Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 28, 2023

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I hope you were able to enjoy Thanksgiving last week. The holidays are upon us!  It’s hard to believe the fall semester is almost complete.

Board of Governors Executive Committee meeting

We held the November Board of Governors Executive Committee meeting on Nov. 15 – the third Thursday of the month. We hold in-person BOG meetings in February, May, June, August, October and December.

In the other months, we hold an Executive Committee meeting via Zoom to approve, as needed, various items on a much-abbreviated agenda. Mostly, these items tend to be timely procurement projects with costs that exceed $250K. Any board member and the public can attend these meetings; however, only the four members of the Executive Committee are allowed to vote on the various requests.

The Executive Committee comprises the board chair, vice chair and two other BOG members.

The November meeting agenda

In the November meeting, revisions to the governing policy G8.09 Operating Funds Cash Reserves Policy was approved, increasing our cash reserves minimum limit from $40 million to $50 million for the university system.

Also approved at the meeting were bids and award of a contract for the Agricultural Innovation Hub at the Darr Agricultural Center, as well as proposals and award of contracts for sidewalk improvements on the Springfield campus.

In closed session, the board approved the purchase of the Grizzly Lofts in West Plains, to take ownership of this residence hall the university has managed since 2017.

It was a quick meeting that allowed the university to move forward with some timely projects.

Last call for open enrollment

Don’t forget, open enrollment for medical, dental, vision and cafeteria/flexible spending plans close on Dec 1. If you don’t make changes to medical, dental and vision, your choices for last year will automatically roll over.

Cafeteria/flexible spending plan elections must be completed annually. These don’t automatically roll over.

You can also receive a discount on your medical premiums by completing wellness incentive activities.

The next few weeks are a busy time on campus. Be sure to take a few moments here and there to take a deep breath and reflect on all we’ve accomplished in the last year.

You can also watch What’s New at MSU to get a good recap if you can’t remember everything.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 14, 2023

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In case you missed it, Missouri State University held its first-ever Innovation Accelerator on Oct. 27. We hope it’s the first of many more to come.

This was a one-day event to expand on ideas on how to do things better at the university. Over 80 faculty, staff and students applied to participate and 50 were chosen.

The high energy day began with 50 ideas from each one of the participants. They had one minute to present an idea to the group. These ideas focused on improved processes, university operations, campus environment – a wide variety of opportunities.

Throughout the day, the innovators narrowed down the ideas to 10 that seemed to be the most meaningful to the university. Ultimately, they chose five expanded concepts and plans, and presented them to a panel of judges.

Participants decided which team to join. The teams each had a business coach work with them throughout the remainder of the day to create a soft business plan and presentation. The teams also had university resources available from all administrative units – facilities, marketing and communications, finance, HR, etc.

The winning ideas

It was a productive day filled with engagement and brainstorming. I think I can safely say, a good time was had by all! We also came away with a lot of great ideas that will positively impact our campus as we move forward.

The two winning ideas were:

  • “Art on Campus” – creating opportunities for featuring student art more prominently around campus.
  • “IT Project Management” – centralizing the purchase of software platforms to streamline and decrease duplication of software types and hopefully save some money.

Two Administrative Council members have been assigned to these two projects to help move them forward. As for the other 48 ideas presented, our leadership team members have been assigned to each one to determine viability and opportunities for implementation.

Thank you to the efactory for taking a leading role in this experience – specifically, Zora Mulligan and Rachel Anderson.

Keep thinking of new ideas. We hope to have our second annual Innovation Accelerator in October 2024. Look for opportunities to sign up in the August timeframe.

On another note, you may recall that the Springfield Daily Citizen (an independent nonprofit online news organization) is housed in the basement of Freddy (Freudenberger House.) Given the organization’s focus on reporting on public affairs issues in the Springfield metro area, it’s been a natural partnership.

I’m a subscriber and I’m excited to share they launched an app this week that you can download from the App Store on your phone. Search for “SGF Daily Citizen.” It’s a part of my morning news read and I hope it’s a part of yours, too. The new app is a gamechanger!

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 7, 2023

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We celebrate Veterans Day this week. It’s important to take some time to honor all veterans and their service to this country.

Our mission as a university is to provide quality service to all military-affiliated students by helping empower them to successfully transition to college and equip them to be productive in the civilian workforce. Veteran support can be found through the Veteran Student Center.

While Veterans Day officially falls on Saturday this year, our campus events will start Friday (Nov. 10). They include the Breakfast and Taps Project and the MSU Bears football game.

Veterans Day Breakfast – for veterans and their guest

  • Nov. 10, 8:30 a.m. (doors open at 8 a.m.), Plaster Student Union Ballroom.
  • Program begins at 9 a.m.

The breakfast will include:

  • Special guest speaker: City of Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Bear Battalion Class of 1972.
  • Music and service songs provided by members of the Missouri State Pride Band.
  • Color Guard presented by the Missouri State University Pershing Rifles Company.
  • The national anthem performed by the Hibernotes.

Please register if you plan to attend.

Taps Project

  • Nov. 10, 11:11 a.m. in front of McDonald Arena.
  • Taps will be played throughout campus beginning at 11:11 a.m.

The cascading sound of Taps by trumpeters representing several organizations will begin and end in front of McDonald Arena. The Missouri State Bear Battalion will assist. The national anthem will be played at 10:55 a.m. As an Army veteran, I find this to be an incredibly moving moment on campus.

Veterans Game Day (MSU Senior Day)

  • Nov. 11, 2-6 p.m., Plaster Stadium.

Veterans and current military are invited to the MSU Bears vs. Northern Iowa football game. Buy your tickets at the Missouri State Athletics Box Office or by calling 417-836-7678.

There will also be a BearFest tailgate before the game from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Enjoy free food and beverages in the Veteran Student Tent.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 31, 2023

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Happy Halloween! I hope everyone is set for trick-or-treaters. It looks like it’s going to be a chilly evening.

If you follow me on Twitter (or whatever we’re calling it these days…), you might have seen that I recently visited China – my first official working visit since the start of COVID in 2020. We covered five cities in nine days – nine flights – all on time.

Missouri State University has been active in China for over 25 years, where we currently partner with 18 universities. We have 795 students from China enrolled this fall on our campuses in China and Springfield.

Given a four-year absence due to COVID, re-establishing the face-to-face connection was very important to our relationships in China.  We had the opportunity to maintain and grow existing programs, restart programs that had ended, as well as establish new programs in targeted areas.

What took place

In Dalian, home of LNU-MSU College of International Business, we celebrated the 23rd anniversary of this collaboration, signed an agreement to add a second major (data analytics) and signed an agreement to collaborate with LNU on a dual master’s degree in music.

In Beijing, we signed an agreement for a 2+2 transfer program in hospitality leadership with Tianjin Maritime College, met with long-time partner Ningxia University to discuss the next area of program collaboration and held a reception hosting MSU alumni, friends and representatives from six partner universities.

In Chongqing, home of Southwest University (SWU), we attended an opening ceremony and program welcome for 88 new students in the plant science program, signed a five-year renewal of the agreement that guides this program and conducted a program overview with SWU College of Agronomy and Biotechnology – where we are planning for future program growth and improved student experience.

Along the way, we met with an outstanding group of young alums in Xi’an.

I’d like to give a big shoutout to Vice President for Community and Global Partnerships Brad Bodenhausen and his team for organizing and planning this very strategic visit. They’re the force behind these successful relationships and programs in China.

And finally, don’t forget, nominations for the Staff Excellence in University Award are due Nov. 10.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 24, 2023

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I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy Homecoming festivities last week! There was something for everyone.

Board of Governors meeting

Homecoming also means a Board of Governors (BOG) meeting. There was a lot of information presented and decisions made — some new business and some recurring business we cover at every October meeting.

Let’s start with the fun stuff.  The board approved recipients of the Bronze Bear and the Government Excellence awards.

John Goodman is our 2023 Bronze Bear recipient. An alum and generous donor, he’ll be honored at the Dec. 15 10 a.m. commencement ceremony, where he’ll be the featured commencement speaker.

Gabe Gore is our 2023 Government Excellence recipient. An alum and former BOG member, he’ll be honored at the Dec. 15 1:30 p.m. commencement ceremony, where he’ll be the featured commencement speaker.

Other items that were approved by the board include:

  • Revisions to the Constitution of the Faculty.
  • Bids and award of contract for the addition and renovation at Kemper Hall.
  • Consultant and authority to enter into an agreement for professional services in conjunction with the renovation to Cheek Hall.
  • 2024 BOG officers.
    • Governor Lynn Parman, chair
    • Governor Tim Francka, vice chair

Don’t forget, BOG meetings are open to the public. If you want to learn more about the board and future meetings, visit the BOG website.

Wall of Fame Ceremony

Immediately following the BOG meeting, we walked over to the PSU Ballroom to celebrate our 2023 Wall of Fame recipients. It was a privilege to honor this wonderful group of emeriti employees:

  • Bradley Fisher, PhD.
  • Gloria Galanes, PhD
  • Mary Kay Hunter.
  • Dave MacKay.
  • Robert Lee Norton, PhD.
  • John Wall.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif