University of Missouri - Saint Louis

07/28/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/28/2026 21:56

Interim Chancellor Chris Spilling discusses new role at UMSL, World Cup fan experience during guest appearance on KTRS

Interim Chancellor Chris Spilling discusses new role at UMSL, World Cup fan experience during guest appearance on KTRS

by Steve Walentik | Jul 28, 2026

Spilling joined hosts Frank Cusumano and Jill Farmer Monday morning on "The Frank and Jill Show."

Chris Spilling appeared as a guest on "The Frank and Jill Show" on KTRS Radio (550 AM). (File photo)

Chris Spilling has been a well-known figure on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus for more than three decades as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and more recently as the vice chancellor for research, economic and community development.

But Spilling had a chance to introduce himself to the wider St. Louis community this week when he appeared as a guest on "The Frank and Jill Show" on KTRS Radio (550 AM). Spilling joined hosts Frank Cusumano and Jill Farmer in studio Monday morning to discuss his new role as UMSL's interim chancellor - a position he started on July 1 - and talked about changes taking place at the university and the value that it continues to provide its students, who go on to become leaders in the St. Louis region.

"We're in the midst of a plan we call Transform UMSL, where we're renovating some buildings on North Campus and moving programs from the south side of our campus to the North Side to increase student vibrancy," said Spilling, specifically calling out the opening of the Creative Arts Building as a home for music and fine arts starts last fall, the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center set to open next month and laboratory and office space for the new School of Engineering being renovated in Stadler Hall.

Even more important are the in-demand programs that UMSL offers its students.

"We have really, really good programs, a good quality education, and again, at a reasonable price," Spilling said. "As a state institution, our mission is to be able to provide education to the state at a reasonable price, and that's what we do. I've looked at our student profile, and our students are second to none. We have students that come to UMSL that are just outstanding. They could go anywhere, and for whatever reason, they choose UMSL, and they go and succeed. They graduate, and they go to the workforce in St. Louis, which is one important component of our mission."

The launch of the School of Engineering last year, as Spilling discussed, was just the latest example of how UMSL has been tailoring its academic programs to meet the needs of the St. Louis workforce.

Spilling had an eventful summer even before moving into the chancellor's office. Though a naturalized U.S. citizen who has lived on this side of the Atlantic Ocean since arriving as a postdoctoral fellow in 1986, Spilling remains an avid fan of the national soccer team in his native England, and he had a chance to follow the Three Lions through their first four matches of the World Cup, catching games in Arlington, Texas; Boston; East Rutherford, New Jersey; and Atlanta.

"It was an amazing experience, and being inside in a stadium like that, with you know the England flags all over the place and a lively crowd, it's electric," he said. "I mean, there's nothing quite like it. At the end, when England beat Croatia 4-2, the crowd stayed in the stadium singing for like 15 minutes - 'Wonder Wall,' 'Hey Jude,' 'It's Coming Home' - which unfortunately it didn't. But there's just the feeling, the vibrancy in those stadiums is like nothing I've ever experienced."

Listen to the Spilling's full conversation with Cusumano, a 1984 UMSL graduate, and Farmer:

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