Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for April 20, 2021

by

In June 2019 we began a master planning process for the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS). After months of discovery, analysis and option development, the final report was issued on Sept. 1, 2020.

The plan establishes three goals:

  1. Provide for the future of CNAS.
  2. Enable research.
  3. Increase visibility for science.

CNAS operations are spread across Temple Hall, Cheek Hall, Kemper Hall and King Street Annex. All four of these facilities need extensive work to meet the goals set forth above.

I am pleased to report that we have begun work to identify funding for the first critical CNAS project: an expansion and renovation of Temple Hall.

Temple Hall renovation

Temple Hall houses classrooms, labs, and offices to support the university’s biology, chemistry, geography, geology and other STEM programs.

Temple Hall was built in 1971 and has not been substantially remodeled since it was constructed. It is in critical need of maintenance and repair.

Moreover, MSU’s enrollment in the sciences has grown from 1,000 to 2,400 since Temple Hall was constructed. This includes a doubling of graduate enrollment in CNAS over the last 25 years.

Additional space is needed to meet CNAS’s educational and research needs.

The CNAS Master Plan proposes a 66,000 square foot, 4-story addition to Temple Hall. The plan also proposes to renovate 40,000 square feet of existing lab space and 48,000 square feet of existing classroom, office and common space in Temple Hall.

The Temple Hall addition will cost $40 million, and the renovation of existing space in Temple Hall will cost an additional $20 million.

Gaining support

I and other members of our team have begun to speak with state and federal lawmakers about this project.

Specifically:

  • I met with Sen. Roy Blunt during the first week of April and discussed this project.
  • Ryan DeBoef and Matt Morris testified about this project in Jefferson City last week at the invitation of the Missouri House Subcommittee on Federal Stimulus Spending.
  • Yesterday we also submitted the Temple Hall project to Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan as MSU’s highest priority for federal stimulus appropriations.
  • We are working with COPHE to submit the Temple Hall project directly to Gov. Mike Parson’s office as well.

The United States and the State of Missouri currently have access to unprecedented one-time funds. Our goal in the coming months is to work to match federal and state funds with private contributions and university reserves to fund this project.

Community Project Funding

MSU has a strong history of federal investment.

Over the past several weeks, a new federal funding opportunity has emerged. Through Community Project Funding requests, members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate will soon have the ability to seek congressionally directed spending for high priority projects.

Given the limited nature of Community Project Funding in its first year, we have not yet submitted a formal federal appropriation request for the Temple Hall project. However, we have submitted requests for three smaller projects:

  1. A refractory composite component braider facility expansion that will be part of the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center.
  2. Expansion plans for the Darr Agricultural Center.
  3. A welding lab facility renovation project at the Broadway Building in West Plains.

Ozarks Transportation Organization (OTO) has also submitted a request for renovation of the Grand Street Underpass on our Springfield campus. We support this request and will advocate for it with our federal delegation.

We will continue to meet with our federal delegation and their staffs to advocate for these and other important university projects.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for April 13, 2021

by

Last Thursday and Friday we partnered with city and state officials to host a mega mass vaccination event on campus.

I participated in a press conference with Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Roy Blunt on Thursday morning promoting the event. We also promoted it through social media and our other communication channels in the days leading up to the event.

I am proud to report that our efforts were successful: 6,131 people were vaccinated at the mass vaccination event. This is in addition to the 7,500 plus COVID-19 vaccinations we have administered so far this year at Magers Health and Wellness Center.

Changes in community

City Council has established the next phase in the City of Springfield’s Road to Recovery plan. This plan eliminates occupancy limits for most activities and events if the following criteria are met:

  • Under 40 new COVID-19 cases per day.
  • Under 50 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.
  • 25% of residents age 16 and over vaccinated.

You can find more information on the Road to Recovery plan and our community’s progress on the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s COVID-19 Dashboard.

The Springfield community is averaging far less than 40 new COVID-19 cases per day and 50 COVID-19 patients hospitalized. However, our community’s vaccination rate remains under the 25 percent threshold.

Please join me in encouraging people to get vaccinated. Vaccination will allow us to move into the next phase of the city’s recovery plan.

Vaccination is also critical to protect the health and safety of our campus community as we approach the end of the semester, commencement ceremonies and other events.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for April 6, 2021

by

Our faculty and staff have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the past 13 months. The pandemic presented obstacles we had not encountered before. We broke down barriers and worked together to keep the university moving forward.

Some of us worked from campus the whole time. Others of us worked from home until last summer and then returned to campus. Still others have continued to work from home.

Regardless of your work situation, I applaud all of your efforts. Together we worked to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to support our students and campus community.

Thank you for your diligence and hard work.

Fall will look more “normal”

The coronavirus situation is rapidly improving. As vaccination numbers continue to increase, COVID-19 case numbers are steadily declining on campus, in the Springfield community and throughout the state.

Schedule your vaccine appointment

Because of this improvement, students and others will be back on campus in the fall. While I anticipate our online enrollment will remain robust, campus activities in and out of classrooms will largely return to the way they were before the pandemic.

Students are our top priority.  As they return to campus, it is critical that staff also come back to campus.

Explaining the guiding principles

To guide us through decisions about who must work from campus, who may work some days from home if their supervisor approves, and when exceptions are appropriate, the university’s leadership team has established Guiding Principles for Return to Campus in Fall 2021. I encourage you to take a moment to review these principles.

At their core, the principles lay out five basic points:

  • Offices should be open for standard hours (typically 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).
  • Supervisors should work from campus.
  • Non-exempt employees should work from campus with regular work hours to ensure compliance with wage and hour laws.
  • Staff whose job duties include face-to-face interaction with students, regular participation in in-person meetings or interactions on campus or in the community, or office reception should work from campus.
  • Few staff members should be permitted to work remotely on a full-time basis.

In application, these principles require that the vast majority of university staff who worked from home during the pandemic must return to campus full-time.

Supervisors will have discretion to approve limited exceptions to these rules, and I will review return-to-campus plans created by cost center heads to ensure university-wide compliance.

Remote work arrangements

As was the case before the pandemic, supervisors will continue to have discretion to authorize remote work arrangements under section 4.11 of the employee handbook within the constraints of the guiding principles.

This policy will be updated later this year during our annual update of the employee handbook to be consistent with the guiding principles. Details about when a formal remote work arrangement is appropriate are set out in the guiding principles.

The university will continue to take a decentralized approach to formal remote work arrangements. This means some offices will allow remote work while others will not, and some employees will work remotely while others with similar job duties will not.

Wellness incentive tied to vaccination for 2022

As I mentioned in last week’s Clif’s Notes, I encourage all members of the campus community to get a COVID-19 vaccine. I have also long advocated for everyone on campus to receive an annual flu vaccination.

As an incentive to get these vaccines, we plan to connect this year’s wellness incentive to vaccination.

  • Employees who complete their COVID-19 vaccination will qualify for a $20 per month discount on their 2022 health insurance premiums.
  • Employees who complete their flu vaccination will qualify for an additional $10 per month discount on their 2022 health insurance premiums.

Details about the 2022 wellness incentive plan can be found online.

Plan to attend Virtual Town Hall Friday

We have scheduled another Virtual Town Hall meeting for 3 p.m. April 9. At this meeting I will:

You will have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions. I hope you will plan to attend.

Additional information can be found online.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for March 30, 2021

by

On Monday, Missouri moved to Phase 2 in the COVID-19 vaccination priority. That means all of our faculty and staff at Missouri State are now eligible to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the state’s access to COVID-19 vaccination has improved drastically, and we expect it to continue to improve in the coming weeks and months.

Magers Health and Wellness Center has appointments available this week for vaccination.

Schedule an appointment on MyHealth Portal

Magers is currently administering the Pfizer vaccine. We anticipate switching to the single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the coming weeks to facilitate vaccination of students. If you prefer to receive the Pfizer vaccine, it is important that you immediately schedule your vaccination at Magers.

Students become eligible April 9

Next Friday, the state will move to the final phase in the COVID-19 vaccination priority. This means everyone — including all of our students — will be eligible to receive the vaccine.

I encourage all of our campus community — faculty, staff, students and others — to get vaccinated. Vaccination protects you and your loved ones from the virus. It also prevents you from having to quarantine when exposed to someone with the virus so long as you do not develop symptoms.

Widespread vaccination will also be a critical factor in determining what activities we can have on campus, whether masking will be required after this semester ends, and what other health and safety protocols will remain in place.

April 8-9 mass vaccination event on campus

To ensure that our campus and the wider Springfield community has robust access to COVID-19 vaccine, we are currently working with state and local leaders to host a mega mass vaccination event in Hammons Student Center on April 8 and 9.

I encourage all of our faculty and staff to get vaccinated at Magers or elsewhere before this event. However, if you have not yet been vaccinated, information about signing up for this event will be available later this week.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for March 23, 2021

by

Last week the Board of Governors awarded a contract to Carson-Mitchell, Inc. to construct a performing arts amphitheater on campus.

The amphitheater will be an open-air facility, and it will house Tent Theatre and other campus and community productions. It will include a permanent stage and tiers for 350 removable seats.

The amphitheater will be in the plaza adjacent to Craig Hall, transforming the outdoor area into an art park. Improvements will also be made to the landscape and hardscape surrounding the structure.

We will have a groundbreaking ceremony for this project at 2 p.m. April 8. Work is scheduled to be completed by the spring 2022 semester.

The total project budget is $6.4 million. It will be funded by more than $3 million in private gifts along with proceeds from the sale of the Student Exhibition Center on Walnut Street, funds from the President’s Program Enhancement Fund, reserves from the Ellis Hall renovation budget, and the office of the provost’s carryforward.

I am excited about this project. Creating an art park and permanent amphitheater will take our historic Tent Theatre to the next level. It will also provide a robust gathering spot on our campus for other productions and community events.

Grand Street underpass

We are also in the planning stages of a project to reconstruct the Grand Street underpass. The current underpass includes steep steps on both sides of Grand and is not accessible for persons with disabilities.

It is also an unattractive entrance to our campus for the thousands of faculty, staff, students and external guests that visit our campus to attend football games, Tent Theatre and events in Ellis Hall.

$3.5 million in state and university funds have already been designated for the Grand Street underpass project, and we are working to secure additional funding. Our goal is to complete the underpass in conjunction with the arts ampitheater.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!