Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 7, 2023

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On Feb. 1, the City of Springfield announced a proposed deal to purchase properties of Hammons Field for $16 million: $12 million for several properties that include the ballpark along with two parking lots and $4 million for improvements.

The Cardinals have agreed to extend their lease through 2038, pending approval.

MSU Bears baseball has a license to play at Hammons Field through June 30, 2030.

I am guessing many of you have been following the story for the last several years and are celebrating the purchase. For those who haven’t been following the story and are wondering why I am addressing this in Clif’s Notes, I’ll provide some details.

The Revocable Trust of John Q. Hammons filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016. This was close to three years after Mr. Hammons died. The ownership of Hammons Field has been in question since 2016 as the city worked with the JQH trust through a lot of legal maneuverings.

It’s been a pretty bumpy road, with the potential loss of the Springfield Cardinals at stake.

Why is this important to Missouri State?

For many of our students and employees, quality of life can be an important part of their decision-making process in coming to Missouri State. A minor league baseball team provides affordable entertainment for students and families.

Now that the city will be the owner, activities at the field will be expanded to include movie nights, concerts and other engaging activities for the citizens of Springfield.

Our Bears baseball team is now assured of a quality field on which to play.

And, as I hear on a regular basis, affordable parking that is close to the venue is extremely important. Since the purchase package includes the parking lots near the ballpark, you can expect to pay much less for parking when you attend an event there.

There are still several steps in the city’s process before the purchase becomes final, but it is expected to move pretty quickly over the next several weeks.

I wasn’t able to attend the city’s announcement since I was traveling for alumni events. However, as you might guess, I worked with our crack video team in marketing and communications to create a video to be used in my absence. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Go Cards and Go Bears!

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

 

 

 

 

 

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 31, 2023

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It’s that time of year when much of our external focus turns to Jefferson City and the legislative session.

The Missouri legislative session began on Jan. 4. There are many opening weeks activities as committee assignments are made, bills are filed and the governor delivers a State of the State Address.

We spend time in the fall developing our legislative plan and priorities. Actions during that time included meeting with Gov. Mike Parson and our legislators to advocate for these priorities.

Our plan for the 2023 session

Our priorities for the university include:

  • A 7% core operating appropriation increase.
  • A $2 million one-time appropriation to establish a construction education and training hub through the MoExcels program.
  • A $17.5 million capital appropriation to partially fund the renovation of Roy Blunt Hall and Cheek Hall.

All three priorities were included in Gov. Parson’s budget recommendations.

The budget will now move to the various House subcommittees and committees before heading to the Senate. The budget must be finalized and sent to the governor by 5 p.m. May 5. We will monitor that process throughout the session.

Additionally, as noted above, there are many bills that are filed. Few actually make it to committees and the floor, but we also closely monitor those that impact the university and higher education.

On the federal side, on Dec. 29, President Joe Biden signed all 12 appropriations bills for FY2023.

These bills included the following appropriations for MSU championed by now retired Sen. Roy Blunt:

  • $35 million for renovations to Blunt Hall, Cheek Hall, and other STEM and health facilities on the Springfield campus.
  • An additional $3 million for endowed faculty chairs in CNAS.
  • $1.5 million for the ASCEND program in West Plains.

The bills also include $2 million for the Brewer Science Annex at JVIC. Now retired Rep. Billy Long championed this appropriation.

I’ll be reporting on our proposed budget for FY2024 in the coming weeks. The actions in Jefferson City directly impact this budget.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

 

 

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 24, 2023

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We will be saying farewell in the coming months to several members of our leadership team

2023 will be a time of transitions

  • Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement, announced he will retire Aug. 1.
  • Steve Foucart, chief financial officer, announced his retirement to be effective Aug. 1.
  • Ryan DeBoef, chief of staff and assistant to the president for government relations, resigned his position effective January 31.

The foundation has shown tremendous growth

In his 38-year career at MSU, Brent has accomplished more than anyone ever thought possible. He is the university’s greatest advocate and has been tremendously important to our success.

Under Brent’s leadership, the foundation showed tremendous growth, raising record-breaking totals nearly every year. The foundation also won multiple awards for excellence in fundraising from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

In addition to the recently concluded Onward Upward campaign, Dunn led the Our Promise campaign, which raised $167 million. He also participated in The Campaign for SMS, which raised more than $50 million.

Brent’s work touched every facet of the university, helping to fund:

  • Student scholarships.
  • Endowed professorships.
  • Headlining speakers for the public affairs conference, like Marlee Matlin, Colin Powell, Jenna Bush Hager and Jillian Michaels.
  • Building renovations, naming opportunities and new buildings, including the John Goodman Amphitheatre in the Judith Enyeart Reynolds Arts Park, Davis-Harrington Welcome Center, Foster Family Recreation Center, O’Reilly Clinical Health Science Center and Great Southern Bank Arena.

Creative problem solver

As CFO, Steve managed Missouri State’s financial success in good times and bad. He has worked behind the scenes to reduce debt load and increase interest revenue – squeezing every penny possible to ensure we were doing the most we could for our students and the university.

Steve has also been the go-to leader among the CFO’s working at the other 4-year institutions across Missouri. His strategic vision and attention to detail has positioned Missouri State as a leader in financial operations and problem solving in higher education.

Legislative ingenuity

Ryan has been with the university since 2011, serving in his current position since 2014.

He led efforts to pass and defend against passage of many pieces of policy legislation each year in the Missouri General Assembly. He also led efforts to secure operating and capital appropriations for Missouri State – most notably, a $10 million core increase in 2019 and $80 million in capital funding for renovation and addition to the newly named Blunt Hall.

Ryan has been a tremendous advocate for Missouri State. I’m excited for him as he moves in a new direction. In his new role as a named partner at Hahn | DeBoef Government Relations, he’ll continue to represent the university as part of our contract lobbying team.

Searches and assignments

The search for the new VP for university advancement has launched and is being led by Zora Mulligan, chair of the search committee, with assistance from AGB Search. We hope to have a new VP named by May.

I will begin a search for an assistant to the president for government relations fall 2023. Dr. James Baker has graciously agreed to return to the university to lead this effort during the 2023 legislative session, following the plans and strategy that are currently in place.

We will address the CFO vacancy in the coming month.

University re-alignment

As part of the on-going effort in the re-alignment of the university, members of the access and outreach (A&O) organization have been reassigned to organizations across the university that better align with the mission of the organization and the university.

  • Non-credit will report through employer partnerships at the efactory.
  • Marketing and promotions will report through marketing and communications.
  • Early college and online will report through the executive vice president.
  • Adult student services will report through enrollment management.
  • Dual credit will report through enrollment management.
  • Off-campus programs will report through the executive vice president .

As you can see, there are many changes taking place at Missouri State, each one giving us the opportunity to step back and review how we move forward in this changing and challenging world of higher education.

It’s an exciting time.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 17, 2023

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I am pleased to report that Dr. John Jasinski has agreed to continue at Missouri State University as our provost through June 2024.

We will begin the search for a permanent provost in fall 2023. In the meantime, we will remove the “interim” from John’s provost title.

When we hired Zora Mulligan and John last spring, the leadership team and the Board of Governors collaborated to develop a two-year transformation plan. Under that plan, John has focused on academic disruption and modernizing our academic structure.

John was the right person to begin this work, and he is the right person to complete it over the next three semesters. Put simply, John is an expert in exactly the kind of work the board and I have asked him to perform as part of our two-year transformation plan.

Some changes have already been made. We have announced the creation of the Reynolds College of Arts and Humanities. Deans Vic Matthews and Shawn Wahl have worked in earnest as transition co-leads. We also recently began to restructure the units under Missouri State Outreach – and are working through details, currently.

Much more work remains to be done as part of the Academic Affairs Continuous Agility Process (CAP).

Up next

The College Realignment Plan Phase Two is underway. Phase two includes ample opportunities for feedback regarding possible academic structural changes as well as academic advising and student success.

See the Academic Realignment Timeline for details.

Please also note we are conducting a review of our Learning Management System, Blackboard, this spring. With the Blackboard contract expiring, it allows us to step back and review and compare products.

John, Chief Information Officer Jeff Coiner and their teams are gathering feedback and input throughout the spring. More detailed information will be posted to the provost’s website in the coming weeks.

Finally, know that our Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Reaffirmation of Accreditation year 10 comprehensive evaluation is due in early 2025 – followed by a site visit from the HLC Peer Corps. We received a stellar report in 2015 and then again with an Assurance Review in 2020.

John is working with various internal teams to provide for “embedded conversations” as we update our materials, self-assess, provide for collective reviews and submit our report in the first part of 2025. Stay tuned.

Other work is at hand as our academic colleagues address the rest of the transformation plan and elements of the Academic Affairs CAP. Bottom line, opportunities exist through collective impact.

I am pleased with the work Zora and John have completed over the past semester, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to complete the transformation plan.

Farewell reception for Rachel McGinnis

I hope you will join me in congratulating Rachel McGinnis, our director of research administration, as she moves on to a similar position at Middle Tennessee State University next month.

During her 18 years at Missouri State, Rachel has been instrumental in increasing the level of external funding coming to the university. She and her team in the office of research administration have done outstanding work in supporting faculty and staff in research grant applications, and helping the university stay in compliance with grant rules and regulations.

The division of community and global partnerships will host a farewell reception for Rachel from 1-3 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Jay Wasson Idea Loft at the efactory.

Please make plans to attend so you can say thanks to Rachel for a job well done!

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 10, 2023

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On Dec. 29, President Joe Biden signed all 12 appropriations bills for FY2023.

I am pleased to report that the bills include the following appropriations for MSU championed by Sen. Roy Blunt:

  • $35 million for renovations to Blunt Hall, Cheek Hall, and other STEM and health facilities on the Springfield campus.
  • An additional $3 million for endowed faculty chairs in CNAS.
  • $1.5 million for the ASCEND program in West Plains.

The bills also include $2 million to white box the third floor of the Brewer Science Annex at JVIC. Rep. Billy Long championed this appropriation.

Finally, the bills include $36 million in funding for research by our partners at JVIC.

The funding in the FY2023 appropriation package represents a huge investment in our university that would not have been possible without the important leadership of Sen. Blunt and Rep. Long.

Their service in the Congress ended earlier this year. It is an understatement to say that they will be greatly missed.

I hope you will join me in thanking Sen. Blunt and Rep. Long for their work to support MSU and the legacy they left behind as they concluded their service.

The university has strong relationships with our newly elected officials — Sen. Eric Schmitt and Rep. Eric Burlison — and their staff. Work is underway to show them the many great things we do at Missouri State University and to advocate for their support.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!