Take a moment and get to know Jim Sexton, Director of the Missouri State Bookstore.

Tell us about yourself.   ​I was born and raised in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. I received my undergrad degree, BA in Business Administration from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, IL. I have been married for almost 29 years to my wife, Corinne, and have 3 children Kimberly (26), Lauren (24) and Jimmy (22). I am a life-long Cubs, Bears (Chicago and now Missouri State), and Blackhawks fan … and will add that moving to Missouri will not change that! I enjoy golfing, and like many golfers, talk a better game than I play! I do enjoy outdoor fun and projects, and look forward to settling down here in the Springfield area so I have a house and yard to begin work in again. 

What career path led you to campus retail/bookstores?  ​I started as a part-time employee working the summers at Triton College in River Grove, IL where my father was the store manager. I attended Triton to get my associated degree, and continued to work in the bookstore as a student employee. When I finished my degree, my father was retiring, and the textbook buyer was promoted to store manager, opening up the opportunity for me to apply and get the textbook buyer position (full-time) at Triton. From there I moved up to assistant manager and then to store manager which has lead to a career in the college bookstore industry. From here I ventured into the private/lease companies to operate bookstores as a store manager at five different colleges/universities, as well as a regional manager over 28 stores (ironically, one of those stores was a Starbucks?) and have enjoyed most every day working in this field. Unless the lottery is kind to me, I do plan to finish my professional career in this field I have spent most of my working life.

What are your goals for the Missouri State Bookstore in these challenging times?  ​2020 has been the most challenging year I have ever worked through as a bookstore manager. Even before arriving at Missouri State, the changes and adjustments to online learning and how the bookstore can support the students and faculty with their course material needs. Creativity is a word that comes to mind, however understanding and flexibility is what needs to be the constant right now in regards to our customer service in the bookstore. Most every situation that needs to be addressed is different than the next one, and the goal in the end is to resolve the issue(s) for our customers. My goal for the bookstore is to make us better today than we were yesterday – simple statement, however big challenge and opportunity. In my first few weeks on the job, I have found a very solid team is already in place in the bookstore, and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with all of them. We have already collaborated as a team to adjust the layout of the store as a whole for the “rush” period to allow for fluidity for our customers to get in and out of the store with what they need as efficiently as possible. My next agenda item after the first couple weeks of the term will be to review how the fall back to school period for the bookstore went overall, and begin to discuss possible changes and adjustments to those things we feel can be handled more efficiently. Of course with the unknown times ahead of us, our vision will continue to be planning with both in-store and online customers in mind.

Why Missouri State? ​I was asked this question during my interview day on campus, and until that moment, did not really think about that. Initially I was looking at the opportunity to become the bookstore director at a large university with an institutionally operated bookstore, and not necessarily the specific location. My goal during that interview was to interview the campus and the people I interacted with on that day, and at the end of the day, the staff at Missouri State impressed me with their passion and commitment to the university. I had spent the last 22 years of my career with a private company who would just push out directives and processes in which I had no control, and truly missed the opportunity and challenge of running a bookstore and having a voice in decision-making. Missouri State is located in an area of the country I have visited a number of times on family vacations, enjoying Table Rock Lake, Branson, and of course the Bass Pro Shop stop for usually half a day as we drove through the area. After a month and a half on campus, glad I made the decision to accept the offer to work at Missouri State University.

In the short time you have been in Springfield, what has been the most surprising thing you have encountered?  ​The heat in July! 90 degrees and humid makes for a hot day to golf, and just to take a walk. I thought it was great to walk onto a course at 11am with no wait and fast play, and found out quickly why that was the case. Quickly adjusted my weekend tee-time to earlier in the AM or later in the afternoon, so I could stay away from the 11am-3pm heat of the day! I came from the Chicago area that I thought had heat and humidity … I stand corrected since relocating down to Springfield, MO.