Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 10, 2023

by

On Dec. 29, President Joe Biden signed all 12 appropriations bills for FY2023.

I am pleased to report that the bills include the following appropriations for MSU championed by Sen. Roy Blunt:

  • $35 million for renovations to Blunt Hall, Cheek Hall, and other STEM and health facilities on the Springfield campus.
  • An additional $3 million for endowed faculty chairs in CNAS.
  • $1.5 million for the ASCEND program in West Plains.

The bills also include $2 million to white box the third floor of the Brewer Science Annex at JVIC. Rep. Billy Long championed this appropriation.

Finally, the bills include $36 million in funding for research by our partners at JVIC.

The funding in the FY2023 appropriation package represents a huge investment in our university that would not have been possible without the important leadership of Sen. Blunt and Rep. Long.

Their service in the Congress ended earlier this year. It is an understatement to say that they will be greatly missed.

I hope you will join me in thanking Sen. Blunt and Rep. Long for their work to support MSU and the legacy they left behind as they concluded their service.

The university has strong relationships with our newly elected officials — Sen. Eric Schmitt and Rep. Eric Burlison — and their staff. Work is underway to show them the many great things we do at Missouri State University and to advocate for their support.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Dec. 20, 2022

by

Last week the Board of Governors approved a resolution renaming our main science building on campus (formerly known as Temple Hall) Roy Blunt Hall.

We also broke ground on the $80 million addition and renovation of the facility.

Blunt supports education and research

Sen. Roy Blunt has worked tirelessly in support of education, science and research on a national level.

He continuously demonstrated his high regard for higher education and its importance in today’s landscape. As the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Sen. Blunt championed funding increases for:

  • STEM and computer science education.
  • Apprenticeship programs.
  • TRIO.
  • And the Pell Grant program (including year-round Pell).

His legacy in Washington D.C. will undoubtedly be connected to his championing research in health and life sciences. Through his leadership role in Senate appropriations, Sen. Blunt:

  • Oversaw an increase in the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) each year for seven years straight.
  • Added $15 billion to the NIH budget — an almost 50% increase.
  • Quintupled (5x) Alzheimer’s research funding, increasing federal investment by $2.5 billion.

Because of this support, the NIH recently named their Alzheimer’s research facility after Sen. Blunt.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the dedication. Leaders from all over the world and from across the political spectrum attended and honored him. Democratic and Republican senators alike feted Sen. Blunt’s ardent support for research and the sciences.

NIH prepared a video summarizing remarks made at the ceremony. I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch it.

Blunt has continually supported MSU

Sen. Blunt’s legacy in Missouri will be connected to his support for Missouri State University.

Throughout his time in public office, Sen. Blunt has demonstrated extraordinary support for Missouri State University by advocating for significant federal investment in Missouri State’s academic and research missions and economic development operations.

That work culminated last year when he led efforts to appropriate more than $56 million to support health, life and physical science research, teaching, and facilities at MSU.

From that $56 million:

  • $3 million established an endowment to support CNAS faculty and research.
  • $50 million will finance the bulk of the work we started last week to reinvigorate the facility previously known as Temple Hall.

He’s not done yet. Sen. Blunt continues to work during his last weeks in the Senate for the appropriation of additional federal funds to further support CNAS facilities, faculty and research. I hope to be able to update you on that work very soon.

It is because of Sen. Blunt’s support for MSU and his support for science and research that the board voted to rename our primary science facility on campus Roy Blunt Hall.

Honoring Temple’s legacy

The facility was previously named after Mr. Allen P. Temple, and it is important that we continue Mr. Temple’s legacy.

Mr. Temple was the head of the university’s science department for nearly 40 years in the early 1900s. He was a pioneer in the field.

He was well-known as an enthusiast for advances in communications technology.

  • He was the first faculty member at MSU to use technological visual aids (e.g., slides, films, etc.) to assist his teaching in the classroom.
  • He was the driving force behind the university obtaining and using a wireless radio transmitter and receiver and establishing an AM radio station on campus that was operated by science faculty and students more than 50 years before KSMU came to campus.
  • He was also a pioneer with video technology, producing a documentary film called “College Life in the Ozarks” and showing various films in the college auditorium.

Mr. Temple will continue to be honored with a prominent display in the atrium of the current building. We will also name the atrium after Mr. Temple.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for July 26, 2022

by

We have long enjoyed a strong town-gown relationship.

From top to bottom, people at MSU work openly and regularly with city and county officials to coordinate our activities and ensure that we are jointly meeting the needs of our campus and the broader community.

Our strong relationships with city and county leaders came into focus over the last few weeks.

Braider facility supports emerging industry

The Greene County Commission allocated $1.455 million to partially fund the construction of a braider facility at the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center. This funding is an economic game changer for southwest Missouri.

The project matches university research with an industry partner to plant a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility in an emerging industry right here in Greene County.

The funding from Greene County, along with a state MoExcels grant, will fund approximately 90% of the costs to construct the facility.

I want to thank Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon, Commissioner Rusty MacLachlan and Commissioner John Russell for supporting this project.

I also want to thank County Administrator Chris Coulter and County Grant Administrator Lyle Foster (who is also a member of our faculty) for facilitating this funding.

Significance of Grand Street underpass project

Last night, Springfield City Council allocated $750,000 to partially fund the Grand Street underpass project.

We have a lot of exciting projects underway at the university.

  • Renovations to Kampeter Hall and the construction of the Goodman Amphitheatre are near completion.
  • We will begin work on Temple Hall in the fall.
  • Advocacy work is underway to identify funds to renovate Cheek Hall.

To use these exciting new facilities, students, faculty, staff and visitors must be able to safely move from the 1,350 parking spots south of Grand Street to the campus amenities north of Grand. This makes the project to rebuild the Grand Street underpass as important as any of the other facility projects we have underway.

The City also realizes benefits from the project, because the underpass must be extended for the City to expand Grand Street. The project also includes significant sewer and storm sewer upgrades and improvements in the area.

Funding from the City of Springfield, combined with state funds designated for maintenance and repair, will fund approximately half of the project.

I want to thank Mayor Ken McClure and the members of City Council — Heather Hardinger, Craig Hosmer, Andrew Lear, Richard Ollis, Monica Horton, Abe McGull, Mike Schilling and Matthew Simpson — for supporting this project. I also want to thank City Manager Jason Gage and his staff for facilitating this funding.

Supporting the ASCEND program

The Howell County Commission has not yet completed its process for distributing federal ARPA funds.

Tonight we will formally request that the commissioners allocate funds for important priorities for the West Plains campus, including the ASCEND program, an initiative that seeks to provide support and services to college students with autism.

Our goal is to fully fund the ASCEND facility and startup costs for the program with federal, state and local funds.

We continue to advocate for this program, and preliminary indications are that our request has been well received by the Howell County Commission.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for March 22, 2022

by

Last week President Biden signed legislation that funds the federal budget for the current fiscal year. It includes more than $56 million for Missouri State University.

  • $50 million for the renovation of and addition to Temple Hall.
  • $3 million for a faculty endowment in health and life sciences on the Springfield campus.
  • $2.5 million for a hospital simulation lab on the West Plains campus.
  • $525,000 for equipment and technology upgrades to support STEM research and teaching on the West Plains campus.

The budget also includes more than $28 million for projects with university partners at the Roy D. Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center.

Transforming our STEM facilities

The funding included in this budget will provide substantial support for the first phase of the Center for Transformational Education for Life, Physical, and Health Sciences. We will construct an addition to Temple Hall and renovate existing space in the building, transforming it into the Ozarks Health and Life Science Center.

The university is currently working with Gov. Mike Parson, Sen. Lincoln Hough, and other lawmakers to obtain state funding for the remaining costs to renovate and construct an addition to Temple Hall. Parson included these funds in his budget recommendations.

The General Assembly will complete its work on the state budget in early May.

An incredible advocate for MSU

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt led the effort to secure the federal appropriations for MSU. He was the driving force behind getting this done for Missouri State.

Blunt has been a leading advocate for MSU and for southwest Missouri. This campus would look a lot different without his work. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude, and I hope you will join me in thanking him for his work this year and throughout his career.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for March 1, 2022

by

We hosted our federal government relations team for meetings on campus last week.

They updated us on the status of the budget for the current fiscal year. We anticipate the federal budget to be passed before the current continuing resolution expires March 11.

We continue to advocate that the budget include funding for life, physical, and health science facilities and equipment on our Springfield and West Plains campuses.

We also conducted several meetings to discuss a variety of campus plans and projects with an eye toward developing priorities for next fiscal year.

Our team met with leadership at IDEA Commons and the office of research administration. They also met with Tom Peters to discuss our coordination of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

They met with academic leadership in the Darr College of Agriculture and the College of Education.

Finally, they met with academic leadership in the College of Natural and Applied Sciences and the McQueary College of Health and Human Services to discuss the next phase of opportunities in life, physical and health sciences at Missouri State University.

Thanking a long-time MSU supporter

Sen. Roy Blunt has been our lead advocate in Washington, D.C., for many years. I had the opportunity last week to publicly express my and the university’s gratitude for his work.

The Missouri Times honored Sen. Blunt with the Statesman of the Year recognition. Because of my relationship with Sen. Blunt, I was one of only five individuals selected to speak at the awards banquet.

I focused on Sen. Blunt’s work to secure funding for projects that have enhanced MSU and the State of Missouri. I also discussed Sen. Blunt’s leadership in putting MSU on an international stage by selecting our Chorale to perform at the 2017 Presidential Inauguration.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!