Happy Birthday, Missouri State!
On Thursday, Aug. 28, 2009, the campus of Missouri State University came together to celebrate the fourth anniversary of our new name. In addition to celebrating the notoriety that comes along with our recognition as Missouri’s second largest University, the campus paused to take note of the amazing strides we continue to make toward making and imagining Missouri’s future.
Over the past year, in CNAS alone, our faculty have submitted 109 proposals for external funding, and 64 were funded for just over $2.8 million. And we awarded nearly $160,000 in scholarships to students in every department.
We have to thank much of this progress to the tremendous leadership of President Mike Nietzel and our own dean, Dr. Tammy Jahnke. While Dr. Nietzel will be leaving us at the conclusion of 2010, we have tremendous momentum that we are going to put to good use in the successful completion of the University’s largest fund-raising campaign in history. I can imagine what you are thinking right now, “Why, in the world, would the University launch an aggressive campaign in the most dismal economic climate in 70 years?” – The answer “because providing a quality education to students who want one is the best thing we can do to turn things around.” If you think getting a job is difficult now, try getting one without any marketable skills. We need to train our workforce to not only enter those available positions, but to also identify opportunities for entrepreneurship. We cannot hope to offer that vital training without both public and private support.
Governor Jay Nixon has been very supportive of higher education in the state of Missouri – holding our state appropriations steady for the 2010 fiscal year, and promising only a modest decrease (5%) in fiscal year 2011. Unfortunately, the cost of educating those students did increase – right along with inflation – and our appropriations, frozen at fiscal year 2009 levels, will only meet approximately 45% of the cost of doing business at Missouri State University. Simply put, now is exactly the time to launch a major fund-raising campaign – the need has never been greater.
For information on how you can support the students of Missouri State University and participate in Our Promise, the Campaign for Missouri State, please contact me 417-836-5161 or at jtrussell@missouristate.edu.
Remember – a gift of any size can make a difference!