Faculty – Did you know that there is a published “department head manual” posted on the provost website?  Actually it has been there for awhile.  http://www.missouristate.edu/provost/handbooks_manuals.htm   I learned recently that some did not.  In this manual it indicates that a typical term for a department head is five years and that these terms are renewable.  As I became your dean no one had a “term” and so I met with each current department head and we agreed upon terms.   I attempted to stagger them.  Here are the current term end dates for CNAS heads – May 2010 (Plymate and Smith), May 2011 (Cheng and Elliott), May 2012 (Mathis), May 2013 (Dallas), May 2014 (Schick).   We currently have two acting heads – FID (Kemp) and PAMS (Patterson).  They each have a one year appointment.  Dr. Kemp’s appointment is renewable for a second year.    For permanent department heads the manual indicates that in the fall of final year that I should meet with each head who’s term is ending to determine if they are interested in serving another term.  I actually started those conversations this past spring.  Lloyd Smith has decided he would not like to serve another term and we will be doing an internal search for a new department head in CSC this year.  Tom Plymate is willing to serve another term and so I met with the GGP this past week to find out if they would be supportive of another term.  We will complete the review process as stated in the manual for Dr. Plymate’s reappointment this year.  We have begun the search for a new department head for PAMS this fall.  The CNAS leadership team is absolutely great and we will do great things together.  If you have any questions about the department head manual please let me know.  Indeed deans have the same “terms” and I will undergo a full review before the end of my fifth year.

We have four external reviewers coming to campus in November to review programs in three of our departments.  On November 2-3 we will have two reviewers here for GGP.  The reviewers will be meeting with faculty mostly in small groups on Monday and Tuesday morning.  These meetings are being scheduled as requested by the reviewers and you will have a full itinerary prior to their arrival.  The exit interview with the entire faculty will be Tuesday, November 3 beginning at 3:45 PM (place TBA).   On November 19-20 we will have one reviewer here for PAMS and one reviewer here for MTH.  The reviewers will tour facilities, meet with faculty, staff and students, and anyone else they request to meeting with.  The full itinerary will be distributed to all faculty in the department.  The exit interviews with the entire faculty will be Friday afternoon.  The exit interview with all PAMS faculty will begin at 3:00 PM (place TBA) and the exit interview with all MTH faculty will begin at 4:00 PM (place TBA).

Budget’s – Please watch President Nietzel’s Financial Outlook button on the homepage of the Missouri State University website.  We will be making some very, very important decisions over the next several months and I hope that you will each provide your input.  There will be opportunities university-wide as well as within the college.  I will be discussing options with department heads, the CNAS faculty advisory committee, and the CNAS student advisory committee.  I will be seeking everyone’s feedback via this blog as well as an all-college meeting as we proceed.

There are four events between now and November 18 that I want to call to your attention.

1.  October 24 is Expanding Your Horizons.  There will be 200 middle school girls on campus to do experiments and learn more about careers in STEM areas.  The event is primarily held in Temple Hall but sometimes we use Kemper Hall.  We will be having lunch and the career fair in PSU.

2.  October 26-31 is Homecoming Week.  A number of our alumni will return for advisory board meetings, meetings with friends, and maybe even the football game.  This is our time to shine.  Let’s show off our research and our labs and all of the wonderful work that students and faculty do everyday on this campus.  Let’s open our classroom doors and let everyone peak in and here about what we are teaching and the wonderful work that you do in the classroom everyday!  Enjoy the week.  I look forward to meeting a number of CNAS alumni during the week.

3.  November 14 is the MAKO Undergraduate Mathematics Research Conference.  http://math.missouristate.edu/43564.htm 

4.  November 18 – There will be a sustainability fair on the Missouri State University campus.  This event has two purposes.  First we want to celebrate our successes related to sustainble practices and second we want to lift up our commitment to sustainability on this campus and attempt to live up to the sustainability statement that was adopted in 2008.  Watch for more information on the Missouri State University website or the sustainability website – http://www.missouristate.edu/sustainability/.