University Of Missouri-St. Louis: Richter Family Welcome And Alumni Center To Cement Late Alumnus Kirk Richter's Legacy Of Connection, Care

Florissant MO

18 May, 2022

4:29 AM

Description

Press release from the University of Missouri-St. Louis: May 10, 2022 Kirk Richter had an exuberant moment on the University of Missouri­–St. Louis campus last August. He and his wife Maureen met Chancellor Kristin Sobolik for a picnic lunch in the Quad – not an unusual occurrence for the devoted alumni couple who often discussed ways they could support and continue to transform their alma mater and the lives of its students. On this particular day, they made their way to the west side of the J.C. Penney Conference Center, to the windowless exterior of the auditorium that faces Alumni Circle. There, Sobolik began describing what was then only an idea – the possibility of a world-class Welcome and Alumni Center. There, in the summer sun, the typically quiet, humble man who was not usually so quick to reveal his emotions, lit up. "He stood there in front of a blank, brick wall and went, 'That's it! That's what I want!'" Maureen says. "He was so excited." In hindsight, such a full-circle moment of clarity made perfect sense for the 1968 College of Business Administration graduate who knew first-hand what such a center could provide: Connection. And a chance to give back. UMSL was in its infancy when Kirk enrolled in 1964 after graduating from Beaumont High School in north St. Louis. "I don't know what other options were available to him at the time," son Daniel says of his father's prospects and decision to attend. Kirk grew up in a working-class German Protestant family, the elder of two sons, with a father who worked for the railroad. Like legions of UMSL students who would come after him, he was the first member of his family to attend college, and someone for whom earning a degree could have easily remained a dream, if not for his own spirit of determination and willingness to seize opportunity where he found it. Career-oriented from the start, Kirk wanted to go into accounting. "The man loved numbers," Maureen says. "He loved anything to do with numbers and accounting. It was fun for him." Kirk was so certain about his course that he petitioned Emery Turner, the founding dean of the College of Business Administration, to take accounting his first semester – something still not typically allowed for first-year students. "Emery gave him permission to do it," Dave Ganz, who joined the faculty during Richter's student years, recalls. "He was one of the people who got to take accounting as a freshman. He was focused, and he obviously stayed with it." Kirk graduated as a member of UMSL's second class in 1968, swiftly landing a job with Arthur Andersen and officially becoming a CPA in 1972. That same year, he married his first wife, Kathleen. Six years later, his family had grown with the welcome addition of daughter, Laura, and son, Daniel. Kirk took a job at Sigma-Aldrich, a St. Louis-based chemical, life science and biotechnology company. For 34 years, his trademark perseverance and devotion kept him committed to the company. By the time he retired as interim chief financial officer in 2012, he had helped Sigma-Aldrich's annual sales soar from $30 million to $2.5 billion. Throughout his entire life, Kirk's loyalty to UMSL was unwavering. He was forever grateful for the connections the university helped him forge. He never forgot his humble beginnings that led to sharable success. This press release was produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author's own.