As Missouri State University President Clif Smart prepares to retire on June 30 after more than a decade on the job, the university’s Board of Governors has given him a special honor.

At its meeting today, the board approved and presented Smart with the Bronze Bear Award. It recognizes individuals for special support and achievement at Missouri State.

“For leading Missouri State with vision, passion, integrity and steadfastness over the last 13 years, Clif is truly deserving of this award,” said Board of Governors Chair Lynn Parman.

“This honor is one of the ways we can thank him for the positive legacy he will leave not only at the university, but also in our city and state.”

An indelible mark

Smart has moved the university forward in many ways since becoming president in 2011. He also successfully steered Missouri State through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

During his tenure, the university:

• Was recognized as a doctoral granting university by the State of Missouri, the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission.
• Doubled the number of terminal degree programs offered, adding Master of Fine Arts programs and doctorates in occupational therapy, psychology and defense and strategic studies.
• Completed the two largest comprehensive campaigns in university history ($274 million and $167 million).
• Set records in state and federal appropriations, private gifts and grant funding.
• Continued the development of IDEA Commons, becoming the leading entity involved in economic development in the region while reinvigorating an abandoned industrial area of Springfield.
• Set new records in numbers of graduates, graduate employment rates and overall enrollment.
• Increased the diversity of faculty and staff, including establishing a successful mentoring program for underrepresented and international faculty.
• Maintained affordability for students by raising tuition and fees by less than inflation while reducing the number of hours required to graduate from 126 to 120.
• Upgraded campus facilities, including building the Magers Health and Wellness Center, the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center, Allison North and South stadiums, the Foster Family Recreation Center, the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center and the John Goodman Amphitheatre, and extensively renovated Ellis, Glass, Hill, Kampeter and Pummill halls, as well as Plaster Stadium.

Additionally, Smart and his wife, Gail, have established and funded endowed professorships for outstanding faculty members and a scholarship for first generation students.

About the Bronze Bear

The Bronze Bear Award includes a framed resolution and a 45-pound, 18-inch Bronze Bear in an upright position mounted on a base.

Former Missouri State art professor Dr. Jim Hill designed the award in 1998. A 14-foot statue version of the Bronze Bear mounted on a 3-foot concrete base is located just north of Missouri State’s Plaster Student Union.

The university’s Administrative Council and leadership for the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and the Student Government Association endorsed the nomination of Smart to receive the Bronze Bear award.

Previous Bronze Bear recipients include John Goodman, Sen. Roy Blunt, Tim Reynolds and Judith Enyeart Reynolds and Matt Blunt.