The primary purpose of this issue of Clif’s Notes is to summarize some timely initiatives and activities, including the new Shared Leave policy, Evening College Plus, summer activities on campus, the 50th anniversary of Tent Theatre and the common reader for 2012-13.

Shared leave

On July 1, our new Shared Leave Program for staff and administrators goes into effect. A few days ago, I went online and donated the maximum number of days (4 days or 32 hours). It was easy and I felt good about being able to help someone who needs the paid leave because of catastrophic illness.

I encourage staff and administrators to seriously consider participating in the Shared Leave Program. The shared leave concept has been long advocated by Staff Senate. We formally approved the policy last fall for implementation in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. See the details in the Leave Benefits policy.

How to contribute

To contribute hours, go to the Profile tab at My Missouri State and then choose Shared Leave Pool in the Employment Details box.

Thanks for your consideration. Should you have questions, please feel free to contact the office of human resources at 417-836-6616.

Evening College Plus

Thanks to the good work of Provost Frank Einhellig, Associate Provost Joye Norris and those in Missouri State Outreach, university relations and various units across campus, we are launching a new Evening College Plus program for adult students starting this fall.

The goal of the program is to provide area adult students with quality academic programs in a central location at convenient times at a fair price. For details of the program, I invite you to see the news release about the program and to visit the Evening College Plus website.

I hope you will help us promote this to your family, friends, neighbors, alumni and others who might have an interest in continuing their education at Missouri State.

Pardon our progress

As you are well aware, there is a significant amount of construction occurring on the Springfield campus this year: completion of the Bill R. Foster and Family Recreation Center, the pedestrian mall on Kings Street, the new main entrance at Monroe Street and National Avenue, the front steps of Carrington Hall, residence hall and dining center renovations and much more.

On the West Plains campus, the major construction project is Gohn Hall. (See live web cam.)

The summer is our window to complete these projects, so we pack a lot of work into three months. The end results will be worth the temporary inconvenience. I want to express my appreciation for your understanding and patience.

Summer activities on campus

The summer also is a busy time on the Springfield campus with a variety of camps and events. In all, these activities will attract more than 12,000 participants of all ages. And that does not include the hundreds and hundreds of new students and their families who will attend one of the dozen or so SOAR (Student Orientation and Registration) sessions this summer.

The list of summer events is headlined by the Missouri Public Affairs Academy, the Missouri Innovation Academy and the Missouri Fine Arts Academy.

A sampling of other summer activities on campus include:

• Academic: Chemistry Symposium, Trio Upward Bound, Wyman Scholars
• Athletic camps: Football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, boys and girls basketball, field hockey, athletic training
• Activities: Debate camps, cheerleading camps, dance camps
• Arts: Pride Band Color Guard and Drum Line Camp, String Fling

For many of these students, this is their first exposure to a college or university. Many of these students will sooner or later consider attending Missouri State University. For SOAR students and their families, they are in the process of confirming Missouri State as their new home for two, four, five or six years.

Again, the West Plains campus also has a number of summer activities and enrollment sessions for incoming students.

I ask that all of us go out of our way to make our campus guests feel welcome, to assist them when we can and to be courteous and safe as we drive around and through campus.

50th anniversary of Tent Theatre

I would be remiss if I didn’t encourage you to attend the shows and special events planned for the 50th anniversary of Tent Theatre. It should be a celebration of a great Springfield and Missouri State tradition.

The highlight will be the 50th Anniversary Gala at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 15, in Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. Come enjoy snippets from all 50 seasons of Tent Theatre. The gala is free and open to the public. Don’t miss this event, which is liable to be the best event of the summer.

For complete show information and details about the 50th anniversary events, please visit the Tent Theatre website. Remember, faculty and staff can purchase tickets at a discounted price.

Common reader for 2012-13

Finally, for 2012-13, the common reader for the Springfield campus — a book that will be read by all sections of GEP 101 and some sections of UHC 110 — will be the national bestseller Outcasts United by Warren St. John. This book will be an important component of the First-Year Experience for incoming freshmen.

Mike Wood, our director of first-year programs, says: “The goal of a common reader is to provide a common academic experience and create a greater sense of community among students, faculty and staff, and to provide an introduction to intellectual life at Missouri State University.”

One book, one community

In addition to providing this book to freshmen, I have provided it to our Board of Governors, to members of Administrative Council and to many of our community leaders. In addition, we are promoting the book to the general public through flyers at the Springfield libraries, and a bookmark that will be given to anyone who purchases the book at Barnes and Noble.

Our goal is to use the book as a vehicle to a common discussion in the community. So far, the reaction has been very positive.

I have read the book myself and found it to be enlightening and a good read. I am sharing this with you in the hope that you will consider getting and reading the book so you, too, can be an active participant in this year’s discussion. There will be plenty of opportunities.

Author to speak at Public Affairs Convocation

In addition, we will have the added bonus of having Mr. St. John on campus to give the fall Public Affairs Convocation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

Thank you for your consideration.