Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Dec. 1, 2020

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Earlier this month the Board of Governors Executive Committee met.

The committee awarded the contract to construct the Springfield Public Schools Agricultural Magnet School at Darr Agricultural Center to Larry Snyder & Company. This is a $6.7 million project funded entirely by private donations.

The committee also approved $800,000 in purchases to upgrade the efactory and JVIC to meet public health emergency guidelines. These purchases are funded entirely with CARES Act funds allocated by Greene County and the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

I also updated the board on the status of COVID-19 on our campus and our plans to finish this semester and start the spring semester without making changes to our academic calendar.

Cost-saving measures

I updated the board on the FY2021 budget.

The budget currently includes several cost-saving measures, including:

  • A 75% reduction in funding for facility repairs and classroom upgrades.
  • A 25% reduction in the President’s enhancement fund.
  • A 75% reduction in funding for academic equipment.
  • A 50% reduction in travel budgets.

These cuts are in addition to savings generated by the hiring freeze, eliminating the incentive payments for teaching online classes and delaying the completion of the new residence hall. Even with these reductions in place, we still planned to use $4 million of reserves to balance the FY2021 budget.

Thanks to all of your hard work, fall enrollment exceeded projections. Accordingly, it does not appear that we will need to use $4 million in reserves to balance the budget.

Additionally, Gov. Mike Parson released more than $1.5 million in state appropriations for the Springfield campus and more than $100,000 for the West Plains campus. Our leadership team worked with the Executive Budget Committee and the Board of Governors to develop a plan to revise the FY2021 budget and allocate these funds.

Pay increase

This plan includes a $600 per year across-the-board pay increase for full-time faculty and staff hired on or before Nov. 30, 2020. The increase will begin in January for 12-month employees and in February for 9- and 10-month employees.

The increase will be spread throughout the year the same way a percentage increase would be spread. For example, an employee in a 12-month exempt position paid once each month will receive an extra $50 (before taxes and withholdings) per month beginning with their paycheck at the end of January 2021.

The university typically implements across-the-board pay increases as a percentage of each employee’s salary. If we were to do that in this situation, we would have provided a 1% raise.

We decided to structure this increase differently because the financial impact of the pandemic and of forgoing raises in July disproportionately affected our lowest paid employees. Our lowest paid employees also benefit more from a $600 raise than a 1% raise.

Moreover, almost all of our employees who were placed on 2/3 pay during the spring and summer will benefit more from a $600 raise. We believe it is important to recognize their loyalty in returning to work after their temporary pay reductions.

The plan also funds adjustments to our salary ranges to match the calendar year 2019 employment cost index.

The remaining $700,000 will be allocated to temporarily restore a portion of the reduced funding for facility repairs and classroom upgrades. Because the $600 raise is being implemented in the middle of this fiscal year, only half of the annual cost of the raise must be allocated in the FY2021 budget.

Accordingly, we have tentatively tagged the $700,000 used to partially restore funding for facility repairs and classroom upgrades as available to fund most of the remaining cost of the $600 raise in the FY2022 budget.

We will present this plan to the board for approval at their December meeting.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 20, 2020

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The Board of Governors met last week.

At the Finance and Facilities Committee, the board reviewed financial statements from last fiscal year. The university had a $6.4 million decrease in its operating fund reserve on the Springfield campus and a $229,000 decrease in its operating fund reserve on the West Plains campus.

These decreases can primarily be attributed to withholds of our state operating appropriation. However, we were successful at decreasing our expenses to offset a portion of those revenue losses.

Financial review

I also updated the Finance and Facilities Committee on the current fiscal year.

As you know, our enrollment exceeded projections. For the Springfield campus, this resulted in $2.9 million in additional tuition and fees in the summer and fall.

Scholarship expenses were also $1.9 million less than budgeted, and the university saved $1.2 million in payroll and benefits through the hiring freeze.

Depending on the impact of COVID-19 on the spring semester, this additional revenue and expense savings may minimize the Springfield campus’s need to spend reserves to balance the FY21 budget as was initially anticipated.

Similarly, on the West Plains campus, additional tuition and fee revenue as well as scholarship and payroll savings will reduce the amount of reserves needed to balance the FY21 budget.

Parson releases appropriations

The board discussed Gov. Mike Parson’s recent decision to release $1.7 million of the university’s operating appropriation. I will reconvene the Executive Budget Committee in the coming weeks to discuss how to invest those funds in the university’s operations.

Parson also released $3.2 million for the Bright Flight program. This is half of the withheld funds for that scholarship program.

I personally met with Parson to advocate that the Bright Flight funds be released along with a portion of our operating appropriation. I am pleased those efforts paid off.

I hope you will join me in thanking Parson for supporting higher education, Missouri State University and our students during these difficult times.

Gourleys awarded Bronze Bear

The board voted to award the Bronze Bear to Robert and Marlese Gourley. Mr. Gourley is an alum of Missouri State University who worked his way through college and enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduation. Together the Gourleys started and owned a series of successful businesses in the Kansas City area.

For many years, the Gourley family has financially supported programs on the university’s West Plains and Mountain Grove campuses as well as scholarships and athletic programs on the Springfield campus. In 2015, the Gourley family made a significant gift to the MSU Foundation and the university named the 37,000 square foot addition to Glass Hall the Robert Gourley Student Success Center.

McClure selected for Government Excellence Award

The board also voted to award the Government Excellence Award to Mayor Charles Kenneth (“Ken”) McClure. McClure has tirelessly advocated for Missouri State University and the Springfield community throughout his career.

As mayor, he has provided an unprecedented level of leadership to protect our community during the coronavirus pandemic by establishing a mask mandate, facility occupancy and gathering restrictions, and other policies designed to mitigate spread of the virus. He also championed legislation to change the name of our university to Missouri State University during his time as chief of staff to Gov. Matt Blunt.

Recognizing dedication to public affairs

The board also approved a resolution acknowledging this year’s Excellence in Public Affairs Award recipients. This year’s faculty recipients include:

  • Dr. Kevin Evans
  • Dr. Lisa Hall
  • Dr. Elizabeth Sobel

This year’s staff recipients include:

  • Samantha Francka
  • Diana Garland
  • A’dja Jones

The award recognizes individuals with an established record of distinctive work and accomplishments in support of the university’s public affairs mission. Each awardee receives a $1,500 grant to be used for research, travel or projects related to their public affairs activities.

Other board updates

The board also received updates on key performance indicators and the long-range plan and strategic enrollment management plan processes.

Finally, the board elected officers for next calendar year. Beginning in January, the board will be chaired by Gov. Amy Counts, and Gov. Carol Silvey will serve as vice chair. I am excited to work with them as we continue to move the university forward.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for July 14, 2020

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Many, many university employees have asked me a question over the past weeks and months. It was asked several times during the July town hall meeting and by email before and after the meeting.

The question is: Why do faculty and staff have to return to campus during a global pandemic?

I understand where this question comes from. I have two underlying health conditions that make my chances of surviving COVID-19 much lower than the average person’s. I work very hard to mitigate my risk of contracting the virus, and I felt safer working from home than I feel working from campus.

Fulfilling our mission

There are many reasons we must return to campus. There are financial and other risks associated with moving even more of our operations online. Many jobs at the university, including mine, simply cannot be completed entirely from home, and the university can no longer afford to pay people not to work as we battle through a significant revenue decline in the current fiscal year.

Here’s the deal, the mission of our university — to educate students to be citizen scholars — requires us to be here.

Our current and prospective students have made it clear they want to be on campus in the fall. Prospective students at other universities — particularly those in other parts of the country — may differ.

But at our university, if we do not provide a robust, on-campus learning environment, many of our students will not enroll. This is particularly true for under-resourced students. If they do not begin in the fall, many will never seek a college degree, and their lives would be forever changed for the worse.

This would severely undermine the university’s educational mission.

It would also impact the university financially, resulting in extensive personnel cuts.

Preparing graduates

We cannot educate students to be citizen scholars if they do not enroll. The world we live in will be less educated. Our would-be students will suffer without the education and diverse experiences our university provides.

Additionally, our community depends on us to educate students, populate the workforce, and credential professionals. We cannot take a year (or more) off from our usual pace of enrolling 20,000+ students and awarding 5,000+ degrees and certificates. The impact would be devastating.

I take the mission of our university seriously. I also take the pandemic seriously. We will continue to implement masking, testing, travel, and social distancing precautions to mitigate spread of the virus and protect our faculty, staff, and students.

At some point in the future, if COVID-19 forces us to move our operations online as we did last spring, we will do so without hesitation and will rely on the contingency plans faculty, staff and administrators created throughout the summer. Until then, we will press on toward a campus reopening in the fall.

You can find more information about our plans to reopen in the fall in our Guide to Returning to Campus.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for July 7, 2020

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Last week Gov. Mike Parson signed the FY2021 budget bills and announced spending restrictions. His restrictions include a $11.9 million withhold for Missouri State University.

The budget that our Board of Governor’s approved in June assumes a $9.25 million appropriation reduction and a 1,500 student enrollment decline. While Gov. Parson’s withhold exceeds the state funding cut assumed in the university’s budget, we do not yet know what our enrollment will be in August or whether federal funds will be available to backfill some of the reduction in state appropriations.

We will wait to make further budget cuts until we have more information on these topics.

Attend the town hall

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, we will host a Virtual Town Hall meeting. You can find information about how to participate online.

We will briefly discuss the university’s budget and I will seek input on options for potential additional budget cuts.

Provide your input

We will also spend a great deal of time at the town hall discussing options for a masking policy in the fall.

After our last town hall meeting, I asked a work group to develop options for a fall masking policy. They have presented me with two options:

  • The first option would require masks to be worn during academic classes.
  • The second option would require masks to be worn in all academic buildings and classrooms in administrative buildings.

Both options would also require masks in select other locations on campus (e.g., Bear Line, computer labs, testing center, etc.), allow a department to determine whether to require masks in a department office, and allow an individual faculty or staff member to determine whether to require masks in their private office.

I will present more information about these options at the town hall meeting. All faculty and staff will also have an opportunity to vote to support one of these two options. There will also be an option that would recommend face masks on campus without requiring them. You can also let me know you don’t like any of the choices we are considering.

I will present the results from this poll to the Board of Governors before they set our mask policy at their August retreat.

Please plan to attend the town hall meeting on Thursday and come prepared to provide input on budget decisions and our return to campus policies. In case you missed it, we have expanded the Zoom capacity to 3,000 users, so all who wish to participate will be able to join.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for June 23, 2020

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Last week, the Missouri State University Foundation announced that it had received an eight-figure gift commitment from the C.W. Titus Foundation. The funds will support scholarships for students in the College of Arts and Letters. The funds will also support the university’s plans for an arts park and a permanent outdoor amphitheater.

At its meeting last week, the Board of Governors voted to name the College of Arts and Letters the “Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts and Letters” in recognition of the gift from the C.W. Titus Foundation.

Reynolds worked in MSU’s department of English from 1966 until her retirement in 1994. She and her husband, Tim Reynolds (who is a trustee of the C.W. Titus Foundation), were long-time supporters of the university.

2021 budget update

The board also approved the university’s FY2021 budget. The budget assumes a loss of $9.25 million in state funding and an enrollment decline of 1,500 students.

These revenue reductions were offset with several cost-saving measures, including:

  • Freezing 68 open positions through June 30, 2021.
  • Eliminating online course incentive payments for faculty.
  • Delaying the opening of the new residence hall.
  • Reducing allocations for travel, classroom repairs, academic equipment and the president’s enhancement fund.
  • Spending $4 million of university reserves.

The budget does not include across-the-board pay reductions, furloughs, layoffs or similar personnel actions. These decisions have been delayed until we know more about fall enrollment and how much state funding Gov. Parson will withhold.

Re-opening plans

I briefed the board on our plans to reopen in the fall. My remarks to the board were consistent with what I discussed at the town hall meeting and in my Clif’s Notes since the town hall meeting.

New plans, policies and directives continue to be developed.

If you have questions related to your specific situation, I would encourage you to talk to your department head or supervisor. Dr. Frank Einhellig and I will continue to update you through our campus-wide communications as central decisions are made.

Campus climate discussion

The board also had a long discussion about race relations and campus climate. All members of our board are well aware of current events and the national conversation on racism.

I updated them on campus incidents and the ongoing conversation among members of the campus community. I shared incidents I learned about through tweets under the #blackatmostate hashtag.

We discussed the university’s plans to address racism on campus before the fall semester and throughout the coming academic year. Our leadership team will discuss and further develop these plans at our retreat later this week.

Professional Building updates

The board awarded the consulting contract to Hood-Rich Architecture for renovations to the Professional Building. Hood-Rich will assess space in the Professional Building and determine how to convert it into appropriately sized classrooms equipped with up-to-date technology and state of the art research facilities.

As part of the planned renovation, the Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic will be updated, advisement and student collaboration spaces will be created, and many mechanical, life safety, electrical and plumbing systems will be replaced.

Design will occur throughout the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters. The first phase of construction is scheduled to begin next summer.

The contract with Hood-Rich is funded entirely with private gifts.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!