Truman navigated the 2020-21 school year without any COVID-related stoppages because of proper planning and so many people working together. Our faculty, staff and students made choices that supported a safe community and together we achieved what many thought would be impossible.

As we look forward to the coming school year, we need to draw on that same sense of community. The end of the pandemic is in sight, but it is not over yet. To ensure another successful school year, we must continue to work together to make informed individual and collective decisions.

In the previous year, we learned a lot about how to conduct a school year in less-than-ideal conditions. We will continue to consult local health officials, professional organizations and the plans of other universities to determine how best to move forward. This current plan reflects that work, as well as input from faculty, staff and students addressing the multitude of factors that must be considered to return to campus.

In a survey conducted from June 14-21, more than 89% of students and 97% of faculty and staff who responded indicated they are currently vaccinated or will be by the start of the semester. The strong vaccination rates significantly reduce the probability of a substantial COVID-19 outbreak on campus. Based on this data, and per CDC guidance, the campus mask mandate will end July 6. Because they are fully vaccinated, most students and employees on campus will not be required to wear masks or socially distance. Those participating in Joseph Baldwin Academy and other on-campus camps will continue to follow all currently existing COVID-19 safety guidelines until the conclusion of their program.

This fall, vaccinated individuals are not required to wear masks indoors or outdoors. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly advised to wear masks when indoors or attending a crowded outdoor event. Individuals who have underlying medical conditions or are more comfortable wearing a mask are encouraged to do so. Anyone electing to wear a mask should not be asked about their vaccination status or medical conditions.

Individuals will not be required to provide proof of vaccination in order to not wear masks or participate in routine campus activities. We expect all members of our campus community to practice personal integrity. This includes being honest about one’s own vaccination status and respecting the privacy of others’ health information.

Truman has and will continue to consider the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (COVID-19): Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education and Missouri Center for Public Health Excellence: College and University Recommendations. The University will continue to prepare for multiple scenarios and we must be ready to make any necessary adjustments should the need arise.

Additional details regarding the Fall 2021 Campus Plan can be found online at truman.edu/coronavirus and at  https://www.truman.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Fall-2021-Plan.pdf.

The response of our campus community to sharing their vaccination status has been terrific, but to have the best sense of our campus-wide vaccination status, we must have as many people as possible respond to the survey.  At Truman, we have shown time and again that we are willing to do what is necessary to keep one another safe during the pandemic, and sharing your status is a very quick and easy way to continue to help keep the campus safe.

If you have not yet shared your vaccination status, it is not too late!  Please go to https://forms.gle/t2keXUvbx4TDDg6C7.  When the Google login is presented, you will need to enter your Truman email address to complete the survey.

As a reminder, the site is only available through the close of business today (Monday, June 21) and there are only two questions:

1. Are you fully vaccinated for COVID-19?
2. If you answered “no,” do you plan to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before the start of the Fall Semester?

Vaccination status is being collected to have knowledge about the campus as a whole.  You will not be contacted about your individual vaccination status, nor will it be shared with anyone.

An enormous thank you for sharing your vaccination status; it really does make a difference!

Thank you to everyone who has already responded with their vaccination status!  If you have not yet responded, please go to https://forms.gle/t2keXUvbx4TDDg6C7 to share your status.  When the Google login is presented, you will need to enter your Truman email address to complete the survey.

As a reminder, the site is available now through the close of business on Monday, June 21, and there are only two questions:

1.  Are you fully vaccinated for COVID-19?
2.  If you answered “no”, do you plan to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before the start of the Fall semester?

Vaccination status is being collected to have knowledge about the campus as a whole.  You will not be contacted about your individual vaccination status, nor will it be shared with anyone.

Even if you have previously completed another survey about your vaccination status, it is essential that you also complete this survey.  The results of this survey, combined with the results of the student survey, will give us the clearest picture of the vaccination status of our entire campus.

Thank you for caring and sharing your status!

Dear Colleagues:

The Truman State University Board of Governors met on campus this past Saturday for their annual June retreat/meeting under the leadership of Board Chair K. Brooks Miller, Jr. 

On a very full and productive day, the Board conducted a retreat Saturday morning in the Presidential Reading Room in Pickler Memorial Library and held their regular meeting in the afternoon in Georgian Rooms A and B of the Student Union Building.  The morning retreat focused on the lessons learned from the pandemic and what it means to be a public liberal arts and sciences university in 2021 and beyond. 

During the regular Board meeting, Governor Jennifer Kopp Dameron was officially recognized for her exemplary service as Board Chair for the 2020 calendar year.  In addition, Dr. Tyana Lange, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing, provided a report on admission and retention.  The Board reviewed financial, investment, and external auditor reports; received updates related to on-campus construction projects and the Faculty Handbook revision process; and learned about the new Summer Writing Initiative for New Grants (SWING) program.  I provided a President’s Report where I highlighted the successful end of the 2020-21 Academic Year and shared a current legislative budget update.  

Within the area of budget and capital projects, the Board approved Operating Budgets and Academic Promotion Salary Increases for Fiscal Year 2022 (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022).  The approved budget was developed using state funding based on recommendations by the Governor for the FY2022 appropriations.  The General Assembly added a 3.7 percent increase to the recommendation; however, since the Governor has not signed the FY2022 appropriation bill, the originally proposed appropriation was used to develop the FY2022 budget.  Should an increase in core appropriations happen, a revised budget will be proposed to the Board at their August meeting.  In addition, the Board approved Academic Promotion Salary Increases for the 2021-22 Academic Year ($1,000 Instructor to Assistant Professor; $3,600 Assistant Professor to Associate Professor; $7,200 Associate Professor to Professor).  As you will recall, the Board’s consideration of salary recommendations occurs at the December meeting, with the exception that faculty promotion amounts are approved in June.

Architectural services for the Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center Final Phase project were approved by the Board.  The FY2022 capital improvements bill approved by the Missouri General Assembly includes $4.6 million for the project.  This funding will allow for the completion of the project.  Funding is not certain until the Governor signs the appropriation bill; however, conditional approval was sought now to allow the process to move forward as quickly as possible. 

Finally, within the area of budget and capital projects, the Board approved the FY2023 State Capital Improvement and Maintenance Request.  The top two priorities include a significant renovation of Kirk Building to house a comprehensive one-stop-shop Student Success Center and the construction of a building and purchase of generators to establish an Emergency Electrical Backup System which would provide electrical power to campus in the event of a natural disaster.  Although it is not likely that there will be state funding for these requests, the capital requests must be submitted each year to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Division of Design and Construction, Office of Administration.

Within the area of Academic Affairs, the Board approved the addition of two graduate programs:  Disability Studies: Applied Behavior Analysis, M.A. and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis.  Both programs will be delivered entirely online, with the exception of clinical internships.

During the closed session of the meeting, the Board approved recommendations for promotion and tenure effective at the beginning of the 2021-22 Academic Year.  Please join me in congratulating these dedicated faculty members and thank them for all they do for our students and our University.

Promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
Granted Academic Tenure

School of Arts and Letters
Jack Davis, German
Amy Norgard, Classics
Oscar Sendon, Spanish

School of Business
Isaac Ison, Accounting

School of Health Sciences and Education
Nancy Daley-Moore, Health and Exercise Sciences
Enrique Pareja, STEM Education

School of Science and Mathematics
Brett Berke, Biology
Bill Miller, Chemistry

School of Social and Cultural Studies
Ashley Ramsey, Psychology

Promoted from Associate Professor to Professor

School of Science and Mathematics
Stephen Hudman, Biology

A complete copy of the open session agenda can be found on the Board of Governors’ website located at https://www.truman.edu/about/our-people/board-of-governors/.  The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Saturday, August 7.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer!

Best regards,
Sue

On May 28, 2021, the CDC issued Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html).  Key among the recommendations is that fully vaccinated people can “Resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

To get an understanding of the percentage of our campus that is fully vaccinated, please go to https://forms.gle/t2keXUvbx4TDDg6C7 to share your vaccination status.  When the Google login is presented, you will need to enter your Truman email address to complete the survey.

The site is available now through the close of business on Monday, June 21.

There are only two questions:

1. Are you fully vaccinated for COVID-19?
2. If you answered “no”, do you plan to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before the start of the Fall semester?

Vaccination status is being collected to have knowledge about the campus as a whole.  You will not be contacted about your individual vaccination status, nor will it be shared with anyone.

Truman’s success in taking on the challenges of the pandemic is the result of all of us – faculty, staff, and students – stepping up and doing what it takes to keep one another safe and well.  Sharing your vaccination status is a quick and easy way to continue this commitment to one another.

Thank you in advance for providing this essential information.

 

Starting this fall, all classrooms on campus will operate under their original usage guidelines.

Based on a variety of factors, including a decrease in the number of active cases, an increase in vaccination rates, and updated guidance from the CDC, classrooms will return to their usual capacities beginning Fall 2021.  This will permit all in-person classes that had to adopt a hybrid format to meet COVID protocols to return to an in-person format.  All activities may also be conducted in an in-person format.

There may still be COVID protocols in place to limit exposure to and spread of the virus.  For example, the campus mask policy for the fall semester must still be determined.  Details regarding these protocols should be available by June 30

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the University will consult the guidance of the CDC along with other medical and public health professionals to determine the proper course of action for the campus.

As more information about the fall semester becomes available, it will be emailed directly to students and employees, and all messages will continue to be posted at truman.edu/coronavirus.

Dear Truman Community:

I hope your summer has begun well.  At the start of the new academic year, we will begin our work in earnest to make a positive impact on the eight foundational metrics of our new strategic plan.  To successfully realize the promise of the strategic plan, we must have an integrated approach to our efforts.  To support this integrated approach, Student Affairs is being reimagined to a new unit of Student Life with a primary focus on elevating the student experience, and there will be a realignment of reporting lines for some departments in Student Affairs.

Beginning July 1, 2021:

• To provide a strengthened focus on enriching the student experience, the Bookstore, Campus Recreation, Citizenship and Community Standards, Student Health Center, University Counseling Center, and Union and Involvement Services will comprise the new unit of Student Life.  Janna Stoskopf will assume the new role of Dean of Student Life.
• To enhance the essential role Residence Life plays in student recruitment and retention, Residence Life will move from Student Affairs to Enrollment Management and Marketing.  Given its close connection with Residence Life, Sodexo will also move to Enrollment Management and Marketing.
• To provide seamless advising across a student’s time at Truman, the Career Center will move from Student Affairs to Academic Affairs.
• To provide a strong foundation from which to launch a unified and intentional approach to diversity and inclusion that includes strong academic components, The Center for Diversity and Inclusion will move from Student Affairs to Academic Affairs.
• With a strong connection to student retention, the Student Access and Disability Services Office will move from Student Affairs to Academic Affairs.

This is a realignment of reporting lines; no positions are being eliminated. The purpose of the realignment is to enhance the realization of our new strategic plan and bolster our efforts in elevating the student experience.

Best regards,
Sue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Truman Community:

As we begin the final week of this most challenging academic year, there are many words that come to mind.  The one I embrace is pride.

We can take great pride in the fact that we have been on campus and in person the entire year without disruption.  This a feat that many other universities have not been able to accomplish.

We can take great pride that individually and collectively, we have faced all challenges head-on and stayed focused on achieving our goals.  We have deliberately and successfully reached this moment in time.

We can take great pride that we have stepped up for each other in big and small ways.  So many members of our Truman community have gone above and beyond to provide a safe and supportive living and learning environment.

We can take great pride in the individual and collective accolades we have earned during trying circumstances.  We have excelled in academic, performing arts, and sports competitions, as well as research and creative activities, philanthropy and service projects, and national recognitions.

This time last year, I shared the following words of wisdom: 

It always seems impossible until it’s done. – Nelson Mandela
A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it. – Ray Davis

These words are even more relevant now.  In a year like no other, we did not bow and we made the seemingly impossible possible.  My enormous gratitude to all of you for making this happen.  We have shown that we are a university like no other.

For those who are graduating or retiring, I wish you every happiness in the next phase of your life’s journey.  For those who are returning in the fall, I look forward to experiencing a promising and exciting new academic year with you.

With great Bulldog pride,
Sue

 

Dear Truman Community:

The guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd is not the realization of justice; it is a first necessary step toward it.  Accountability is essential for justice.

As we affirmed last summer, social justice can only be realized when we confront the racial injustice and inequity legacies of the past, acknowledge the realities of the present, and do the real work to achieve an equitable future for all people.

To advance our ongoing work to achieve social justice for all, please join us on Tuesday, April 27, for a Day of Solidarity.  The day will include spaces and focus groups to process thoughts and feelings about cases of social injustices nationwide; a wall/banner to provide visual statements of solidarity; a community dialogue – Same Story, Different Cops: Social Impacts of the Chauvin Trial; and a candlelight ceremony to recognize all lives lost to violence.  Details will be shared soon.

Best regards,
Sue