Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for July 28, 2020

by

Last week I presented a draft masking policy for you to review and asked you to send me your feedback.

I received considerable feedback. Some individuals believe the policy is too lenient. Others believe the policy is too strict.

In response to the feedback I received, we have implemented a change to the draft policy.

The policy you reviewed last week did not permit faculty to wear plastic shields instead of a mask when teaching. The policy now permits faculty to wear face shields provided they are able to maintain at least six feet of distance from all students.

As a result of the feedback, I have also asked our general counsel to prepare an alternative masking policy for the board to consider at their August meeting. This alternative would require masks to be worn more broadly throughout campus.

I will seek your input on this matter again at our next town hall meeting (set for 10 a.m. — noon Aug. 5). As I have promised, we will continue to update policy recommendations based on input and current conditions.

Testing policy

We have also completed our draft COVID-19 testing policy. This policy makes testing available on campus for individuals with coronavirus symptoms who have been assessed by a physician.

It also sets out a protocol for COVID-19 testing for certain campus arrivals and through random sampling.

To remove all financial barriers, faculty, staff and students will not be charged for COVID-19 testing administered by the university.

I encourage all of you to review the policy at your convenience and send me your feedback.

Facing this together

Last week you received an email from me about our decision to transition all future SOAR sessions to a virtual format. The email noted that several SOAR leaders recently tested positive following an off-campus gathering among themselves where masking was not observed. The majority of our SOAR leaders are now under quarantine.

I want to make something very clear: I do not blame our SOAR leaders. I appreciate their willingness to wear masks during our on-campus SOAR sessions, and I recognize the difficulty they (and all of our students) face in social distancing and wearing masks as they maneuver their lives on and off-campus.

As we approach the beginning of the fall semester, it is important for all of us to recognize that our students need a campus experience that involves social contact with others. We must do all that we can to provide this experience in a safe way that observes applicable health and safety protocols.

We must also recognize that students will inevitably socialize with one another off-campus, and we must be ready to adapt our operations to address virus spikes and outbreaks throughout the semester.

This situation is also an important reminder for all students, faculty and staff of how important it is to follow guidelines to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Wash your hands. Socially distance. Wear a mask.

If you feel sick, seek medical assistance and get tested. If you test positive or were in close contact with someone with COVID-19, follow instructions on isolation and quarantine.

Our ability to remain open for the semester and hopefully return to “normal” in the spring is going to be greatly impacted by everyone’s cooperation in masking.

Fall sports update

Last week I met virtually with the presidents and athletic directors of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) to discuss our plans for fall sports. The MVC universities collectively decided to play only conference games and to delay the start of play to Sept. 18 for all our fall sports except football.

Football is decided by a separate conference — the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). Given the complexities surrounding football scheduling, the MVFC universities decided not to alter the football schedule at this time.

This decision will be re-evaluated closer to the start of football season in light of current information about the spread of the virus. We will coordinate with the NCAA and other football leagues.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for July 21, 2020

by

Last week the City of Springfield passed an ordinance requiring face coverings to be worn in areas that are open to the public. Several exemptions are included in the ordinance. One such exemption carves out universities.

Even though we are not required to comply with this law, I think it is important that our policies are consistent with the spirit of the ordinance. It is also important that our policy is enforceable and protects the health and safety of our faculty and staff.

With all of these considerations in mind, we have developed a draft mask policy. The draft policy will go into effect immediately on my directive, and I will present it to the Board of Governors for approval at their retreat in August. I encourage all of you to review the policy at your convenience and send me your feedback.

This policy requires masks to be worn throughout all academic buildings and in academic spaces in non-academic buildings. We added Meyer Library to the list of academic spaces based on your feedback.

The policy allows faculty and staff to determine whether to require masks in their private offices, and it allows campus offices not located in academic buildings to determine whether to require masks. I anticipate most will require masks be worn.

For example, Plaster Student Union is not an academic building, so the policy does not require masks to be worn throughout the PSU. However, the dean of students office — which is located in the PSU — has decided to require masks. This is a perfectly appropriate decision under the draft policy.

I encourage all campus offices in non-academic buildings to determine as soon as possible whether to require masks.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for July 14, 2020

by

Many, many university employees have asked me a question over the past weeks and months. It was asked several times during the July town hall meeting and by email before and after the meeting.

The question is: Why do faculty and staff have to return to campus during a global pandemic?

I understand where this question comes from. I have two underlying health conditions that make my chances of surviving COVID-19 much lower than the average person’s. I work very hard to mitigate my risk of contracting the virus, and I felt safer working from home than I feel working from campus.

Fulfilling our mission

There are many reasons we must return to campus. There are financial and other risks associated with moving even more of our operations online. Many jobs at the university, including mine, simply cannot be completed entirely from home, and the university can no longer afford to pay people not to work as we battle through a significant revenue decline in the current fiscal year.

Here’s the deal, the mission of our university — to educate students to be citizen scholars — requires us to be here.

Our current and prospective students have made it clear they want to be on campus in the fall. Prospective students at other universities — particularly those in other parts of the country — may differ.

But at our university, if we do not provide a robust, on-campus learning environment, many of our students will not enroll. This is particularly true for under-resourced students. If they do not begin in the fall, many will never seek a college degree, and their lives would be forever changed for the worse.

This would severely undermine the university’s educational mission.

It would also impact the university financially, resulting in extensive personnel cuts.

Preparing graduates

We cannot educate students to be citizen scholars if they do not enroll. The world we live in will be less educated. Our would-be students will suffer without the education and diverse experiences our university provides.

Additionally, our community depends on us to educate students, populate the workforce, and credential professionals. We cannot take a year (or more) off from our usual pace of enrolling 20,000+ students and awarding 5,000+ degrees and certificates. The impact would be devastating.

I take the mission of our university seriously. I also take the pandemic seriously. We will continue to implement masking, testing, travel, and social distancing precautions to mitigate spread of the virus and protect our faculty, staff, and students.

At some point in the future, if COVID-19 forces us to move our operations online as we did last spring, we will do so without hesitation and will rely on the contingency plans faculty, staff and administrators created throughout the summer. Until then, we will press on toward a campus reopening in the fall.

You can find more information about our plans to reopen in the fall in our Guide to Returning to Campus.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for July 7, 2020

by

Last week Gov. Mike Parson signed the FY2021 budget bills and announced spending restrictions. His restrictions include a $11.9 million withhold for Missouri State University.

The budget that our Board of Governor’s approved in June assumes a $9.25 million appropriation reduction and a 1,500 student enrollment decline. While Gov. Parson’s withhold exceeds the state funding cut assumed in the university’s budget, we do not yet know what our enrollment will be in August or whether federal funds will be available to backfill some of the reduction in state appropriations.

We will wait to make further budget cuts until we have more information on these topics.

Attend the town hall

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, we will host a Virtual Town Hall meeting. You can find information about how to participate online.

We will briefly discuss the university’s budget and I will seek input on options for potential additional budget cuts.

Provide your input

We will also spend a great deal of time at the town hall discussing options for a masking policy in the fall.

After our last town hall meeting, I asked a work group to develop options for a fall masking policy. They have presented me with two options:

  • The first option would require masks to be worn during academic classes.
  • The second option would require masks to be worn in all academic buildings and classrooms in administrative buildings.

Both options would also require masks in select other locations on campus (e.g., Bear Line, computer labs, testing center, etc.), allow a department to determine whether to require masks in a department office, and allow an individual faculty or staff member to determine whether to require masks in their private office.

I will present more information about these options at the town hall meeting. All faculty and staff will also have an opportunity to vote to support one of these two options. There will also be an option that would recommend face masks on campus without requiring them. You can also let me know you don’t like any of the choices we are considering.

I will present the results from this poll to the Board of Governors before they set our mask policy at their August retreat.

Please plan to attend the town hall meeting on Thursday and come prepared to provide input on budget decisions and our return to campus policies. In case you missed it, we have expanded the Zoom capacity to 3,000 users, so all who wish to participate will be able to join.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for June 30, 2020

by

I presented the university’s report on the 2019-20 Action Plan at the board meeting earlier this month. I would encourage each of you to take a moment to review the report and the slides from my presentation.

Report on work during the pandemic

The report begins with a thorough summary of our work related to COVID-19.

Everyone at the university played a critical role in delivering classes to students and keeping the university operational during this difficult time. Because of your work, Missouri State University will emerge from this situation stronger than ever.

Enrollment concerns

We also undertook an extraordinary amount of work to address enrollment concerns. The university:

  • Rolled out a dual credit scholarship program.
  • Executed scholarship agreements with all Boys and Girls Clubs in the state.
  • Redesigned existing scholarship programs.
  • Streamlined transfer articulations with community colleges.
  • Executed 3+1 agreements with international partners.
  • Waived the application fee.
  • Joined the Common App.

These initiatives will have an impact on fall 2020 enrollment.

Unfortunately, the pandemic will also have an impact, so we will probably still have an enrollment decline.

I recently learned that FAFSA filings have declined by 12% in the state of Missouri. Our enrollment indicators predict a decline much lower than 12%.

Headcount and credit hour enrollment for the summer are up, and I believe this is due to the work we have done. We must all continue to work hard to build enrollment through the beginning of the fall semester.

Positive change

Other highlights for the year include:

  • Delivered the most degrees and certificates ever in the history of the university.
  • Increased our percentage of underrepresented faculty and staff to 15%.
  • Created 17 new online degree and certificate programs.
  • Obtained CBHE approval for the Doctorate in Defense and Strategic Studies program (awaiting HLC approval).
  • Established the Center for Academic Success and Transition and the Academic Advisement and Transfer Center.
  • The MSU Foundation raised the most funds ever in its history.
  • Received the most funds through grants and sponsored contracts ever in the university’s history.
  • Partnered with the Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) to move their headquarters to Springfield.
  • Historic winning seasons in women’s basketball and men’s soccer.

These are just a few examples of the many accomplishments the university experienced this year.

This was a difficult year for all of us. But through the process of creating the report and presenting it to the board, I was reminded once again that it is a privilege to be a part of this community.

Together, our team of dedicated faculty and staff continues the university on its upward trajectory.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!