Marguerite Ross Barnett helped transform the University of Missouri-St. Louis from an emerging campus into a nationally recognized metropolitan research university. As chancellor, she attracted record support for scholarships and new facilities, including a research building and an addition to the campus library that now houses the historic St. Louis Mercantile Library. She championed diversity and set the university on a course to reflect the community it serves. A centerpiece of her efforts was the award-winning Partners for Progress Initiative, academic programs designed to enhance mathematics and science literacy among elementary and secondary school students to better ensure their matriculation to college. She was also the first African American and the first female to serve as chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.