As you know, we received over 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine last week.

I am pleased to report that we successfully distributed all of the vaccine we received through the good work of our staff at Magers Health and Wellness Center.

We gave faculty and staff priority to sign up for vaccinations early in the week. We then allowed retirees, spouses and dependents to sign up later in the week.

At this time, we do not anticipate receiving additional COVID-19 vaccine this week.

Please continue to monitor the university’s COVID-19 Vaccinations webpage for updates as we receive additional vaccine and as the state authorizes additional groups of people to be vaccinated.

Vaccination criteria

There are many rules around who can be vaccinated. These rules are set by the state, not the university.

Right now, the state has only authorized vaccination for people meeting the requirements of Phase 1A and Phase 1B, Tiers 1 and 2.

By our estimates, only about one third of our workforce qualifies for vaccination under these standards — primarily including individuals over the age of 65 or with particular co-morbidities.

We are working and will continue to work to obtain more vaccine. Based on the guidance we have received from people involved in the vaccine distribution process, we believe it is imperative that we immediately use the vaccine we receive to stay in the supply chain for additional vaccine in future weeks and months.

Our hope is that by continuing to distribute vaccine, we will continue to receive vaccine as the state authorizes other segments of our workforce to be vaccinated.

Recognizing excellence among staff

Due to the pandemic, we were not able to have our annual staff awards luncheon this month. We are working on a replacement event to occur after the end of the spring semester.

In the meantime, I want to recognize our staff who received awards.

This year’s Staff Excellence in Community Service Award recipients are Mandi Muse and Jason Ray.

This year’s Staff Excellence in University Service Award recipients are Steve Braden, A’dja Jones, Lyn McKenzie, Karen McKinnis, Benjamin Metzger and Dr. Dave Muegge.

Thanks to all of you for your great work during this challenging year.

Submit Wall of Fame nominations

Each year we recognize retired employees who, during their time at the university, significantly contributed to the success and positive experience of students. We honor these employees by placing their names on the Wall of Fame located outside the Plaster Student Union Ballroom.

Last year the Board of Governors inducted six individuals into the Wall of Fame: Dr. Michael Carlie, Karen Horny, Paul Kincaid, Marcia Morriset, Judith Smith and Dr. Howard Orms.

Unfortunately we were not able to have our traditional induction ceremony during Homecoming last fall.

At Homecoming this fall we will have a ceremony to induct both the 2020 and the 2021 classes into the Wall of Fame.

You can nominate inductees for the 2021 class online. Please review the selection criteria when making your nomination. The deadline for nominations is March 12.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!