Presidential Updates

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!

Clif’s Notes for May 1, 2018

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Last week we hosted the Collaborative Diversity Conference. I hope you were able to attend some of the sessions. The conference offered great insight as we continue to create a campus environment that values inclusive excellence.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Facing Racism in 2018 and Beyond: A Changing Dynamic.” The speakers and workshops focused on addressing the resurgence of racism, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments and discriminatory actions taken against those from diverse backgrounds. The conference inspired an action-oriented commitment to the public affairs mission by providing participants viable ways to implement and embrace inclusive excellence to transcend the bias that permeates our political, social and economic environments.

The plenary speaker, Dr. Damon Williams, provided insight into implementing an inclusive excellence model to innovate diversity and empower leaders. He also met with our administrative and academic leadership teams to share his expertise in strategic diversity leadership, youth development, corporate responsibility and organizational change.

In addition to Williams’ plenary address, I found the “Conversation with Diversity Champions” panel discussion particularly inspiring. Panelists Jim Anderson (CoxHealth) and Ron Johnson (Missouri State Highway Patrol) shared about their efforts to address and resolve divisiveness, hostility and rancor in the workplace and in society as a whole.

Missouri State University is a leader in Springfield and throughout the state of Missouri on diversity and inclusion. We take this responsibility seriously. I am proud of the work we have done to make our campus more inclusive. The Collaborative Diversity Conference provides us with a meaningful opportunity to share our experiences in inclusive excellence and to learn from the experiences of others.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

A response to recent events

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When we begin the new school year, we typically focus on areas of celebration: our continued growth in enrollment of first-time students, the completion of several major campus construction projects that will improve the student experience, recognition for our first generation initiatives and efforts and continued growth in our number of diverse students, faculty and staff.

However, we realize recent events, such as the travel advisory issued by the NAACP and the violence at the University of Virginia (UVA) may have caused some members of our campus community concern about their anticipated experiences at Missouri State and in our community.

We are deeply saddened and dismayed by the events that occurred at UVA, yet we support the peaceful exercise of free speech, expression and assembly. However, violence is not protected and cannot be condoned. We strongly condemn the racism, bigotry and intolerance shown by white supremacy organizations in Charlottesville. Missouri State University will always stand against such hate and violence while continuing to champion the promise of America for all.

Inclusion is one of our core values at Missouri State University, and we seek to lead Springfield and the state in our commitment to inclusivity. We have over 3,000 underrepresented students and approximately 1,700 international students. We are committed to providing an environment in which all can thrive educationally and professionally.

Diversity and inclusion is an important value for our university and it serves as a critical component of our vision for Missouri State. Inclusive excellence is woven into the three pillars of our public affairs mission. Diversity is also one of the university’s focus areas for its annual action plans and one of our six priorities in our 5-year Long Range Plan.

Missouri State University will continue to collaborate with partners from every sector to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our domestic and international university stakeholders, especially our students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and community members.

We recognize that significant challenges face our world, nation, state, and local communities. Despite these challenges, we will continue our efforts to educate students to be global citizen scholars committed to ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement. I hope you will join me in continuing to make Missouri State a place where all feel welcome.