Welcome to Words of Williams! This is my first of weekly columns that will appear in Inside Missouri State. I’ll use these columns to cover items of importance to the university, changes, events — all the things I think might be of interest to you — that you may not always have the chance to track down.

I’m also open to suggestions if you have questions you want answered or information about things happening on campus — I’m happy to tackle a new project. One caveat: I’m not one to delve into philosophical musings in a weekly column.

Highlights from recent BOG meetings

This week, I’ll review the Board of Governors meetings recently held on the West Plains campus. I called into the meeting while Kristin and I were driving through the Rockies on our way to Springfield.

The committee meetings took place on June 20 and the main meeting was held on June 21. We hold one BOG meeting each year on the West Plains campus so we can focus on the new things happening there, tour new buildings and get updates on new programs.

There’s so much going on there and I understand it’s always fun to visit. I know I enjoyed visiting West Plains when I was on campus for interviews in February. I look forward to my visits to West Plains over the coming year.

There were several actions taken by the board during the meeting. Below are some of the more impactful approvals:

• The fiscal year 2025 operating budget was approved. This includes the 3% across the board wage increase for all full-time employees. You should have received a note from human resources regarding this increase.

• Amendments to the employee handbook were approved. The details can be found on pages 248-269 in the board agenda for the June 21 meeting. They include updates to children in the workplace, criminal background checks and shared leave.

• Casey Hunt was approved as interim athletics director while the AD search is in progress.

• Replacement policies G1.02 Conflict of Interest and Financial Disclosure were approved. The purpose of this policy is to define potential conflicts of interest as they pertain to university employees and to specify a policy for the disclosure and evaluation of possible conflicts of interest.

Settling in

In other news, the movers finally arrived last Monday — only a week behind schedule. We used the holiday weekend to get unpacked and somewhat organized.

While waiting for the movers, we were also able to attend “Crimes of the Heart” at Tent Theatre, take in a Springfield Cardinals baseball game at Hammons Field and see Nate Bargatze, our favorite comedian, at Great Southern Bank Arena.

I still don’t know where Westlake Hardware is located, but I have the bigger venues down cold.

Thanks for checking in.

Biff