Chancellor, University of Missouri Kansas City

Dr. C. Mauli Agrawal still remembers arriving in the United States with $100 in his pocket and a suitcase of clothes. That image—of possibility balanced against uncertainty—animates everything he does now as Chancellor of the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he has worked since June 2018.

It's the kind of origin story that shapes a leader. Agrawal grew up in India in a home without television, refrigeration, or air conditioning, but rich in education. His father was the first in his family to attend college; his mother was the first woman in hers. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur with a bachelor's degree in technology before making his way to America to pursue advanced studies.

He earned a master's degree from Clemson University and a Ph.D. from Duke University, both in mechanical engineering. After IIT-Kanpur he worked briefly in India's auto industry before coming to America for graduate study; he then built a distinguished research career specializing in orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials and implants, becoming a prolific inventor with more than two dozen patents. At the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he spent 15 years in roles including interim provost, vice president for research, and dean of engineering, he proved himself equally at home in administration.

At UMKC, Agrawal's impact has been tangible. In his first five years as chancellor, the university achieved its highest student retention and graduation rate in a decade. Research expenditure doubled; money raised for research tripled. The university set an all-time record in fundraising and created what he describes as "a culture of care" on campus. And in July 2026, UMKC landed the largest federal research award in its history—a $160 million National Science Foundation engine grant expected to anchor a critical-materials hub for the region.

But perhaps his most passionate work has been intentional outreach to Indian students and universities. Recognizing pent-up demand from years when international students felt unwelcome, Agrawal has traveled to India multiple times with senior academic leadership, visiting universities and building what he calls "a stronger and steady pipeline of students." By 2023, UMKC was enrolling nearly 1,000 graduate students from India in a single year—a number he noted exceeds that of many larger universities in the region.

Agrawal sees these connections as part of a larger geo-political alignment: India and the United States moving closer together academically and diplomatically. He remains connected to IIT-Kanpur, where he received a distinguished alumnus award, and participates in an informal monthly call with other Indian-American leaders in American academia—presidents and chancellors who, like him, trace their rise to the solid educational foundation they received in India.

He lives in Kansas City with his wife Sue. His two adult children both studied engineering—a son who graduated from Rice University and a daughter who studied mechanical engineering there—continuing the family's commitment to the field that shaped their father's own American journey.

For Agrawal, UMKC's future is inseparable from Kansas City's. "For Kansas City to be great," he has said, "UMKC has to be great. It is our time and our turn for spectacular to happen."