Earlier this month I hired Dr. Algerian Hart as interim chief diversity officer and assistant to the president. He replaces Wes Pratt who retired Aug. 1.

Algerian served as associate dean of our Graduate College. Before coming to Missouri State, he worked at Western Illinois University, University of Nevada Las Vegas and Seattle Pacific University.

Algerian has a robust academic record related to diversity, equity and inclusion including dozens of publications and presentations in the United States and abroad. He also serves as a faculty evaluator for the American Council on Education and a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.

Much of Algerian’s research and other work focuses on improving academic success of diverse students. I’m confident he’ll use that expertise to help in our efforts to create a more inclusive campus.

Committed to inclusive excellence

Cultural competence is one of the pillars of our public affairs mission, and inclusiveness is a critical value that guides our campus.

Our long-range plan emphasizes the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence.

All of us must do our part to make everyone feel welcome and a sense of belonging at Missouri State University regardless of their race, nationality, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and broadly diverse backgrounds, experiences, and characteristics.

Everyone has a place at this university, and every single student and member of our faculty and staff are important to the fabric of our community.

Algerian will pick up where Wes left off in leading our efforts to make our campus and our community more inclusive. I hope you are as excited as I am to partner with Algerian in this work.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Cultural competence is one of the pillars of our public affairs mission, and inclusiveness is a critical value that guides our campus.

Our long-range plan emphasizes the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence.

All of us must do our part to make everyone feel welcome and a sense of belonging at Missouri State University regardless of their race, nationality, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and broadly diverse backgrounds, experiences and characteristics.

Everyone has a place at this university, and every single student and member of our faculty and staff are important to the fabric of our community.

Working toward a more inclusive campus

We have focused on valuing the inclusion of diversity for over a decade. That focus continues as we start this school year.

The new Multicultural Resource Center in Plaster Student Union is open. It is a welcoming space for students to interact, study and engage in campus life at Missouri State.

If you haven’t already done so, please stop by to check out this exciting new addition to our campus footprint.

During the first week of classes, we hosted a large group of students, faculty, staff, administrators and members of the Springfield community for a Multicultural Networking Reception in the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.

Our focus was to support students engaged with our multicultural services on campus and provide them with the opportunity to broadly network with people on and off campus who are committed to helping them succeed in academics and their careers.

Last week, our student athletes and athletic staff held a Unity Walk. This walk is a tradition our student athletes started last year to demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion at Missouri State University and to stand in solidarity with those directly impacted by injustice and racism.

We also have over 100 first-year students and over 100 returning students engaged with the Bears LEAD (Leadership, Empowerment, Achievement and Diversity) program this fall.

Bears LEAD provides students with opportunities to:

• Meet new friends.
• Create connections with faculty and staff.
• Connect with mentors.
• Explore Springfield.
• Participate in community service projects.
• Gain academic support.
• Participate in personal/professional development workshops.
• Attend cultural events and social activities.
• And much more.

Last year we piloted a new diverse faculty mentoring program called Bear Bridge. The pilot was very successful, and we will grow the program this year.

Bear Bridge is designed to foster collaboration between junior and senior faculty during the tenure track process. I adamantly support this program and its work. If you are a tenure-track diverse faculty member, I encourage you to join this program and connect with the opportunities and resources it provides.

You can register to join the program as a mentor or mentee online.

Get involved

More events and initiatives designed to facilitate an inclusive climate on our campus will occur throughout the year. These activities are designed to facilitate an inclusive climate and institutional culture that values the rich diversity that all campus and community stakeholders bring to Missouri State University.

Examples of these events, initiatives and activities include:

• The Facing Racism Institute will offer program opportunities throughout the fall and spring semesters and at the Collaborative Diversity Conference in the spring.
• Professional development opportunities for faculty, staff and students addressing inclusive excellence, cultural competence, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
• The Student Diversity in Leadership Institute and a Racial Equity Initiative for 25 BIPOC student leaders. Applications are being accepted through Sept. 10; work sessions will begin Sept. 16.
• The United Academy for Inclusion and Belonging for stakeholders on campus and in the external community.

Please check Inside Missouri State and the university’s other communication channels for information as new opportunities to participate in campus and community events and activities arise.

Make a difference

Advancing new initiatives and attending campus events isn’t enough.

It is important that we all work every day to enhance the climate of our campus and make our community inclusive and welcoming to all comers. This requires intentional action to encourage people in our daily interactions, seek out and offer support to members of our campus community who have been excluded, and intervene when we see inequity, injustice and unfair treatment.

I hope you will join me on the journey to do this important work and continue to make our campus a welcoming environment for all.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Racism and racial violence has unfortunately been a part of our history since our country was founded. Recent tragedies include the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. That these incidents continue to happen in 2020 should trouble and disturb us all.

Through the #BlackAtMoState hashtag, our current and former students share their accounts of racism experienced while they were on campus. I read these social media posts and I have asked members of our board and leadership team to read them as well.

Missouri State University works to resist racism. We aspire to make our campus a place where everyone feels welcome regardless of their race, sex, sexual orientation, sexual preference, gender identity, disability, religion, political affiliation or other characteristic.

While we have made significant progress, we have not always lived up to that goal. We must do better.

Improving the climate

This year we will continue to work to improve the campus climate and combat bias on our campus. Our leadership team is developing specific action items for this year. Examples include:

• We will refocus our Bias Response Team and provide the team with stronger tools to intervene and address bias involving race or another protected class.
• We will design a facility expansion of the Multicultural Resource Center.
• We will expand our cultural consciousness and competence training. The expanded training will include curricular modifications, participation by the university leadership team in the Facing Racism Institute, creating a Student Diversity Leadership Institute for student leaders, and increasing other cultural consciousness educational opportunities for faculty, staff and students.
• We will improve access, retention and graduate rates of underrepresented students through Bears L.E.A.D., TRIO, college access programs, Jump START, and NASPA’s First-gen Forward and First Scholars Network.
• We will add new and expand existing recruitment and retention strategies for underrepresented faculty and staff. We track the percentage of our faculty and staff that are underrepresented. That percentage has increased over the past several years. We will work to continue that trend in the coming year.
• We will review and modify policies and procedures to ensure equal opportunity throughout the university system. We have already begun this process by establishing a test-optional admission pathway for prospective students.
• We will continue to develop and enhance our partnerships with HBCUs, the National Black Graduate Students Association, the Student African American Brotherhood and the Diversity Talent Hub program.

Please email president@missouristate.edu any suggestions you have for diversity, equity and inclusion action items that you would like to see included in this year’s action plan. We will present this plan to the Board of Governors in September.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!