Since I have had a number of questions about the bookstore situation, I wanted to give you a brief update. I also will comment on it today at the State of the University Address, which begins at noon in the Plaster Student Union Theater.

Investigation

The Springfield Police are continuing their investigation. We are cooperating fully with the investigation, which is liable to take several months to complete. This will continue to be our number one priority. Because it is an ongoing investigation, we will be appropriately limited on the details we can provide.

Internal audit

We are continuing our internal audit of the bookstore, which will include every business process and control. Because of that, the audit could take up to four months to complete. While we know the amount missing is more than $400,000 over three years, it is unclear what the total dollar amount will be and over what period of time. We have tightened a number of procedures already and I am sure the final audit will include other recommendations. We will release the complete audit to the University community and the media when it is completed. We also are reviewing what other areas of the University which receive revenue should be audited on a priority basis.

Insurance

As indicated earlier, the University is part of a statewide employee theft insurance policy. We are in conversations both with State of Missouri officials and representatives from the insurance company. We remain optimistic that we will recover most of the missing money.

Search for new bookstore director

We have reviewed and updated the job description for the bookstore director, and we plan to begin advertising the position tomorrow. We also plan to conduct an internal search for a textbook manager.

I hope this update is helpful to you. There are great things happening at our University this year. I urge you not to let this event distract from that. I will be happy to answers questions on this after the State of the University Address. Thanks.