Presidential Updates

Medical Plan Town Hall

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Missouri State University will be making changes to the university’s group medical plan for 2019.

President Smart and Vice President for Administrative Services Matt Morris will discuss upcoming changes and potential options. Join them for a town hall at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, 2018, in the Plaster Student Union theater.

This event will be livestreamed, and it follows the State of the University address.

Asking questions

During the event, you may ask questions in person and online:

Clif’s Notes for Sept. 18, 2018

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As we settle into the fall semester, I want to encourage you to put the public affairs mission into practice by attending two upcoming events.

Naturalization Ceremony

We will host a United States Naturalization Ceremony at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow in the PSU Theater.

Naturalization ceremonies provide a unique opportunity to share in the excitement of immigrants to the United States who will take their oath of allegiance and complete the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. There will be a variety of speakers along with a performance by Missouri State students of the national anthem and “America the Beautiful.”

First fall Public Affairs Conference

This year’s Public Affairs Conference starts Sept. 24 and continues throughout the week.

The conference theme is “Unity in Community.” Participants will explore divisive issues that concern our communities — not only the geographic areas where we live, but also the tribal, interpersonal, intellectual and digital communities where we exist.

The featured speaker is Jenna Bush Hager. Hager is a contributing correspondent on NBC’s “Today Show,” an editor-at-large for Southern Living magazine, a New York Times best-selling author, chair of UNICEF’s Next Generation initiative, and daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Her presentation titled “Making a difference: How the power of compassion changes lives” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

The full schedule is available on the Public Affairs Conference webpage. All sessions of the conference, including the presentation by Hager, are free and open to the public. No registration or tickets are required to attend.

As in prior years, employees may use up to two hours of their work time, in coordination with their supervisors, to attend the conference. I encourage you to attend, and I encourage supervisors to facilitate attendance by individuals in your offices or divisions.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Sept. 11, 2018

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Throughout the summer I worked with Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan, Director of Economic Development Rob Dixon and other leaders throughout the state on the Talent for Tomorrow task force. This initiative set out to fundamentally reset Missouri’s approach to meeting the state’s workforce needs and create a new statewide strategy for economic development.

Last week I was pleased to be part of the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development where the task force issued its final product — a data-based assessment of the state’s current workforce and how well it matches Missouri’s economic needs.

Workforce priorities

The assessment identified several workforce priorities for Missouri:

  • Aerospace and defense
  • Agribusiness
  • Automotive and transportation
  • Energy solutions
  • Entertainment and media
  • Financial services
  • Life sciences
  • Cross-sector manufacturing
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Information technology

The assessment also identified significant statewide labor shortages in particular skilled fields, such as nursing, business management and K-12 education.

For example, the Kansas City region needs to fill an anticipated 804 job openings for registered nurses, 680 job openings for general and operations managers, and 595 job openings for software developers annually. The St. Louis region needs to fill an anticipated 2,218 job openings for registered nurses, 1,124 job openings for general and operations managers, and 546 job openings for software developers annually. The Ozark region needs to fill an anticipated 479 job openings for registered nurses, 276 job openings for general and operations managers, and 365 job openings for teachers annually.

Missouri State is well positioned to grow our programs in these areas and do our part to meet these workforce needs.

Preparing students for these high-demand fields

The state will advance policies that encourage colleges and universities to continue to prepare students for work in high-demand fields. This means the state’s primary funding framework will be based on performance measures clearly linked to employment. Additional funding will be tied to specific workforce needs, and the state’s education systems will be aligned with economic development and public workforce systems.

We should welcome these policy shifts. Missouri State performs well on employment-linked performance measures. We have a strong record for graduating people with the skills needed to succeed in high-demand fields.

The workforce shortages noted above connect directly with our expertise. We have the largest business school in the state. Our College of Health and Human Services is outstanding and has grown dramatically in recent history. More Missouri teachers have a degree from Missouri State University than any other university.

We have grown in each of these areas, and we have room to continue to grow. We are well-positioned to play a critical role in the state’s plans to develop a labor market that works.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Start time for Sept. 6 football game moved to 11 a.m.

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Due to the threat of severe weather and lightning in the Springfield area tomorrow afternoon and evening, Missouri State’s football home opener against Lincoln University will be moved to an 11 a.m. kickoff.

We recognize that this falls in the middle of the school day, but it was necessary to protect the players, fans and everyone else involved in the game.

We are working to ensure that the game causes minimal disruptions to campus operations.

BearFest Village will not be held

We will not have BearFest Village tailgating before or after the game because classes will be in session.

Consumption or possession of alcohol on campus is prohibited.

Parking

No parking lots will be closed for the game. Parking will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

You may disregard signs indicating that certain lots will be closed at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

Student information about classes

If you are a student in a class scheduled to meet during tomorrow’s football game, you should check with your instructor to see if the class will meet.

If you do not know whether your class will meet, you should assume that it will meet.

Faculty/staff information

If you are a faculty member teaching a class during the football game tomorrow, you should check with your department head and dean to discuss whether to cancel class.

We will not make a central decision to cancel classes.

It will make sense for some, but perhaps not all, classes to meet as scheduled.

Due to the change in game time, faculty and staff will not be released at 4 p.m. as previously planned. Faculty and staff should plan to work their ordinary schedules unless their supervisor approves a different schedule.

Tickets may be exchanged

Tickets for the Sept. 6 football game may be exchanged for another 2018 home game, if you are unable to attend due to the change in starting time.

Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Clif’s Notes for Sept. 4, 2018

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Home football games and tailgating at Bearfest Village are fall traditions for our students, faculty and staff. This year, our first home football game is in the evening Sept. 6 (this Thursday) against the Lincoln University Blue Tigers.

Kickoff is at 6:05 p.m., and tailgating will start as early as 3 p.m. You can get in the football spirit before Thursday night at the fifth annual Rally in the Valley at 6 p.m. tonight in Plaster Stadium.

Minimizing disruptions

We recognize Thursday night games present disruptions on campus. This will be our only weeknight home football game this year. We have taken a number of steps to minimize disruptions. These steps include:

  • Subject to supervisory approval, all faculty and staff will be released from work at 4 p.m. on Sept. 6. Staff scheduled to work from 4 – 5 p.m. will be paid for that hour even though they will be released from work. Talk to your supervisor if you have not yet been told whether you will be released at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
  • All parking lots will be open all day Sept. 6 with only two exceptions — Lot 4 and part of Lot 22 will be closed starting at 1 p.m.

Join the festivities

Please make time to join the festivities on Thursday. A variety of campus groups will have tents at Bearfest Village, including Staff Senate, Traditions Council, International Programs and more.

For our students, we will be giving away 500 free t-shirts and free Chick-fil-A on “the Cliff” (the outdoor terrace on the east side of the stadium) on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For our faculty and staff, game and season tickets are half price. You can buy your tickets at any box office (the JQH Arena and Plaster Stadium box offices will open at 10 a.m. on game day).

Check out the full schedule for football and other athletic programs on the athletic department’s new website.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!