Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 29, 2022

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In Washington, D.C., Congress will begin a new legislative session on Jan. 3.

In Jefferson City, the General Assembly will begin a new legislative session on Jan. 4.

Preparations for these critical dates are underway.

This week, our federal lobbying team is on campus meeting with the leadership team, discussing projects and other funding proposals, and familiarizing themselves with our operations. Similarly, in two weeks, our state lobbying team will be on campus.

Throughout December, we will finalize priorities, create white papers and other materials, and develop strategies to advocate for MSU in Washington and Jefferson City. We will also meet with legislators to begin laying the groundwork for success in the legislature.

I hope you will join me in advancing MSU’s interests in the state and federal capitols by:

  • Attending the MSU State Legislative Briefing at 10 a.m. Dec. 9 in the Traywick Parliamentary Room (PSU 313). Please email rsvp@missouristate.edu if you plan to attend.
  • Signing up for the MSU Legislative Network to receive updates, talking points, advocacy tips, requests for grassroots help and other information as the legislative sessions in Washington and Jefferson City progress.
  • Emailing president@missouristate.edu if you have specific grant requests, projects for potential funding or other items for which you would like our team to consider advocating.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 15, 2022

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Dec. 1 is an important date for all full-time faculty and staff at MSU.

Complete open enrollment now

First, Dec. 1 is the deadline to complete open enrollment for your employee benefits. Open enrollment is the annual period during which you can elect, decline or make changes to your medical, dental, vision and cafeteria/flexible spending plans for the coming calendar year.

You can find more information about open enrollment, including instructions for how to complete open enrollment online or over the phone, on the open enrollment webpage.

Reduce your health insurance premiums

Dec. 1 is also the deadline to save up to $360 on your annual health insurance premiums.

This year’s wellness incentive includes the following vaccination combination:

  • COVID bivalent (or original series if not previously completed; or prior booster) vaccination qualifies for $15 per month discount.
  • Seasonal flu vaccination qualifies for $15 per month discount.

Both vaccinations must be completed in 2022 and prior to Dec. 1 to qualify.

Employees who did not complete their vaccination at Magers Health and Wellness Center must contact Magers to submit their vaccination information before Dec. 1 to qualify for the discount.

Recognizing MSU Way and United Way donors

I also wanted to take a moment to recognize the contributions by our university community as part of the United Way and Missouri State Way campaigns.

Through these campaigns, the university community raised $67,989.56 for the United Way and $405,199 for the Missouri State University Foundation.

I want to personally thank each of you who participated in the United Way campaign. Please join me in congratulating our employees who gave to the campaign at the Leadership Level.

  • James Baker
  • Richard N. Biagioni
  • Bradley V. Bodenhausen
  • Tara L. Boehne
  • Jeffery S. Coiner
  • William Paul Deal
  • Ryan T. DeBoef
  • Frank Einhellig
  • Stephen C. Foucart
  • Terrel A. Gallaway
  • David A. Hall
  • John Havel
  • Brian D. Heaton
  • Tamera S. Jahnke
  • Grant P. Jones
  • Rachel A. Knight
  • Allen D. Kunkel
  • Julie J. Masterson
  • Victor H. Matthews
  • Theresa A. McCoy
  • Natalie B. McNish
  • David B. Meinert
  • Michael W. Merrigan
  • Kyle L. Moats
  • Matthew D. Morris
  • James Moyer
  • Zora Mulligan
  • Sarah B. Nixon
  • Joye H. Norris
  • Thomas A. Peters
  • Barbara Susan Robinson
  • Jennifer R. Severson
  • Margaret Suzanne Shaw
  • Don Simpson
  • Denita Siscoe
  • Priscilla K. Skeeters
  • Clifton M. Smart
  • Elizabeth C. Strong
  • Rebecca Swearingen
  • Robert Thurman
  • Barri Tinkler
  • Paula M Wilhelm

I also want to personally thank each of you who participated in the Missouri State Way campaign. All university community members who contribute to the foundation this fiscal year will be invited to a special gathering 3-5 p.m. May 12 at Tent Theatre. Mark your calendars now.

Please join me in congratulating our current employees who are members of the Founders Club.

  • Gib Adkins
  • Craig Albin
  • Cynthia Aurentz
  • Randy Bass
  • Samuel Bass
  • Tracy Beckham
  • Stephen C. Berkwitz
  • Theresa Bettmann
  • Richard Biagioni
  • Tara Boehne
  • Eric Bosch
  • Chuck Busby
  • Cindy Busby
  • Lisa Casey
  • John F. Chuchiak
  • Angie Cockrum
  • Julie Combs
  • David Mark Cornelison
  • Ryan DeBoef
  • Rachael Dockery
  • Toby Dogwiler
  • Brent Dunn
  • Monika Feeney
  • Wendy Ferguson
  • Steve Foucart
  • Cindy Fulp
  • Rob Fulp
  • Julie Gallaway
  • Terrel Gallaway
  • Douglas Gouzie
  • Brian Greene
  • David Hall
  • Jill Heyboer
  • Marcia Himes
  • Cynthia Howell
  • Danae Hudson
  • Michelle Hulett
  • Tammy Jahnke
  • Kurt Killion
  • Rachel Knight
  • Allen Kunkel
  • Cameron LaBarr
  • Dennis Lancaster
  • Jill Layman
  • Jon Leamy
  • Jill Martin
  • Robert Martin
  • Jerry Masterson
  • Julie Masterson
  • Victor Matthews
  • Jennifer McNay
  • Dave Meinert
  • Carol Miller
  • Kyle Moats
  • Eric Morris
  • Matt Morris
  • Taleyna Morris
  • Zora Mulligan
  • Eric Nelson
  • Tom Peters
  • Angela Pinegar
  • John Prescott
  • Gay Ragan
  • Kent Ragan
  • Philip Rothschild
  • Elizabeth Rozell
  • Christina Ryder
  • Pam Sailors
  • Alan Schick
  • Karl Schmidt
  • Kishor Shah
  • Suzanne Shaw
  • Dee Siscoe
  • Jeanie Skibiski
  • Clif Smart
  • Brenda Smith
  • Elizabeth Strong
  • John Strong
  • Becky Swearingen
  • Mark Templeton
  • Alan Tinkler
  • Barri Tinkler
  • Shawn Wahl
  • Brooke Whisenhunt

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 8, 2022

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Today is Election Day.

I hope you will join me by putting the public affairs mission into practice and voting.

Remember that if you are a Greene County resident, you can vote at the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.

We have many important offices and questions on the ballot. You can also find a sample ballot on the Greene County Clerk’s website. The Springfield Daily Citizen has published a voting guide that you might find useful.

Digging into Question 1

One important issue is City of Springfield Question 1. A “yes” vote on this question will rezone land in Galloway Village to allow for an upscale, mixed-use development.

I, along with a long list of other community leaders, have taken a public position in support of this question. You can find a video on Facebook where I explain my support.

The News-Leader also published an article highlighting my and OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon’s decision to support this initiative.

It is not my job to try to influence your votes on this or any other issue. I would simply encourage you to research this issue — and every other question and candidate on the ballot — thoroughly.

You can find information in support of the ballot question on the Vote Yes Question 1 Facebook page. You can find information in opposition to the question on the Vote No Question 1 Facebook page.

Explore Amendment No. 3

Another important question is Constitutional Amendment No. 3 regarding the legalization of marijuana. Legal Mo 2022 provides information in support of the amendment. No on Amendment 3 provides information in opposition to the amendment.

The Springfield Daily Citizen and the Springfield News-Leader have each published articles discussing the proposed amendment and the campaigns surrounding it.

I encourage you to educate yourself on Constitutional Amendment No. 3 and the other important questions, candidates and issues on today’s ballot.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 1, 2022

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Last week the Board of Governors recognized Sen. Roy Blunt with the Bronze Bear Award and Sen. Karla Eslinger with the Government Excellence Award.

Blunt selected for Bronze Bear

Sen. Blunt’s support for MSU is unparalleled.

He constantly advocates to get our university and our students, faculty and staff national and international recognition. The greatest example of this is his decision to select our Chorale to perform at the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. This gave our university and our students the limelight on an international stage.

Sen. Blunt has demonstrated significant commitment for our economic development work throughout his career.

The Roy D. Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center would not exist but for an appropriation he secured while in the House of Representatives. Sen. Blunt and his staff have worked and continue to work to identify grant, contract and plus-up opportunities for the important work that occurs in IDEA Commons.

Perhaps the greatest example of Sen. Blunt’s support for MSU came earlier this year when he secured more than $56 million in federal funds to support health, life, and physical science research, teaching and facilities at Missouri State. Fifty million dollars of that is designated to construct a laboratory addition to Temple Hall.

Read the news release

Eslinger awarded Government Excellence Award

Sen. Eslinger is a tireless advocate for higher education, Missouri State University and the West Plains campus (which is located in her Missouri Senate district).

In 2021, Sen. Eslinger led a successful strategy to secure a $1 million appropriation to construct the Pace Industrial Science Center in West Plains. This appropriation — combined with a grant coordinated by Sen. Blunt and a private contribution from the Pace family — made the welding program in West Plains possible.

This year Sen. Eslinger led a successful strategy to secure a $7.5 million appropriation to construct a facility to house the ASCEND program on our campus in West Plains. This program is very important to the communities throughout south central Missouri.

Sen. Elsinger has only served two years in the Senate. I am hopeful that we will get to work with her for many more years.

Sen. Blunt and Sen. Eslinger have made a tremendous difference in the lives of our university community. They are well deserving of these awards.

Read the news release

Celebrating Onward Upward

Last week we also celebrated the success of the Onward Upward campaign. We revealed the total amount of funds raised during the campaign in front of a crowd of around 3,000 people in Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday night.

I am pleased to report that the campaign raised a total of $274,018,157.

Contributions through the campaign include support for scholarships, faculty, programs and capital.

Specific capital projects include:

  • John Goodman Amphitheatre.
  • O’Reilly Health Sciences Center.
  • Ann Kampeter Health Sciences Hall.
  • Robert Gourley Student Success Center at Glass Hall.
  • Magers Family Health and Wellness Center.
  • Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.
  • Bobby Allison Projects — recreation fields and Event Center at Greenwood.
  • Naming of The McQueary College of Health and Human Services and Reynolds College of Arts and Letters.
  • Many more.

I want to thank and congratulate Brent Dunn and his team at the MSU Foundation for a job well done on this campaign.

I also want to thank all of the members of our university community who contributed to the campaign. Your investment will pay off in the lives changed at Missouri State.

Read the news release

Give to United Way

I also want to take a moment to encourage you to participate in another campaign — United Way.

I am this year’s chair of the United Way of the Ozarks (UWO) Board of Directors. I fervently believe in the role United Way plays in our community.

UWO has adopted a more focused approach to community investment. All funded programs must fall into one of two categories:

  • Championing Children.
  • Pathways out of poverty.

I challenge you to consider giving to UWO. If we all give, together we can significantly impact southwest Missouri.

All faculty and staff who participate in this year’s United Way campaign are invited to a celebration lunch at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 7 in the PSU Ballroom.  It will be a fun event, and you could win a prize!

Details about the United Way campaign and how to participate can be found online.

Donate to United Way

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 25, 2022

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Zora Mulligan and John Jasinski will present an update on the university’s two-year transformation plan to the Board of Governors this week.

In 2022-2023, the plan will focus on preparing the university to meet two critical challenges:

  1. The need for academic agility to ensure long-term institutional success.
  2. The need to return to a trend of positive enrollment growth.

The university has created two steering teams to guide and consult on this work — the Academic Disruptors Steering Team (ADST) and the Enrollment Steering Team (EST).

What is the Academic Affairs Continuous Agility Process (CAP)

I tasked Zora, John and the ADST with creating a process to modernize academic affairs.

To meet this challenge, they have created an Academic Affairs Continuous Agility Process (CAP).

The CAP is a systematic and ongoing process to keep academic affairs fresh, relevant and market-savvy. The process is designed to be continuous and agile as work streams can be inserted into the system as needed and cyclically.

Graphic expalining the Academic Affairs CAP.

The ADST will oversee the CAP this year with input from the deans’ team and other stakeholders.

In the short term they will:

  • Provide oversight in adjusting and aligning academic administration.
  • Address academic program assessments.
  • Produce balanced budget recommendations that include cuts and reinvestments.
  • Realign to improve and synergize.
  • Fix some less-than-optimal processes.

You can find more information about the CAP — including guiding principles, base phases for the five CAP work streams, and 2022-2023 CAP outputs — in the handout that will accompany Zora and John’s presentation to the board.

Driving enrollment growth

Enrollment is a critical, immediate priority that must be addressed through a series of initiatives related to admissions, scholarships, employer partnerships and student success.

The culture around recruitment and retention is also a long-term issue that requires system-level transformation.

The EST is leading efforts to develop long-term system-level changes that will:

  • Develop a culture of successful execution and continuous improvement.
  • Get a structure in place to enhance MSU’s ability to meet its annual and long-term goals.
  • Make sure that decisions align with the university’s enrollment priorities.

Given the immediate importance of enrollment, the EST is also a series of strategic enrollment initiatives designed to drive growth this academic year and next fall. You can find a current list of these initiatives on the draft 2022-23 Strategic Enrollment Initiatives Placemat.

Among the most significant early actions are the decisions to:

  • Establish the MoState Access Scholarship, a Pell Grant gap-filler aimed at recruiting students from Springfield and the Ozarks region.
  • Hire new enrollment management consultants.
  • Update the university’s strategy for buying the names and contact information for prospective students.

You can find more information about the EST’s work and the university’s strategic enrollment initiatives in the handout that will accompany Zora and John’s presentation to the board.

Nominate a staff colleague by Nov. 11

Finally, I want to encourage you to recognize your colleagues who have done exceptional work.

The Staff Excellence in University Service Award recognizes excellence in service to the university among staff employees. Through this award, the university recognizes staff who strive to do their jobs well on a daily basis, who go beyond the call of duty in a special situation, and who have contributed in a significant way to the success of the university.

Each year, up to six full-time staff receive this award (which includes a one-time $1,500 award for full-time staff).

We have made a recent change to the award. This year, up to three part-time staff will also receive this award (which includes a one-time $750 award for part-time staff).

Currently enrolled students, employed staff, faculty or administrators are encouraged to nominate full-time and part-time staff employees for the Excellence in University Service Awards.

The deadline to nominate a staff member is Nov. 11. You can review the selection criteria and complete a nomination form on the Staff Excellence in University Service Award webpage.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!