Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Aug. 29, 2023

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Last week on the first day of classes, Missouri State University set two new records.

First, we set a record for the biggest increase in first-time new in college (FTNIC) students. The incoming FTNIC group increased by 17.9% to a total of 2,685.

Second, total graduate student enrollment was up 0.4% to 4,288, setting another new record.

We made some big changes this year to make Missouri State more accessible and affordable for students. Our launch of the MoState Access Award enables undergraduate students with great financial need and Pell eligibility to attend the university and pay no tuition and fees.

Enrollment increases in several strategic areas

Enrollment in several key areas also increased:

  • The number of underrepresented students increased by 4.6% to 2,627 students.
  • Full-time student enrollment increased by 3.3% to 13,675 students.
  • Total credit hours increased by 3,733 (1.8%).

This is all great news!

Missouri State looks more like the demographics of the state.

This is also good news financially. Full-time students take more classes than part-time students – leading to more credit hours. This directly translates to a better financial picture for the university.

More work to do

One area where we didn’t grow this year was continuing students. We’re down 383 (2.9%) in total continuing students.

While it’s important for us to focus on recruitment, we also need to focus on student success and retention.

We’re moving to a centralized advising model for our freshmen and sophomore students, and we hope that will help. We also have several groups working on plans to help students be more successful.

Resources for our students

College students face many challenges. Missouri State is here to help. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with key support resources on our campus:

I’m thankful to all whose efforts helped us achieve new enrollment records this fall. Your role matters. No matter your job title, each of us plays a role in recruiting, retaining and graduating students.

Recruitment isn’t only the responsibility of admissions. Retention isn’t only the responsibility of Student Success. Everyone at the university can, and should, help support recruitment and retention.

Official enrollment report available Sept. 25

Total opening day enrollment is down very slightly – by 0.5%; however, we expect that number to go up by census.

Official enrollment reports will be based on enrollment at the end of the day on Sept. 25. Reports should be available Sept. 27.

A record of a different kind

In addition to the enrollment records set last week, August also marked a record gift to the university.

On Aug. 18, we announced the largest single gift to the university. We thank the C.W. Titus Foundation for their eight-figure gift, which will support construction of a state-of-the-art facility named in honor of Judith Enyeart Reynolds designed to enhance arts, social sciences and humanities education.

The fall semester is off to a great start.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for July 18, 2023

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It’s that time of year when I receive feedback on my job performance from my bosses – the Board of Governors.

While we follow a calendar year performance review process for university employees via the annual appraisal and development plan (ADP), my review covers the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30.

So, each year, I prepare a list of my accomplishments that I compare with my set goals and then I review this with my bosses. Hopefully, you’ll follow the same process with your supervisor.

Admittedly, my list includes the high-level accomplishments of the university, which I’m sharing with you in the following paragraphs.

Key highlights

A major accomplishment for the university has been the academic realignment. One highlight is the creation of the Reynold College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.

This college demonstrates our continuing commitment and support of the arts and humanities when universities across the U.S. are cutting these programs. I’ve presented a detailed review of the realignment in the last several Clif’s Notes.

Strategic enrollment management was another focus over the last year as we recover from hits to our enrollment resulting from the pandemic. While we never say “success” until we have our census data in late September, enrollment for the 2023-24 academic year is looking like a strong comeback – primarily driven by our MoState Access Award, which results in $0 tuition and fees for our Pell-eligible students. I’ll keep you updated on these results following the first day of classes.

Another very important goal this year has been employee retention. We’ve made several changes in our policies and practices that focus on employee satisfaction:

The university completed its most successful comprehensive campaign in university history, raising $274 million through the Onward, Upward campaign. It was supported by more than 60,000 donors! We also raised $1.6 million by engaging 2,179 unique donors during the university’s second annual Giving Day March 1-2.

We also successfully advocated for and received over $77 million in federal funding for capital improvements, endowed chairs, the ASCEND program in West Plains and funding for research and renovations at Jordan Valley Innovation Center.

Many campus construction projects were completed, including Kampeter Hall (Phase 1), the John Goodman Amphitheatre, Heitz House and the Grand Street Underpass.

And finally, we capped the year off with our organization of and participation in this summer’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which focused on the history and heritage of the Ozarks. It took place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

While everything I’ve noted are presented to the Board of Governors as my accomplishments, we certainly couldn’t achieve them without the dedicated work of university faculty and staff.

Thank you for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for March 28, 2023

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I’m pleased to announce that our next vice president for university advancement will be … Brent Dunn.

In February when we began the search process for Brent’s replacement, the Foundation Board Executive Committee made it clear we needed to find a candidate who could continue the exceptionally high level of performance that Brent and his team have brought to the university. The huge success of the Onward/Upward campaign combined with Brent’s energy, connections and dedication to the university would drive the caliber of candidate we would be seeking.

As the search opened and candidates applied, it was clear, as with many of our searches, that filling the position with the same level of experience and expertise was going to be a challenge at the salary we could offer. Not to mention the loss of the vast contacts and relationships that would occur upon Brent’s departure.

Many members of the leadership team have retired or announced their retirements over the last 12 months. And as I’ve made clear in recent years, I too plan to retire in the next several years. As this change in leadership takes place, it didn’t seem like the right time for a major shift in our fundraising organization if we could avoid it.

After much consideration, I made the decision to offer Brent a retention incentive if he would postpone his retirement for five years. And as noted above, he accepted my offer.

Welcome back, Brent. I look forward to your continued leadership.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for March 21, 2023

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Happy Birthday, Missouri State

While students were enjoying spring break last week, the university marked its 118th birthday on March 17.

But did you know that in 1899 the State Fruit Experiment Station, located in Mountain Grove, was established by the Missouri Legislature? It remained a state agency until 1974, when it became part of what is now Missouri State University, making it the oldest segment of the university.

It’s just one of those little noted facts that makes the history of the university so interesting. Thanks to the hard work and dedication from many people through the years, we’ve risen from a Normal School for teachers to a state university granting professional doctorates.

There is still so much growth to achieve as our reputation continues to expand across the state and beyond. From Jordan Valley Innovation Center (JVIC) and the efactory in IDEA Commons to our newest combined college, we are doing great things for our students, Springfield and Missouri through the current efforts of faculty and staff.

Giving Day 2023

And you know, much of this growth couldn’t happen without the fundraising work of the Missouri State Foundation.

We held our second annual Giving Day over March 1 and 2. It was a phenomenal success.

The goal was to inspire 2,000 people to contribute to an area that meant the most to them throughout the university’s colleges, units, programs and athletics teams.

  • 2,179 donors participated from 45 states and 10 countries.
  • $1,604,181 was raised for 180 areas across campus.

Multiple programs across the university benefitted from Giving Day Ambassadors’ challenges.

It was a spectacular 36 hours of giving! I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State. And don’t forget, the official MSU Birthday Celebration will take place tomorrow from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Plaster Student Union.

Clif

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 1, 2022

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Last week the Board of Governors recognized Sen. Roy Blunt with the Bronze Bear Award and Sen. Karla Eslinger with the Government Excellence Award.

Blunt selected for Bronze Bear

Sen. Blunt’s support for MSU is unparalleled.

He constantly advocates to get our university and our students, faculty and staff national and international recognition. The greatest example of this is his decision to select our Chorale to perform at the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. This gave our university and our students the limelight on an international stage.

Sen. Blunt has demonstrated significant commitment for our economic development work throughout his career.

The Roy D. Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center would not exist but for an appropriation he secured while in the House of Representatives. Sen. Blunt and his staff have worked and continue to work to identify grant, contract and plus-up opportunities for the important work that occurs in IDEA Commons.

Perhaps the greatest example of Sen. Blunt’s support for MSU came earlier this year when he secured more than $56 million in federal funds to support health, life, and physical science research, teaching and facilities at Missouri State. Fifty million dollars of that is designated to construct a laboratory addition to Temple Hall.

Read the news release

Eslinger awarded Government Excellence Award

Sen. Eslinger is a tireless advocate for higher education, Missouri State University and the West Plains campus (which is located in her Missouri Senate district).

In 2021, Sen. Eslinger led a successful strategy to secure a $1 million appropriation to construct the Pace Industrial Science Center in West Plains. This appropriation — combined with a grant coordinated by Sen. Blunt and a private contribution from the Pace family — made the welding program in West Plains possible.

This year Sen. Eslinger led a successful strategy to secure a $7.5 million appropriation to construct a facility to house the ASCEND program on our campus in West Plains. This program is very important to the communities throughout south central Missouri.

Sen. Elsinger has only served two years in the Senate. I am hopeful that we will get to work with her for many more years.

Sen. Blunt and Sen. Eslinger have made a tremendous difference in the lives of our university community. They are well deserving of these awards.

Read the news release

Celebrating Onward Upward

Last week we also celebrated the success of the Onward Upward campaign. We revealed the total amount of funds raised during the campaign in front of a crowd of around 3,000 people in Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday night.

I am pleased to report that the campaign raised a total of $274,018,157.

Contributions through the campaign include support for scholarships, faculty, programs and capital.

Specific capital projects include:

  • John Goodman Amphitheatre.
  • O’Reilly Health Sciences Center.
  • Ann Kampeter Health Sciences Hall.
  • Robert Gourley Student Success Center at Glass Hall.
  • Magers Family Health and Wellness Center.
  • Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.
  • Bobby Allison Projects — recreation fields and Event Center at Greenwood.
  • Naming of The McQueary College of Health and Human Services and Reynolds College of Arts and Letters.
  • Many more.

I want to thank and congratulate Brent Dunn and his team at the MSU Foundation for a job well done on this campaign.

I also want to thank all of the members of our university community who contributed to the campaign. Your investment will pay off in the lives changed at Missouri State.

Read the news release

Give to United Way

I also want to take a moment to encourage you to participate in another campaign — United Way.

I am this year’s chair of the United Way of the Ozarks (UWO) Board of Directors. I fervently believe in the role United Way plays in our community.

UWO has adopted a more focused approach to community investment. All funded programs must fall into one of two categories:

  • Championing Children.
  • Pathways out of poverty.

I challenge you to consider giving to UWO. If we all give, together we can significantly impact southwest Missouri.

All faculty and staff who participate in this year’s United Way campaign are invited to a celebration lunch at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 7 in the PSU Ballroom.  It will be a fun event, and you could win a prize!

Details about the United Way campaign and how to participate can be found online.

Donate to United Way

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!