Last week was a very busy one that included Homecoming, the presidential inauguration and the Board of Governors meeting.

Board meeting update

There were two walk-on resolutions. The first was to present the Bronze Bear Award to Bryan Magers. Missouri State University awards the Bronze Bear to recognize extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support for the university.

The award is presented to one or more individuals who have taken significant action to demonstrate commitment to the university. Bryan has been an integral part of our growth and success as seen in Magers Health and Wellness Center and Heitz House.

The second resolution presented Gov. Mike Parson with the Government Excellence Award. This award recognizes extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support for the university by a current or former elected or appointed government official.

Gov. Parson has demonstrated his commitment to Missouri higher education over and over during his time in office. Missouri State has benefitted many times from this commitment – most recently through state funds for Blunt Hall.

Both will be honored by the university during the fall 2024 commencement ceremony on Dec. 13.

The board approved the 2025 slate of officers – Tim Francka, chair; Missy Gourley, vice chair; Cindy Schull, treasurer; and Rowena Stone, secretary.

And finally, we celebrated university accomplishments in the premier of What’s New at MSU at the board meeting. Thanks to the great team in marketing and communications who work hard every year to provide an invigorating look back.

An unforgettable event

Five days later and I’m still in awe of the inauguration event. I’m honored to serve as the 12th president of Missouri State. I plan to maintain and grow the legacy of the university left to me by my predecessors.

Thank you to everyone who worked on this momentous event, with a special thanks to Brent Dunn, Stephanie Smith and the inauguration committee. I also appreciate all guests who showed up.

Homecoming recap

Homecoming week was as much fun as I expected. Thank you to everyone who worked incredibly hard to make it a such a great time for campus and our returning alums. And to cap it off, our 20th ranked football team continued their winning ways with their fifth straight victory and our 15th ranked men’s soccer team won, as well!

Search for a new provost begins

As some of you may know, our provost Dr. John Jasinski has announced his intention to retire on June 30, 2025. He has done an amazing job during his time at Missouri State and accomplished so much in a short amount of time. This includes the academic realignment, which takes many universities years to accomplish.

While it’ll be difficult to fill Dr. Jasinski’s shoes, the provost position will post this week, with the first date of consideration on Dec. 2. Stay tuned for more information. A website launched today that entails all the pertinent information about the search, including the committee selected to lead the search.

I’m looking forward to this week being a little bit slower. We all need time to catch our breath as we’re on the downhill side of this semester.

Thanks for checking in. It’s great day to be a Bear!

Biff