Presidential Updates

Dear Colleague Vol. 1, No. 10

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Dr. Belinda McCarthyI want to inform you that Dr. Belinda McCarthy, provost since August 1, 2006, has announced that she is returning to a faculty position to focus on the Master of Student Affairs in Higher Education program. She will focus her time and energy helping develop that growing program. Dr. McCarthy has completed more than 25 years in higher education administration, and she is looking forward to transitioning from her administrative role effective August 1, 2011.

Appointment of interim provost

In the coming days, I will consult with faculty leadership before appointing an interim provost. I plan to make that appointment sometime in the next 30-45 days so the person can begin by August 1.

Then, we will begin a national search for a new provost as soon as possible, probably early this fall.

Changes in the president’s administrative team are a normal part of the transition progress, and it was important for Dr. McCarthy to stay on and work with me during this first year as I learned the campus culture. I have known for some time Belinda’s desire to return to the classroom when the right opportunity arose, and working with the Student Affairs in Higher Education program provides an excellent opportunity for her to use her experiences over the last three decades in the classroom.

Accomplishments as provost

I very much appreciate Dr. McCarthy’s many contributions as provost which will serve the University well for years to come.

As you know, Dr. McCarthy was hired as the first full-time provost when it was reestablished at Missouri State in 2005. She also holds the title of vice president for academic affairs and she is chancellor of the Mountain Grove campus.

She has had many accomplishments as provost. For example, she developed academic, personnel and fiscal policies and procedures as the University moved to the cost center model and implemented recommendations of the Higher Learning Commission. Under her leadership, academic programs began a period of benchmarking and external review of programs; institutional research was expanded and reoriented to support the needs of decision-makers to assess and enhance quality and efficiency.

She reorganized enrollment management services and integrated academic and student affairs initiatives to support student learning and retention, establishing a wide array of student success programs, including living learning communities and the Bear Claw, the University’s new 10,000 square foot Learning Commons.

The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning was developed, which now provides extensive pedagogical support for online and technology enhanced instruction. Working with internal and external constituencies, she has fostered the maturing of the University’s public affairs mission, with particular focus on diversity and international initiatives.

As chancellor of the Mountain Grove campus, she oversaw the renovation of student housing and historic buildings as well as the development of a bottling facility and retail site for the distribution of Mountain Grove wines. She worked closely with the Mountain Grove advisory council to make the Mountain Grove campus a resource and asset to the community of Mountain Grove.

New role

In her new role, she will be developing curriculum and pedagogy in student affairs assessment, evaluation and research, developing and teaching online courses, and working to enhance faculty support and student services for online programs.

When you see Dr. McCarthy, I hope you will both thank her for the work she has done and congratulate her on the new faculty assignment.

Sincerely,

James E. Cofer, Sr.

President

Dear Colleague Vol. 1, No. 9

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Today, Governor Jay Nixon signed into law House Bill 3, which is the operating budget for higher education. I want to summarize the key decisions and comment on their impact on Missouri State University.

Summary of Governor Nixon’s action on budget

  • A total of about $58 million of general revenue has been restricted (withheld) from House Bill 3, and additional amounts of non-general revenue will also be restricted.
  • University and community college operating funds will be cut by a total of 7 percent, which was the Governor’s original recommendation and what we have been planning for since January – the difference between the 5.7 percent reduction approved by the Missouri General Assembly and the 7 percent amounts to about $1.1 million for Missouri State.
  • Two universities, the University of Missouri System and Missouri Western State University, will have their operating budgets reduced by an additional 1.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
  • Access Missouri Scholarships will be reduced $1 million from what the Missouri General Assembly had approved.
  • Bright Flight Scholarships will be reduced by $2 million from what the General Assembly had approved.
  • MORENET will be reduced by $50,000 from what the General Assembly had approved.
  • The $2 million for the cooperative Doctor of Pharmacy degree between the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Missouri State was approved – the funding goes to UMKC, which will contract back with Missouri State for a portion of the funds.

Meyer LibraryStudent learning outcomes initiative to continue

We appreciate Governor Nixon’s timely review of and action on the higher education operating budget for Fiscal Year 2012.  This gives us time to prepare to implement House Bill 3 on July 1.

We very much understand and appreciate the budget choices the Governor had to make in order to have a balanced budget. The easy decisions are long gone;  all that were left are the difficult ones. We are well aware of the Governor’s support of education at all levels, including higher education, and his desire to fund education at the highest possible level. But he has to balance those desires with other statewide needs, especially the recent natural disasters in our state.

The good news is we have been planning on the 7 percent reduction since January when the Governor announced his budget. As a result, we are prepared and ready to implement our budget at that level. We will live within the budget, while keeping the tuition and fee increases as low as possible for students. In the process, we will not compromise the quality of education our students receive.

As you remember, we had intended to use the $1.1 million to improve student learning outcomes as a major initiative in the new long-range plan. So you know, my intent is to continue with that initiative, even if we must fund it with surplus funds this year. Student learning outcomes are key to our future success and we will pursue that goal with existing resources. It is that important.

Cooperative Doctor of Pharmacy program

Receiving funding for the cooperative Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) Program with the University of Missouri-Kansas City is great news for the citizens of Missouri, and especially those living in southwest Missouri. We will immediately intensify our discussions with UMKC so that we can implement the cooperative PharmD program as soon as possible.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate our area legislative delegation, spearheaded by Rep. David Sater from Cassville. Our delegation worked hard as a group for three years to accomplish this, and we very much appreciate their efforts on our behalf. We very much appreciate the Governor supporting this initiative.

We will make these adjustments in the budget that we present to the Board of Governors next Friday, June 17, for approval. The new fiscal year begins July 1. If and when there is more information to share, I will let you know.

Sincerely,

James E. Cofer, Sr.

President

JQH Arena Task Force Report

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The JQH Arena Task Force presented this report: