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!