Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for March 2, 2021

by

As you know, February brought challenging weather this year. Two weeks ago, we had any icy glaze followed by extremely cold temperatures that froze pipes and created utility problems. We then had two of the heaviest snows we have seen in the last several years.

Through all of this, the university’s front-line staff traveled to work in sometimes treacherous road conditions. They worked extra shifts to keep the campus safe, kept buildings warm and clean, and ensured that our operations continued.

  • Grounds staff started work early, stayed late, and came in on their days off to spread ice melt and clear sidewalks, roadways, parking lots and other areas.
  • Custodial staff did their part as well, clearing ice and snow from building entrances and cleaning up wet messes in buildings due to ice and snow that was tracked in. They often worked late to respond to issues and finish their regular tasks.
  • University safety patrolled campus to help stranded drivers, ensure buildings were secure, respond to calls, and provide access to buildings for service contractors.
  • Facilities maintenance staff performed their regular work and then worked extra hours to check buildings for areas that might freeze.
  • Power house staff worked to ensure the campus had heat, especially when gas supply was limited. At times, extraordinary measures were taken and long shifts were worked to keep equipment running and help control utility costs.
  • When pipes broke and leaks occurred, maintenance staff responded quickly at all hours to shut off the water and make repairs, helping to limit damage. Custodial staff responded to clean up leaks (some of which were severe) in our buildings.

Show your appreciation

This has been a team effort by staff across the university. I hope you will join me in sincerely expressing your appreciation for their work.

If you see a custodian, maintenance worker, groundskeeper, safety officer or other front-line worker, take time to thank them for their work. Each brings their expertise and drive to work each day to ensure that the mission of the university continues even when the weather does not cooperate.

This year’s severe cold appears to have passed, but our staff continue to work to make repairs to damaged areas. A few of our buildings, such as Plaster Student Union and Cheek Hall, have sustained more serious damage that will take longer to repair. In these locations, we will team with outside contractors to make repairs and restore operations.

Some repairs will take longer than others. We appreciate your patience as we complete this work.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 23, 2021

by

The Board of Governors met last week.

The board approved a new tuition model. In-state undergraduate students currently pay tuition of $228 per credit hour for seated classes and $299 for online classes.

In 2021-22, in-state undergraduate students will pay a blended rate of $257 per credit hour for all classes. We anticipate this will result in no tuition increase for most students.

Missouri’s public universities have traditionally increased tuition each year by inflation. By approving the new tuition structure, we will break with that tradition and not increase tuition by CPI next year.

The change is revenue neutral. In 2020-21, in-state undergraduate students paid $87,630,000. Under the new model, students would have paid $87,605,000 — $25,000 less.

A large majority of students with which we interacted supported this change. It is fairer and allows students to better estimate the cost of their education. It allows the university to schedule classes, and students to decide which classes to take, without cost being a factor.

The new model also recognizes that the line between seated and online classes has blurred with many “seated” classes having a substantial online component.

CARES Act funds

The board also approved distributions of federal funds to students.

After all pending CARES Act allocations are received, the university will have $2.3 million of funds remaining from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund established by the CARES Act. Given the compliance requirements for these funds, the board determined that the best use of the Springfield campus allocation of these funds is to refund a portion of online tuition paid by qualifying students on the Springfield campus in the fall 2020 semester.

The remainder of the West Plains campus allocation will be distributed as emergency financial grants to students on the West Plains campus.

We are still calculating the exact amount of the distributions, but we anticipate the online tuition refund will be between $25 and $28 per credit hour. These refunds will be automatically applied to students’ accounts.

The board also approved the first distribution of funds from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). The federal government has required that we distribute to students about $7.4 million of the funds we received under CRRSAA. The board approved the framework for our plan to distribute these funds as emergency financial aid grants with Pell students receiving a higher amount than other qualifying students.

We will finalize and communicate details about the CRRSAA student distributions in the coming weeks.

Refinancing approved

The board approved resolutions related to the university’s plans to refinance two sets of bonds that were originally used to finance JQH Arena, the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center, and to amend the bond issue for the purchase of Brick City Buildings 1, 3, 4 and 5. By refinancing these bonds, the university will save more than $4 million.

The board also approved an intent resolution to preserve the right to issue revenue bonds up to $25 million to finance the acquisition of the new residence hall.

Other board actions

The board approved the receipt of property (located at 326 N. Boonville) from the MSU Foundation, which will be used to house an art gallery for the Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts and Letters. The board also approved the sale of property the university no longer needs located near the Bull Shoals Field Station in Taney County. The board also approved changes to the consulting contract for the Kampeter Hall project.

The board approved a new behavioral support assistant associate degree program in West Plains and an occupational therapy doctorate program in Springfield. The board also discussed the university’s new test optional scholarship package.

The board received two presentations about the university’s academic programs. In the Programs and Planning Committee, Rachel Heinz presented information about the Bear POWER program, and the board interacted with a panel of students enrolled in the program.

In the regular meeting, Dr. Nancy Gordon presented information about the university’s work in online education, and the board discussed emerging opportunities for new learning modalities. The board also interacted with a panel of four faculty members: Damon Basset, Natalie Curry, Dr. Seth Hoelscher and Dr. Margaret Weaver.

Finally, the board approved changes to its meeting schedule. These changes will allow us to have five socially distanced graduation ceremonies spread over two days in May.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 16, 2021

by

Earlier this month we hosted our Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

3MT is an international competition for graduate students. At more than 900 universities across more than 85 countries, graduate students present their research and its impact to panels of judges. The challenge is to present complex research material in an engaging and compelling manner, using only one slide, in three minutes or less.

Clinvest Research sponsors our 3MT competition and provides cash awards to the winners.

In addition to a cash award, the first-place finisher at our competition represents MSU at the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 3MT competition. The top two finishers at the MAGS competition participate in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Students have history of success

We have a strong tradition in 3MT competitions at Missouri State. A great deal of important research has been presented since we began our competition in 2016.

We also have a strong record of students succeeding beyond our campus competition. In 2017, Mecca Walker, then an MBA student at MSU, placed in the MAGS competition and participated in the Council of Graduate Schools roundtable discussion.

Student moving to next stage of competition

Our competition this year included 13 presenters from four colleges. Twenty-two community members (including three legislators, the mayor and chief executives of several area organizations) participated on the panel of judges.

This year’s first place winner was Kati Morgan who is pursuing her Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. Kati’s project sought to determine the value of the axillary roll and its use during general anesthesia.

Kati received a cash prize and will present at the MAGS 3MT competition. She will also present to the Board of Governors at their meeting this Friday.

I hope you will join me in congratulating Kati on her success and wish her well as she represents Missouri State at the MAGS 3MT competition.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 9, 2021

by

In late 2020, daily COVID-19 new case counts topped over 5,000 in Missouri and over 300,000 in the United States.

The situation has improved dramatically with daily case counts now under 2,000 in Missouri and under 150,000 nationwide.

We are experiencing a similar trend on campus. In the last several weeks of the fall semester, we had between 40 and 70 COVID-19 cases on campus each week. The prevalence of COVID-19 in our campus community has decreased, and we have had between 10 and 20 COVID-19 cases on campus each of the last three weeks.

Vaccine rollout

While vaccine rollout has been slower than many of us hoped, it is steadily progressing. More people have now been vaccinated than have had the coronavirus. Authorities indicate that the U.S. will have enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall.

More than 600 of our employees have been vaccinated. We have administered 1,294 first vaccine doses through Magers Health and Wellness Center, and we will be administering second doses to those individuals this week.

While we still have not received additional vaccine (beyond what is necessary to administer second doses), we continue to work with state authorities and our local healthcare providers to obtain more vaccine.

Sign up for updates on vaccine availability in the community

Planning for the future

We should be encouraged. All of this is good news. As vaccination numbers continue to grow and new case counts continue to shrink, the world can gradually shift closer to normalcy.

At Missouri State, we must make this shift as well. We are in the process of developing plans for the summer and fall. The landscape is shifting, so we must develop new and different plans than those we developed for this academic year.

Together we can create an educational environment for the fall that allows our students, faculty and staff to thrive while still protecting the health and safety of our community. If you have ideas or input as we make fall plans, please email them to President@MissouriState.edu.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 2, 2021

by

Last week Gov. Mike Parson delivered his State of the State Address and budget recommendations.

Gov. Parson’s proposed budget includes:

  • Full restoration of MSU’s $94 million operating appropriation and sources of funding.
  • Full funding for state scholarship programs.
  • $1.8 million in one-time funding through the MoExcels program to establish the Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at the Jordan Valley Innovation Center.
  • $50,000 in one-time start-up funding for an associate degree program in behavioral health support on our West Plains campus.

Legislative priorities

Gov. Parson’s proposed budget provides us with a great starting point in this year’s appropriations process.

Our top legislative priority this year is restoration of our core operating appropriation, and Gov. Parson’s recommendations include that priority. His budget also funds important student support, capital and academic needs on both of our campuses.

I hope you will join me in once again thanking Gov. Parson for his extraordinary support.

House begins work on budget

The House will now begin its work on the state’s budget. Our team has testified to the House appropriations subcommittee to advocate for the university’s priorities, and we have met with critical legislators who will form the state’s budget. We will continue to interact with lawmakers in the coming weeks and months.

COVID-19 updates

I am pleased to report that the university has administered 1,294 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

You can find updates on who is eligible to be vaccinated and information on whether the university currently has vaccine available on our COVID-19 vaccinations webpage. At present it does not appear we will receive additional vaccine from the state this week.

We have also updated our COVID-19 Information Center and dashboard. I would encourage you to take some time to review the information on those webpages, including the most up-to-date data about COVID-19 on our campus and the university’s response.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!