Spring semester begins today. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like one day it’s the start of the semester and in a blink, we’re attending commencement! Let’s make it a good semester for our students.

The Missouri State legislature began the 2024 session on Jan. 3. This is always an exciting and important time for the state and higher education. We work with the governor’s office and legislators to promote our financial and policy agenda.

Our legislative priorities for 2024

Capital:

$17.5 million request to assist in the replacement of the Art Annex and the renovation of Craig Hall. The university would match this with $17.5 million from university and private funds.

Operating Budget:

Priority no. 1 – Increase MSU’s operating appropriation by 5%.

Priority no. 2 – One-time MoExcels funding to address workforce needs in Springfield ($1.6 million) and West Plains ($815,000).

Our legislative advocacy page provides detailed information on these requests.

Wall of Fame nominations

We’re so lucky at Missouri State to have dedicated faculty and staff who devoted their careers to the success of our students and the university.

Each year, we honor some of our notable retirees who contributed to the success of Missouri State by inducting them into the Wall of Fame.

Now’s the time to nominate a retired faculty or staff member who excelled at Missouri State and significantly contributed to the success and positive collegiate experience of students.

Nominations must be submitted by March 18, 2024.

Updated remote learning during campus closure policy

This morning, a letter went out via email to our students making them aware of our updated University Closure Policy.

Moving forward, when we experience inclement weather that impacts students’ safe travel to/from and on campus, the university will transition to remote learning for the day.

This allows classes to stay on schedule so all planned coursework can be covered. This is especially important for classes that meet just once or twice a week.

Instructors and professors will inform students on how they’ll implement remote learning when these situations arise. This information will also be covered in the syllabus for each of their classes.

Presidential Search updates

You can stay up to date on the presidential search process via the Presidential Search website. The search committee interviewed 11 semifinalists Jan. 3-5. The Board of Governors is expected to announce the finalists later this week.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif