This week's speaker is Jennifer Lundgren, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, UMKC. The topic is: "UMKC Achieving R1 Status."
Dr. Jennifer Lundgren has served as Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of UMKC since 2020. As the chief academic officer, she oversees the planning and implementation of academic initiatives that align with the institution’s mission and vision, providing the best educational experience for students and support for faculty research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.
Dr. Lundgren completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Oklahoma State University and an MA and Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical) from the University at Albany – the State University of New York. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Weight and Eating Disorders.
Dr. Lundgren joined UMKC in 2006 and holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling. During her tenure at UMKC she has served in multiple leadership roles, including department chair, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Her current administrative priorities include the development and implementation of student success initiatives to support persistence, degree attainment, and career outcomes, as well as strategies to drive excellence and expansion of research and innovation at UMKC.
President Jared Campbell welcomed all to the meeting at the Zhou B Art Center. We stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Sarah Beyer delivered a thoughtful invocation based on a poem entitled “Touch The Sky.” Tom Woolwine led the singing of the Happy Birthday Song to the October celebrants, who also served as the greeters today. Several guests were introduced and welcomed. The following Club anniversaries were recognized: Lee Brumitt, 26 years; Doug Nelson, 24 years, and Linn Mills, 10 years.
Marc Horner, in his capacity as President of the Board of the Kansas City Rotary Club Foundation, noted October was the kick-off month for the Foundation’s annual campaign. The Foundation supports the Youth Camp through the “Spending Plan,” an amount of money made available to the Camp each year to cover its operation. This month, a Foundation Fellowship of $1,000 can be bestowed on a donor for payment of $800 with the Foundation matching the remaining $200. Any donor preferring to pay for a fellowship in increments can make a pledge this month for the $800 fellowship. Any pledge or contribution is welcome and can be made through Club 13’s website, https://rotary13.org. President Jared encouraged participation in the Project C.U.R.E. service project on October 30 from 5:00 to 7:00. Eric Burger announced that he will be participating in a live-streamed project October 9 and 10 with 70 other leaders across the country by sitting on a bench near Shelter KC for 24 hours to have conversations and raise awareness of the homelessness crisis. Ted Higgins then took the podium to talk about the annual fundraiser for the Higgins Brothers Hospital, Hit for Haiti. Ted announced that the U.N. recently voted to help Haiti, and there is hope that conditions will improve with the U.N.’s help. The hospital continues to see 1,500 patients per month and perform 90 operations per month. An uplifting “Happy Bucks” session was held.
President Jared then introduced our speaker, Scott Holsman, Club 13 member and Artificial Intelligence enthusiast. Scott started his presentation by challenging the “old dog, new tricks” philosophy and reminded us that there have been many major shifts in how we obtain information and how technology has evolved over the last few decades, including the advent of the internet and the related use of phones, which we have all conquered and now embrace. Think of AI as a digital employee or assistant who can read and comprehend language and text, create content, answer complex questions, solve problems, and simply provide information. Over time, your digital assistant adapts as it learns the user’s traits, patterns, and language. AI is comprised of large language models which continue to evolve by processing and understanding human language and information. Some of the most popular AI tools include Claude, an Anthropic product, which is proficient in research and writing. ChatGPT, an Open AI tool, is known as a versatile problem solver. Gemini is a Google AI program which assists users with web and information searches. Perplexity assists with factual research. Conversations with an AI assistant start with a prompt. In creating prompts, users should be clear and specific, ask follow-up questions to dig deeper, request examples when clarity is required, and provide context for better responses. Depending on the topic at hand, prompts can be lengthy. AI can save users time by, for instance, summarizing long or complex articles or multiple documents in seconds or reviewing and suggesting improvements to written content. It can provide suggestions for solving business or personal issues. Scott gave a live example of how AI can be used by summoning his assistant, Chatty Cathy, to provide answers to the question of how the Club can grow membership.
President Jared announced upcoming meetings and then revealed this week’s Act of Kindness – help educate a child! We said the Four Way Test and the meeting was adjourned.
“You know they changes lives out there” is a quote about the impact of the Rotary Youth Camp by one of the user groups. Your donation to our Kansas City Rotary Club Foundation assures that children with disabilities and disadvantage youth continue to have that camping experience.
It takes a $1,000 contribution to become a Fellow of the Foundation or you may become a Fellow by first being a Sustaining Member with a series of smaller contributions. Through October, there is a special discount for new contributors. Contribute $800 and you’ll be a Fellow! If you prefer to be a Sustaining Member, you can make a series of smaller contributions over a period of time until reaching the $1,000 Fellow level. Through October, all new Sustaining Members contributions will be matched $1 for $1 - up to $200. There are two options for the donation. The traditional option is to donate a minimum of $100 per year until you have reached $1,000. There is now a second option; that is, to use the Donate Now button on the Rotary 13 web site and contribute a minimum of $25 per month until you have reached $1,000. The donation can be through Pay Pal, credit card, or debit card plus there is an option that the donation will be made automatically each month.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. All Rotarians and guests are welcome.
Date: Monday, October 13, 2025, 6:30 PM
Location: Tony Andresen’s Home
6520 Sagamore Road
Mission Hills, KS 66208
About the book:
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing development, the last thing they expected to uncover was a human skeleton. Who the skeleton was and how it got buried there were just two of the long-held secrets that had been kept for decades by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side, sharing ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which served the neighborhood's quirky collection of blacks and European immigrants, helped by her husband, Moshe, a Romanian-born theater owner who integrated the town's first dance hall. When the state came looking for a deaf black child, claiming that the boy needed to be institutionalized, Chicken Hill's residents—roused by Chona's kindess and the courage of a local worker named Nate Timblin—banded together to keep the boy safe. When the truth is revealed about the skeleton, the boy, and the part the town’s establishment played in both, McBride shows that it is love and community—heaven and earth—that ultimately sustain us.
The Nominating Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 14 to determine the PEN/Sec/Treas and Board Member candidates for this year's election. If you would like to suggest a nomination, please reach out to the following members:
Tony Andresen Eric Bubb
Tom Davis Blake Fry
David Hanzlick Rick Hughes
Lon Lawton Linn Mills
Tim Tholen Lainie Wilbur
Bowling News
by Tim Tholen
Happy Monday everyone,
Last week was week 5 and, though a few bowlers short, a good time was had! Kind of an uneventful night though!
200 games:
Will Patrick-266, 235, 233 for a 734 series.
Splits and spares:
Lon Lawton-7/9
Have a great week everyone, see you Thursday!
Rotary Youth Camp Update
Last week, the Rotary Youth Camp had the privilege of hosting the Raytown Rotary Club’s social event. Hotdogs, chips and side dishes along with s’mores were enjoyed by the campfire. After eating Rotarians and their guest played volleyball and “Granny’s Panties”. Check out Raytown Rotary’s Facebook page for more pictures of the fun!
“You know they changes lives out there” is a quote about the impact of the Rotary Youth Camp by one of the user groups. Your donation to our Kansas City Rotary Club Foundation assures that children with disabilities and disadvantage youth continue to have that camping experience.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. All Rotarians and guests are welcome.
@rotaryclub13
@rotaryclub13
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