Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 15, 2022

by

Dec. 1 is an important date for all full-time faculty and staff at MSU.

Complete open enrollment now

First, Dec. 1 is the deadline to complete open enrollment for your employee benefits. Open enrollment is the annual period during which you can elect, decline or make changes to your medical, dental, vision and cafeteria/flexible spending plans for the coming calendar year.

You can find more information about open enrollment, including instructions for how to complete open enrollment online or over the phone, on the open enrollment webpage.

Reduce your health insurance premiums

Dec. 1 is also the deadline to save up to $360 on your annual health insurance premiums.

This year’s wellness incentive includes the following vaccination combination:

  • COVID bivalent (or original series if not previously completed; or prior booster) vaccination qualifies for $15 per month discount.
  • Seasonal flu vaccination qualifies for $15 per month discount.

Both vaccinations must be completed in 2022 and prior to Dec. 1 to qualify.

Employees who did not complete their vaccination at Magers Health and Wellness Center must contact Magers to submit their vaccination information before Dec. 1 to qualify for the discount.

Recognizing MSU Way and United Way donors

I also wanted to take a moment to recognize the contributions by our university community as part of the United Way and Missouri State Way campaigns.

Through these campaigns, the university community raised $67,989.56 for the United Way and $405,199 for the Missouri State University Foundation.

I want to personally thank each of you who participated in the United Way campaign. Please join me in congratulating our employees who gave to the campaign at the Leadership Level.

  • James Baker
  • Richard N. Biagioni
  • Bradley V. Bodenhausen
  • Tara L. Boehne
  • Jeffery S. Coiner
  • William Paul Deal
  • Ryan T. DeBoef
  • Frank Einhellig
  • Stephen C. Foucart
  • Terrel A. Gallaway
  • David A. Hall
  • John Havel
  • Brian D. Heaton
  • Tamera S. Jahnke
  • Grant P. Jones
  • Rachel A. Knight
  • Allen D. Kunkel
  • Julie J. Masterson
  • Victor H. Matthews
  • Theresa A. McCoy
  • Natalie B. McNish
  • David B. Meinert
  • Michael W. Merrigan
  • Kyle L. Moats
  • Matthew D. Morris
  • James Moyer
  • Zora Mulligan
  • Sarah B. Nixon
  • Joye H. Norris
  • Thomas A. Peters
  • Barbara Susan Robinson
  • Jennifer R. Severson
  • Margaret Suzanne Shaw
  • Don Simpson
  • Denita Siscoe
  • Priscilla K. Skeeters
  • Clifton M. Smart
  • Elizabeth C. Strong
  • Rebecca Swearingen
  • Robert Thurman
  • Barri Tinkler
  • Paula M Wilhelm

I also want to personally thank each of you who participated in the Missouri State Way campaign. All university community members who contribute to the foundation this fiscal year will be invited to a special gathering 3-5 p.m. May 12 at Tent Theatre. Mark your calendars now.

Please join me in congratulating our current employees who are members of the Founders Club.

  • Gib Adkins
  • Craig Albin
  • Cynthia Aurentz
  • Randy Bass
  • Samuel Bass
  • Tracy Beckham
  • Stephen C. Berkwitz
  • Theresa Bettmann
  • Richard Biagioni
  • Tara Boehne
  • Eric Bosch
  • Chuck Busby
  • Cindy Busby
  • Lisa Casey
  • John F. Chuchiak
  • Angie Cockrum
  • Julie Combs
  • David Mark Cornelison
  • Ryan DeBoef
  • Rachael Dockery
  • Toby Dogwiler
  • Brent Dunn
  • Monika Feeney
  • Wendy Ferguson
  • Steve Foucart
  • Cindy Fulp
  • Rob Fulp
  • Julie Gallaway
  • Terrel Gallaway
  • Douglas Gouzie
  • Brian Greene
  • David Hall
  • Jill Heyboer
  • Marcia Himes
  • Cynthia Howell
  • Danae Hudson
  • Michelle Hulett
  • Tammy Jahnke
  • Kurt Killion
  • Rachel Knight
  • Allen Kunkel
  • Cameron LaBarr
  • Dennis Lancaster
  • Jill Layman
  • Jon Leamy
  • Jill Martin
  • Robert Martin
  • Jerry Masterson
  • Julie Masterson
  • Victor Matthews
  • Jennifer McNay
  • Dave Meinert
  • Carol Miller
  • Kyle Moats
  • Eric Morris
  • Matt Morris
  • Taleyna Morris
  • Zora Mulligan
  • Eric Nelson
  • Tom Peters
  • Angela Pinegar
  • John Prescott
  • Gay Ragan
  • Kent Ragan
  • Philip Rothschild
  • Elizabeth Rozell
  • Christina Ryder
  • Pam Sailors
  • Alan Schick
  • Karl Schmidt
  • Kishor Shah
  • Suzanne Shaw
  • Dee Siscoe
  • Jeanie Skibiski
  • Clif Smart
  • Brenda Smith
  • Elizabeth Strong
  • John Strong
  • Becky Swearingen
  • Mark Templeton
  • Alan Tinkler
  • Barri Tinkler
  • Shawn Wahl
  • Brooke Whisenhunt

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 1, 2022

by

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!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 30, 2021

by

The United Way campaign ends on Friday.

As the United Way Campaign winds down, please remember to fill out your pledge forms and help us reach our goals this year.

The United Way of the Ozarks has reworked its investment strategy so that our undesignated funds go to the health, education and financial stability needs of our community.

My interview with Greg Burris outlines these changes and why it’s important for us to take part.

 

COVID updates

November brought two important updates for COVID-19 vaccine eligibility.

First, the FDA authorized and the CDC now recommends booster shots for all adults ages 18 years and older who received a Pfizer or Modern vaccine at least six months after their second dose.

Second, the FDA authorized and the CDC now recommends COVID-19 vaccination for children ages 5 and older.

Magers Health and Wellness Center is administering COVID-19 booster shots and COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adults who meet CDC guidelines.

Schedule your appointment today

Supporting mental health

We are nearing the end of the fall semester. For many of our students, faculty and staff, the end of the fall semester ushers in anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges.

Support for the emotional well-being of our students, faculty and staff is a campus-wide responsibility. While our campus health and counseling centers have important roles to play, we must all work to promote and protect the mental health of our campus community.

Did You Know?

  • Students with mental health problems, such as depression, are two times more likely than their peers to leave their institution.
  • 57.9% of students at Missouri State University are experiencing symptoms of at least one significant mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts, self-injury or eating disorders.
  • Among these students, an estimated 45% have not received mental health services within the past year.

How can you help?

You can help support the emotional and mental health of our campus community by reducing the stigma around mental health concerns and increasing awareness of available resources for members of the campus community.

  • The university’s Counseling Center offers counseling to currently enrolled MSU students at no charge. Students can contact the Counseling Center to make an appointment at 417-836-5116 or CounselingCenter@missouristate.edu.
  • Students experiencing a mental health emergency after business hours may call the Counseling Center and follow the prompts to speak with a crisis counselor.
  • You can also contact the Counseling Center to refer a student that you believe could benefit from their services.
  • The university provides an Employee Assistance Program for full-time and part-time faculty and staff. This is a free, confidential service designed to help you and your family with a wide range of problems. It can assist you with crisis management, wellness coaching, mental and emotional challenges, among many other issues.
  • Appointments with mental health professionals are also available through Magers Health and Wellness Center. Call 417-836-4000 to schedule an appointment.
  • Faculty and staff can also contact the Counseling Center at 417-836-5116 or CounselingCenter@missouristate.edu for a referral to area therapy services or other community resources. Employees may visit the Mercy Provider Listing to locate preferred providers for the university’ health insurance.
  • Other community mental health resources can be found on the Magers Health and Wellness Center’s mental health webpage.

Refer a student

Introducing the JED Campus Initiative

As part of our work to continue to enhance the emotional and mental health of our campus community, MSU is participating in the JED Campus Initiative.

This initiative is a four-year, strategic process created by the JED Foundation that helps guide the improvement and enhancement of existing mental health programming and climate on campus.

The four-year JED Campus Initiative process involves data collection, student focus groups, strategic planning, and regular JED Campus team and sub-committee meetings.

We have a series of tools from the JED Foundation to assist us in our work to enhance campus mental health, including a campus dashboard, guidelines and access to JED Foundation partners.

We are excited about our partnership with the JED Foundation as we work to promote mental and emotional health for our campus community.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Nov. 2, 2021

by

This week we kickoff our United Way campaign. I encourage you to support our community by participating in the campaign and giving to the United Way.

The United Way has made exciting changes this year in how they will invest our donations in the community. The new strategy focuses on health, education and financial stability needs of our community.

Under the new strategy:

  • 60% of undesignated funds will be allocated to upstream funding.
  • 30% to safety net funding.
  • 10% to innovation funding.

The option to designate your pledge to a specific nonprofit organization will still be available.

We all know that there are many organizations doing meaningful things to improve our community. However, it can be hard to know which organizations will maximize our funds to positively impact our community.

This is exactly why I give to the United Way. The United Way allocates funds to organizations through a competitive process that ensures our funds are achieving their highest possible use in the Springfield area.

Because of the changes United Way is implementing in their investment strategy, and because of the enormous leadership the United Way has shown as COVID-19 rocked our community over the past two years, I am increasing my financial commitment this year.  I hope you will join me by completing the packet you receive in campus mail or pledging online.

Make your pledge

You can find more information about the United Way and the campaign online.

Enroll in benefits plan now

Our open enrollment period for employee benefits began yesterday.

Open enrollment is the annual period during which you can elect, decline or make changes to your medical, dental, vision, and cafeteria/flexible spending plans for the coming calendar year.

Open enrollment for 2022 runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 1.

You can find more information about open enrollment, including instructions for how to complete open enrollment online or over the phone, on the open enrollment webpage.

I encourage everyone to complete the open enrollment process, regardless of whether you plan to make changes to your coverage.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Oct. 12, 2021

by

We are running our United Way and Missouri State Way giving campaigns a bit differently this year.

In the past we have run these two campaigns concurrently. This year they will be separate.

The United Way campaign will kickoff in early November. I will cover that, along with exciting changes in how United Way will invest our contributions, separately in a later Clif’s Note.

This year we have replaced the Missouri State Way campaign with a faculty and staff giving campaign as part of #BearsGive.

#BearsGive is a 36-hour giving day event on Oct. 13 and 14.  One-time gifts and monthly giving options are available.

I encourage you to join us for the #BearsGive kick-off event at 10 a.m. tomorrow starting on the North Mall in front of the PSU and ending at the stage in the food court for guest speakers. Donuts, refreshments and #BearsGive swag bags are available for all at the food court.

You can find more information, along with links to make a one-time gift or fill out a payroll deduction and pledge form, on the #BearsGive webpage.

As in years past, you will also receive a pamphlet in the mail instructing you how to participate in the #BearsGive faculty and staff giving campaign.

Make a gift

Join in the Homecoming festivities

This week marks one of my favorite events of the fall — Homecoming! Throughout the week, students will be joined by alumni and others to cheer at pep rallies, compete in competitions, build parade floats and participate in numerous campus activities.

I encourage each of you to participate in the Homecoming festivities this week.

Highlights for the week include:

We will cap off the week with the Bears home football game against Indiana State University at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

If you haven’t already seen the Bears play, you don’t want to miss your chance to see this incredible team. The Bears are 2-1 in conference play and 3-2 overall.

I encourage you to come out to the game to cheer on our Bears! I also encourage you to buy your tickets in advance — we anticipate a big crowd for the game.

Participate in the wellness fair

Tomorrow we will host a Wise and Well Health and Benefit Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the PSU.

The fair will feature various vendors, informational breakout sessions, resources, prizes and giveaways. Come out to learn more about employment benefits and healthy-living options available to you.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!