Last week was a big week for me. Retirement is a big step, especially when you’re leaving a job you love. Luckily for me, it’s not happening tomorrow.

I have several months before it takes effect and I plan to savor and enjoy each and every moment along the way. I plan to finish strong so the next president has a good starting point.

So, what happens now?

Presidential search

First, you can find all the details of the search for my replacement on the presidential search website.

The Board of Governors is required to approve the search committee. That vote will take place on Sept. 20 at a board meeting. The search committee will then convene for the first time during the following week, where they’ll receive their charge from BOG Chair Chris Waters.

Here’s the timeline for the search:

DATE	TASK
Sept. 6, 2023	President Smart’s public announcement to retire in 2024; application window open
Sept. 20, 2023	Search committee approved at the Board of Governors meeting
Oct. 2, 2023	Qualifications input forum from 12:15-1:30 p.m. in the PSU Theater/via Zoom
Nov. 1, 2023	First date of consideration
November-December 2023	Search committee meets to select semi-finalists
January 2024	Search committee conducts semi-finalists interviews
February 2024	Finalists will be on campus for interviews
March 2024	Board of Governors selects new president

The search committee will be very interested in your input regarding qualities for the new president.  You’ll have two opportunities to provide this at the beginning:

• Via a survey found on the presidential search website.
• At the State of the University address on Oct. 2 (in-person and via Zoom).

Introducing new board members

Speaking of the Board of Governors, I’d like to welcome our two newest members – Melissa (Missy) Gourley replacing Carol Silvey in the Eighth District and Travis Freeman replacing Amelia (Amy) Counts in the Second District.

Thank you to Carol and Amy for their fine work and leadership over the last several years. It’s been a pleasure working with them!

Plan to attend

It’s fall, so there’s a lot going on. Next up is the Public Affairs Conference from Sept. 26-28. I’ll cover that in more detail next week – but go ahead and mark your calendars. You won’t want to miss it.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State.

Clif