Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 17, 2017

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We recently announced that the touring production of “The Lion King” will come to Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts in February 2019. You don’t have to wait until next year to see outstanding productions on campus.

The touring production of “Rent” will be at Hammons Hall on Oct. 27-28. “Rent: chronicles an unforgettable year in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online.

Meanwhile, the Missouri State theatre and dance department will produce “Pippin,” a story of a young prince who longs to find passion and adventure in his life, Oct. 26-29 in the Craig Hall Coger Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online ().

The Hammons Hall Broadway Series will kickoff in December. Productions include:

  • “Chicago” (Dec. 5–7)
  • “The Sound of Music“ (Jan. 9–11)
  • “Kinky Boots” (March 20–22)
  • “The Phantom of the Opera” (May 23–June 3)

If you haven’t subscribed to the Broadway Series in recent years, this lineup presents a good opportunity to consider resubscribing. You can purchase your Broadway Series subscription online.

Show your pride during Homecoming

Next week is Homecoming. As the campus buzzes with student and alumni activities, please take a moment to consider participating in several other events.

On Monday, Oct. 23, the annual office decorating contest will go from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The deadline to sign up is tomorrow, Oct. 18.  You can sign up online.

On Friday, Oct. 27, following the Board of Governors meeting, we will have our annual Wall of Fame induction ceremony at 4 p.m. in the Plaster Student Union Ballroom. This year’s inductees are:

  • John Bowdidge
  • John Catau
  • Marilyn Chana
  • Bruce Johnson
  • Mike McElhaney
  • Sally Rowe

You can find more information about the Wall of Fame and this year’s inductees in the university’s Wall of Fame news release.

On Oct. 28, before the Bears Homecoming football game against Indiana State, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will scrimmage at 10 a.m. in JQH Arena.  Come out and see our new and returning student athletes.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Aug. 22, 2017

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As you know, classes started yesterday. I am happy to report that our opening day enrollment shows an increase of 244 students over last year’s opening day enrollment number. This represents an increase of 1.2 percent.

The official census count is made after the fourth week of class, and I will update you again on the status of our enrollment at that time. I will also discuss enrollment data as part of my State of the University Address at 12:15 p.m. on Sept. 25 in the PSU Theater.

Connect with Bears at campus activities

As we start the semester, I hope you will join me in interacting with our new and returning students. We want all students to feel welcome at the university.

There are several opportunities for you to interact with students and others throughout the fall semester:

Please attend some or all of these events and show your support for our students and our university.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 11, 2016

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Clif's Notes

This week I want to highlight several important events on campus.

United Way/Missouri State Wayunited-way

The Missouri State Way and United Way Campaigns kicked off last week. The campaigns will run through Nov. 4. Missouri State University faculty and staff make an incredible difference on our campus and in our community through participation in these two campaigns.

Campaign packets have been distributed in campus mail. You can also find information about the campaigns on the Missouri State Way and United Way webpage. Please join me in participating by completing and submitting the contribution forms.

After you complete your contributions forms, please plan to attend the Celebration Luncheon at noon on Friday, Nov. 4 in the PSU ballroom. I look forward to seeing you there!

Benefits open enrollmentclinic14

Our open enrollment period for employee benefits began last week. All benefit-eligible employees are encouraged to go through the open enrollment process to select, decline and review the benefits that we offer at Missouri State. You might be surprised by what we offer for you and your dependents:

  • Medical insurance
  • Dental insurance
  • Vision insurance (new carrier)
  • Supplemental life insurance
  • Group universal life insurance
  • Critical illness insurance
  • Accident insurance

Basic life, accidental death and dismemberment and long term disability are 100 percent paid for by the university.

It’s important to do it now – the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1. Once elections or changes have been made, no changes can be made during the year unless they are due to a qualifying/life changing event (e.g. marriage, divorce, birth, etc.).

We encourage you to go through the enrollment process even if you plan to keep what you currently have. Not taking any action could result in the possibility of you having the incorrect benefits and deductions. Please refer to the Open Enrollment FAQs for additional information.

Enrollment is online. Visit the open enrollment webpage to begin.

Homecoming18859-0039 homecoming 2015

This week we will welcome alumni, friends and supporters of Missouri State University to campus as we celebrate Homecoming. Please plan to attend some or all of the events throughout the week:

  • Student Rockstar competition at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Hammons Student Center
  • Yell Like Hell pep rally at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Hammons Student Center
  • On Friday:
    • Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony at 4 p.m. in the PSU ballroom
    • Pointer Sisters concert at 8 p.m. in Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts
  • On Saturday:
    • Homecoming parade at 9 a.m. on Saturday on John Q. Hammons Parkway
    • Breakfast with Boomer at 10 a.m. on Saturday in Meyer Library
    • Men’s and women’s basketball scrimmages from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in JQH Arena
    • Tailgate at Bearfest Village at 11 a.m. on Saturday outside Plaster Stadium

Please also join me at 2 p.m. on Saturday to cheer our Bears football team to victory as they take on the Leathernecks of Western Illinois University.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Homecoming: a time for all Bears

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Missouri State Homecoming

Today marks the beginning of homecoming week. I hope you are as excited as I am and ready to engage in a variety of activities which will take place this week. I encourage each of you to find an opportunity to get engaged in as many activities as possible. Please join me on Saturday to cheer on the Bears to victory against the Illinois State Redbirds.

Review homecoming activities

Theme inspires inclusion

“Bears Breaking Barriers” is this year’s homecoming theme. From the president’s office, my thoughts surrounding Bears Breaking Barriers lead me to the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Having difficult conversations and breaking the barriers of silence and exclusion have been challenges keenly felt across the nation, and on our own campus, over the last year.

We have learned how important it is to respond quickly to harassing and intimidating behaviors, to offer transparency and to open dialogues, and to take action to avoid reoccurrence. I can’t say we do this perfectly, but I am committed to continuous improvement by focusing on breaking the barriers via the campus climate study, offering diversity and inclusion training for faculty and staff, presenting events such as the All Black Lives Matter panel, and bringing diverse speakers such as actress Laverne Cox and author Wes Moore on campus to discuss their experiences.

At Missouri State, we value diversity and inclusion and we want everyone on campus to feel welcomed and included as we head into homecoming. The entire campus community is expected to demonstrate cultural competence and ethical leadership throughout our homecoming activities and each day our campus is open. Creating an environment that welcomes all is in the best interest of all. Thank you for joining me in breaking barriers.

Clif’s Notes Vol. 4, No. 5

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Clif's Notes

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I provide a recap of Homecoming activities, discuss a naming gift for the welcome center, summarize two actions by the Board of Governors, highlight updates made to the University’s tobacco policy, invite the campus community to attend this year’s Public Affairs Convocation and remind the campus community about the United Way and Missouri State Way campaigns.

Homecoming paradeHomecoming activities

Last week we welcomed the University’s alumni and friends to campus for Homecoming. The celebration started on Sunday and Monday with a series of campus decorating contests. On Tuesday, students showcased their singing and dancing talents at the annual Rockstar karaoke competition. On Wednesday, students celebrated Maroon and White Night with a chili cook-off and concert. On Thursday, the campus community cheered on the University’s fall athletes at the Yell-Like-Hell pep rally, followed by a headphone disco Homecoming dance. Student organizations participated in physical and academic challenges at Friday’s Field Day. That night the University presented awards of special recognition to six alumni and friends of the University at the Distinguished Bears Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

In conjunction with Homecoming festivities, several academic units held meetings with advisory committees, organized alumni events and honored scholarship recipients. The trustees for the Missouri State University Foundation also held their annual meeting.

Saturday brought the Homecoming parade, the Maroon and White Basketball Scrimmage and tailgating at BearFest Village. That afternoon, we cheered our Bears to victory in the Homecoming football game. Students, friends and alumni of Missouri State filled downtown Springfield that evening for Bears on the Square festivities.

We had a fantastic Homecoming week, and I want to thank everyone who helped make it so.

Unveiling of the welcome center signWelcome center naming gift

As you know, our new welcome center is under construction at the corner of National Avenue and Bear Boulevard. Last Thursday we announced that Warren and Anne Davis and Patrick and Kim Harrington have given significant contributions, making the construction of the welcome center possible. In recognition of their gift, the building will be named the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center. A special thanks to the Davis and Harrington families and all the other private supporters who made the new “front door” to our campus a reality.

New chair and vice chair of the Board of GovernorsBoard of Governors actions

The Board met on Friday, Oct. 17. I want to summarize two actions taken at the meeting:

  • First, the Board elected officers for 2015. They are Stephen Hoven (St. Louis) as chair and Peter Hofherr (St. James) as vice chair. I look forward to working closely with Governors Hoven and Hofherr in the coming year, and I want to thank Beverly Miller (Lebanon) for her continued service as chair in 2014.
  • Second, the Board voted to award the Bronze Bear to the Bill R. Foster family. The award is presented to those who have exhibited extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support for Missouri State. The Foster family has been involved with Missouri State for three decades and has invested in the University with gifts supporting Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, Ozarks Public Television, JQH Arena, intercollegiate athletics programs and numerous academic scholarship funds. In 2011, the Missouri State University Foundation received a major charitable gift commitment from the Foster family in support of the University’s recreation center. I want to thank the Foster family for their support of the University and congratulate them for this well-deserved honor.

The Board also discussed the breadth and value of faculty research. This discussion involved presentations by three faculty members: Paul Durham, Michael F. Murray and David Mitchell. The Board received copies of the second edition of Mind’s Eye to facilitate the discussion.

Missouri State University tobacco-free campus signTobacco policy

To ensure a healthy learning and working environment by promoting a culture of health and wellness, the University became a tobacco-free campus two years ago. The University has updated the Tobacco Use Policy to address products and devices that have become popular more recently.

The new policy clarifies that “the use of devices or products that may be used to smoke or mimic smoking (including bongs, hookahs, vaporizers, etc.)” is prohibited on campus. If you would like more information about smoking cessation, please contact the Taylor Health and Wellness Center at 417-836-4064.

Eric Greitens' book, The Heart and the Fist Public Affairs Convocation

The Fall 2014 Convocation Lecture is 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. This year’s lecturer is Eric Greitens. Mr. Greitens is a former Navy SEAL, a Rhodes Scholar and the award-winning author of our common reader for this year, The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL. The lecture is free and open to the public, but it requires a ticket for entry. Tickets are available at the ticket offices of Hammons Hall, JQH Arena and Plaster Student Union.

Missouri State Way; United WayUnited Way and Missouri State Way campaigns

We only have three weeks until our celebration luncheon on Nov. 10. If you would like to participate in one or both of these campaigns, please remember to complete and submit the forms in the packets you received.

Conclusion

Homecoming brings thousands of people who have been affected by the University to campus. It is a reminder of our rich history. I look forward to working with you to continue this tradition of excellence. Thanks for all you do for Missouri State University.

Clif Smart

—Clif

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Telling the Missouri State story

Missouri State alumnus looking to dance his way to fame

Recent Missouri State University alumnus Darrell Hyche did not become serious about dance until his senior year of high school, but he is already starting to make a name for himself in the dance world.

“I had very little dance training before attending MSU,” said Hyche. “What initially started off as elective courses snowballed into a major, thanks to the guidance of the dance faculty.”

Hyche, who graduated in May 2013 with degrees in dance performance and psychology, was a member of Missouri State’s Inertia Dance Company, which promotes cultural literacy through performances and workshops; choreographed and participated in several Homecoming and Greek Jam performances for Phi Gamma Delta fraternity; and danced with the local step group Spazzed Out.

“Who I am as a dancer is largely due to the creative freedom I had and the encouragement and experience gained from the theatre and dance program,” he said.

Dance company featuring Darrell Hyche
Hyche is pictured on the far left with MADCO

Realizing his professional goals

Dance has grown from a hobby to a profession for Hyche. “My ultimate dream is to have a sustained and meaningful career in dance,” said Hyche. “Our time is short here so I just want to embrace each opportunity I’m given to continue to do what I love.”

Hyche is getting closer to making that dream come true, as he is one of the newest professional members of Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) in St. Louis, Mo. He works with choreographers to interpret and execute dances with speed and precision.