MURR – including building a new research reactor – will ensure a safe, domestic supply of radioisotopes while expanding our capacity to discover new treatments. Already, our reactor is the only supplier in the U.S. of four critical radioisotopes used by cancer and cardiac patients. The work to bring a second, larger reactor to MU takes our entire community, including partnerships with elected officials and important stakeholders like Hawthorn Foundation members and supporters.

I appreciated the opportunity to share a bold path forward for our university and state.

— Mun