Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Aug. 18, 2020

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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!

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!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 29, 2019

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Last spring, the university participated in a campus climate survey administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS), an organization of colleges and universities committed to sharing data, knowledge and expertise to advance undergraduate liberal arts education, inclusive excellence and student success at member institutions.

Last week the results of the survey were presented to the Board of Governors (page 489 of agenda).

HEDS compared our results with those of other institutions that participated in the Diversity and Equity Campus Climate survey—a group of 52 large and small institutions of higher education.

Increased satisfaction on campus climate

The results indicate that we have done good work over the last several years.

Missouri State respondents reported higher satisfaction on questions related to overall campus climate for diversity and equity than comparison institutions. They also reported higher agreement on their belief that Missouri State supports diversity and equity, higher positive perceptions regarding diversity and equity, and higher participation in diversity and equity activities.

Areas needing improvement

The results also indicate that more work remains to be done.

Gaps in positive perceptions and experiencing discrimination or harassment exist for respondents who identified as non-binary, persons of color, LGBTQ+ and liberal.

Missouri State respondents also indicated they heard insensitive or disparaging remarks slightly more often than comparison institutions. However, a much higher percentage of Missouri State respondents indicated they heard these remarks in the off-campus community than the percentage indicated by comparison institutions.

The board, our leadership team and I take our campus climate very seriously. It is imperative that all of our students, faculty and staff feel welcome at Missouri State.

We will continue to analyze the results of this climate survey. In the coming months we will develop plans to incorporate the results in our initiatives and programs.

Complete the city’s survey

The climate survey makes clear the experiences of our students, faculty and staff in the Springfield community have a dramatic impact on their relationship with the university. We have an opportunity right now to voice these experiences and express our opinions about the kind of community we want to live in.

The City of Springfield is engaging in a planning process for a new comprehensive plan—a 20-year blueprint for the future of the Springfield community.

The city has asked for input from Missouri State students, faculty and staff as part of their planning process. This week you will receive an email from the office of the president asking you to complete a short survey that the city will use when developing their next comprehensive plan. I encourage all members of our campus community to take a few minutes and complete the survey.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for April 9, 2019

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The Collaborative Diversity Conference is April 24 – 26 and the MoState Student Summit is April 27. I hope you will join me in attending one or both of these important public affairs events.

Register for the conference

The theme for this year’s Collaborative Diversity Conference is “Bridging the Cultural Divides.” The conference will emphasize best practices for diversity and inclusion while addressing the cultural divides that reflect our current national climate.

On April 24, we will feature an anti-racism preconference workshop titled “Facing Racism in 2019 and Beyond!” This session will discuss how to oppose racism in the workplace as well as the current political and social environment.

Conference sessions will begin on April 25 with a plenary presentation by Professor Irshad Manji, an author, educator and winner of Oprah’s first-ever “Chutzpah Award” for boldness. A Muslim who openly stands for the dignity of women and minorities, she has founded the award-winning Moral Courage Project. Morning and afternoon breakout sessions will follow Manji’s plenary presentation.

Breakout sessions will continue on the morning of April 26. The conference will conclude with the Diversity Champions Luncheon. The Diversity Champion for 2019 will be announced at the luncheon, and Manji will discuss her new book “Don’t Label Me: A Conversation for Divided Times.”

You can find more information at the Collaborative Diversity Conference webpage.

Students speak up

On April 27, we will host the 2nd Annual MoState Student Summit. The summit allows students to take on the roles as presenters and provide an interactive and transformative forum for participants to engage in critical discourse around issues of social justice and make steps toward social change.

The theme of this year’s summit is “Leading across the Cultural Divide.” You can find more information on the Multicultural Programs webpage.

Concealed carry

As many of you are aware, last week the Missouri House of Representatives perfected a bill that includes a floor amendment allowing individuals to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. To find out more information about this bill and how you can advocate on it, please join the MSU Legislative Network and read last week’s Legislative Network Update.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 6, 2018

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Today is Election Day. I encourage each of you to put the public affairs mission into practice by voting at the Welcome Center or your regular polling location. I am in China this week meeting with government officials and representatives of our partner universities, but I voted absentee before I left.

In last week’s Clif’s Notes, I summarized some of the issues on the ballot and told you how I voted on Proposition D (the transportation funding proposal). If you missed that note, you can find it here.

Setting new goals

When we developed the 2016-21 long-range plan, we also established measurable goals to track our progress under the plan.

I am pleased to report that the university has met two of these goals.

We set a goal of awarding 4,900 degrees and credentials annually. Last year we awarded 4,723 degrees and 461 certificates for a total of 5,184.

We also set a goal of having 14 percent of our faculty and staff be international or members of historically underrepresented groups. In fall 2018, 14.5 percent of our faculty and staff were international or members of historically underrepresented groups, a nearly 4 percent increase over the past 5 years.

The board discussed this progress, and the university established new goals.

The board recognized the flat trend in numbers of high school graduates in Missouri. The board also recognized that our future enrollment growth will be more focused on targeted areas of high workforce demand. Accordingly, we have established a goal of awarding 5,200 degrees and credentials annually by 2021.

The board and the administration agreed that it was important that we continue to press forward on our work to diversify the university’s workforce. Accordingly, we have established a goal of having 16 percent of our faculty and staff be international or members of historically underrepresented groups by 2021.

Room to improve

We have not yet reached our goals with regard to retention and graduation rates.

We have a goal of achieving an overall six-year graduation rate of 57 percent and a first-to-second year retention rate of 82 percent. Our 2018 rates were 54.5 percent and 78 percent respectively.

We also have a goal of increasing our retention and graduation rates for underrepresented, Pell-eligible and first-generation students to 79 percent and 50 percent respectively. Our retention rates for these groups of students range from 64 to 76 percent, and our graduation rates range from 38 to 57 percent.

We are doing a lot to achieve our retention and graduation goals. We continue to expand our designated GEP 101 sections. We are in the process of implementing the Center for Academic Success and Transition (CAST), creating an academic care team for students in academic trouble, encouraging more students to create and utilize four-year plans, providing training on proactive advising and undertaking numerous other initiatives designed to support student academic needs.

In December, the board will discuss the retention and graduation data and the initiatives currently underway.

I am proud of the work we have done, and I look forward to the work that lies ahead to achieve each of these important goals.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!