Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Sept. 5, 2023

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To all our new faculty and staff members, welcome! It’s great to have you in our Bears family. I hope your time at Missouri State University so far has been positive.

To help our new employees get better settled in, I’d like to highlight some valuable information.

Enjoy perks and discounts

Take advantage of perks and discounts available to MSU employees. They include:

Get a new photo

If you’d like a new or updated professional photo of yourself, go to one of the faculty and staff free portrait days. Held once a month, they’re hosted by our photo staff in creative services.

The next one takes place Sept. 14 in the Plaster Student Union, Room 317.

Take time for professional development

Through your My Missouri State, you can access:

Engage in public affairs

Each year, the university hosts several signature events to celebrate our public affairs mission.

One of them is coming up soon – the 20th annual Public Affairs Conference scheduled from Sept. 26-28. It features free, in-person speakers and live virtual panel sessions that will explore our 2023-24 public affairs theme, Navigating the Now: Tradition, Innovation and Wisdom in a World of Change.

I hope you’ll join me in attending some of the sessions. As in prior years, employees may use up to two hours of their work time to attend the conference – just coordinate with your supervisors.

Join the Innovation Accelerator

If you have ideas to share about how MSU can improve student success, save money and make progress in other ways, join the university’s first-ever Innovation Accelerator on Oct. 27.

You’ll get to engage in problem solving and creative thinking with co-workers from across the university.

Cheer on our football team

Come and support our Bears football team at their first home game of the season against Utah Tech. It’s at 2 p.m. Sept 23 during Family Weekend.

Faculty and staff members get half-price tickets.

Once again, welcome new employees to the MSU team. I’m glad you’re here and I’m confident you’ll find the university a great place to work!

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Sept. 6, 2022

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We expect great things this year from the Bears football team.

After a successful season in 2021, the team had a fruitful off-season and recruited several exciting new student athletes.

The team is ranked high nationally — 5th in the STATS Perform Top 25 Poll and the Athlon Sports Top 25, 6th in the Hero Sports Preseason Top 25, and 8th in the AFCA Preseason Top 25.

Five Bears earned Hero Sports Preseason All-America honors.

Come to the home opener

Our first home football game is Thursday at 7 p.m. against UT Martin.

Bearfest Village will open at 4 p.m. Beverages will be available for purchase at the Beargarden in Bearfest Village near the endzone. The Beargarden will also have free food for the first 500 guests.

Classes will continue to meet as scheduled on gameday (even if they are evening classes scheduled during the game).

We have a plan to accommodate parking and classes happening during the tailgate and the game.

Our other regular season home games are scheduled on Saturdays throughout the fall.

You can buy tickets online or at the box office. Faculty and staff receive a 50% discount on ticket prices.

Setting up for a great volleyball season

Bears volleyball will also be exciting to watch this fall.

The team returns four starters — one of whom made an All-MVC team last year as a freshman — and added two Division I transfers during the off-season.

The team opened regular season play two weeks ago with the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Tournament at Hammons Student Center. Their next home matches are at 6 p.m. Sept 30 vs. University of Northern Iowa and at 5 p.m. Oct. 1 vs. Drake University.

Please come out and support our high-action, hard-hitting volleyball team.

Get ready for fall sports

Other fall sports are also underway.

Our men’s soccer team continues in their outstanding winning tradition.

United Soccer Coaches ranked the Bears men’s soccer team 19th in the country in their preseason poll. The organization also named two Bears players as “Players to Watch.” The MVC coaches poll picked the Bears as the preseason favorite to win the conference.

The men’s soccer team began regular season play two weeks ago. They have a home game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The women’s soccer team began regular season play three weeks ago. They have a home game at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Cross country began their season last week at an invitational in Columbia, Missouri. Men’s golf begins their season on Sunday with a tournament in Louisiana. Women’s golf begins their season next Monday and Tuesday with a home tournament at Payne Stewart Memorial golf course here in Springfield.

Check out performances and activities

We have an array of other campus events that I would encourage you to participate in this week as well.

Blue Man Group will be at Hammons Hall tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night.

Tent Theatre’s final production of this season — “Crazy For You” — starts Sept. 9 and continues through Sept. 17.

Staff Senate will host a social hour — open to all MSU staff and their guests — at 5 p.m. Friday at Tie and Timber Beer Co.

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils will perform with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra this weekend.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for April 5, 2022

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I am excited to introduce you to Beth Cunningham, our new Lady Bears basketball coach.

Coach Cunningham has an impressive 20-year collegiate coaching resume. Most recently she was an assistant coach at Duke University.

Before that, she was the associate head coach at Notre Dame during one of the best winning stretches in NCAA history that included:

  • A 244-19 record.
  • Seven 30-win seasons in a row.
  • Six conference titles.
  • Five NCAA Final Four appearances.
  • And the 2018 National Championship.

She also had a successful run as head coach at VCU (where she is the all-time leader in women’s coaching wins) and as a player at Notre Dame. There, she led the program to its first NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance her senior year and departed as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Irish women’s basketball history.

Coach Cunningham knows how to win. She was our number one choice for this job, and I am very pleased that she agreed to lead our program.

I hope you will join me in welcoming Coach Cunningham, her husband Dan, and their four children to the Missouri State community.

Exciting events on campus

We have several great events on campus this week.

Shaun Tomson will speak at this year’s public affair convocation at 3:30 p.m. this Wednesday in the PSU Theater.

Tomson, author of “The Code” — this year’s Common Reader, will share his life experiences in and out of the surfing world. He will offer how the simple message — I Will — can be a model to face life’s challenges and help you achieve your goals.

I hope you will plan to attend. No ticket is required, and the event is free and open to the public.

Read more about Tomson

That evening, at 6:30 p.m., we will host a book reading, signing and reception with award-winning, internationally bestselling author Laura McHugh at the C Minor Recital Hall in Ellis Hall.

McHugh’s novels have won numerous national and international awards. They have also been translated into multiple languages and optioned for film. McHugh lives in Columbia, Missouri, with her family.

Early on Wednesday, at 9 a.m., we will dedicate the Darr Agriculture Academy, the agricultural sciences SPS magnet school that will be located on our campus at the Darr Ag Center.

The building will serve approximately 150 elementary students at SPS and provide a meaningful partnership between MSU and SPS.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 9, 2021

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I want to update you on several activities on campus over the next week.

Celebrate Veterans Day

On Nov. 11, we will celebrate Veterans Day.

Veterans on and off campus can join us for a complimentary breakfast with live music performed by the 135th Army Band, Windfall, and a presentation by retired Army Col. Thomas Marty at 9 a.m. in the Plaster Student Union ballroom.

A live performance of Taps by the Missouri State trumpeters will follow the breakfast at 11:11 a.m. outside of McDonald Arena.

Find out more

I hope you will join us as we honor our veterans for their military service.

Finalists for West Plains chancellor

On Nov. 9 and 10, we will host the first finalist for West Plains chancellor for on campus interviews in West Plains and Springfield.

Members of the campus community will have several opportunities to interact with the candidate in West Plains on Nov 9.

You can find more details, including a schedule, on the Chancellor Search webpage.

Recognizing leaders in community

At 3 p.m. Nov. 10, the College of Business will host “A Conversation with Steve Edwards” in the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.

This event will provide a remarkable opportunity for the university to hear from a preeminent healthcare leader and a critical voice that guided (and continues to guide) the Springfield community through the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is an invitation-only event. However, if you’d like to receive an invitation, please contact me at president@missouristate.edu.

Later that evening, Biz 417 magazine will host a Biz 100 Party at 6 p.m. at Reliable BMW to honor the individuals selected for this year’s Biz 100 list.

You can find additional details about the event, including a link to buy tickets, on Biz 417’s webpage.

MSU names on this year’s list include:

  • Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
  • Coach Dana Ford.
  • Lyle Foster.
  • Coach Bobby Petrino.
  • Wes Pratt.
  • Clif Smart.

Cheer for the Bears

We also have several exciting sports and entertainment opportunities on campus.

  • Tonight at 7 p.m., the Bears basketball team will play their home opener against Southeast Missouri State University. The Lady Bears played exhibition games at home last week and will play again Sunday at 1 p.m. at JQH Arena .
  • At 2 p.m. Nov. 13, the Bears football team will play their last home game of the regular season against the University of Northern Iowa. I hope you will join me for the game and for pregame activities at Bearfest Village.
  • Also on Nov. 13, Chicago—one of the longest-running and best-selling groups of all time—will perform at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. The band will perform their greatest hits spanning multiple generations. The show starts at 7 p.m. You can buy tickets online, but you need to act soon as the show is poised to sell out and ticket availability is very limited.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 21, 2020

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Last week we announced Bobby Petrino as our new head football coach.

Bobby previously served as head coach at the University of Arkansas, Western Kentucky University and University of Louisville. He has a career record of 119-56 in 14 seasons. He directed college teams to 11 bowl games and six AP top-25 finishes. He also coached Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. He is considered one of the best offensive coaches in the history of the sport.

A successful football program is important to the profile of a major public university. It also connects the university to its community. The Board of Governors and I believed we needed to make a bold hire that had a real opportunity to change the trajectory of a program which has struggled for almost three decades.

Compliance with NCAA rules and graduation rates of student athletes are equally important to success on the field. Coach Petrino has a strong record in this area as well.

Eight years ago, Coach Petrino made a series of poor decisions that resulted in his dismissal from the University of Arkansas. He has learned from that experience and people who have known him a long time say he is a changed man. He acknowledges these decisions were his responsibility, has apologized to the state of Arkansas for his failures and worked to heal the hurt within his family.

The Bears season begins with a road game at the University of Oklahoma on Sept. 5 followed by our home opener on Sept. 12 against the University of Montana.

I hope you are as excited as I am about the future of the Bears football program and will welcome Bobby and Becky Petrino to the Missouri State University family!

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!