Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the formation of an Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Search Advisory Committee to be of assistance to me as we begin the internal search for the next EVPAA and Provost.  Five individuals representing the five academic schools have agreed to serve:

Mike Ashcraft, School of Social and Cultural Studies
Heather Cianciola, School of Arts and Letters
John Jones, School of Health Sciences and Education
Stacey Kaden, School of Business
Dana Vazzana, School of Science and Mathematics

Qualifications of the position and application requirements can be found at http://wp-internal.truman.edu/hr/internally-posted-open-positions/.  Applications are due by April 10, and on-campus interviews/meetings will be held during the week of April 24.  The goal is to have the new EVPAA and Provost  in place by July 1, 2017.

I express my deep appreciation to the members of the advisory committee for their willingness to take on this important assignment.  I am also most appreciative of Richard Coughlin for his exemplary service as Interim EVPAA and Provost.  Richard selflessly agreed to a second interim term and he has been invaluable during this time of transition.  He has served our institution enormously well and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Best regards,

Sue

Dear Colleagues:

Before many of you depart for a well-deserved spring break, I wanted to give you an update on two important topics – vice president searches and the Organizational Excellence Advisory Group.  I apologize in advance for the length of this email, but there is a lot of information to share.

Vice President Searches

As you are aware, we currently have an Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Interim Co-Directors for University Advancement, and the Vice President for Student Affairs will be retiring this August.  I know the campus is eager to have stability as quickly as possible in all of these positions, so over the past few weeks, in consultation with our senior leadership, I have worked to develop an approach and timeframe to do just that.

Because Truman is in the midst of many important initiatives including bringing to fruition the work of the Next Steps Teams, implementing the new strategic plan, meeting the goals of the capital campaign and addressing our budget realities, it is imperative we pursue an aggressive timeline for the searches while structuring them to ensure we have the best people in place to lead Truman at this exciting, albeit challenging time.

• Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.  Given time is of the essence in successfully achieving the goals of our initiatives, as well as the fact that the search for a provost is very closely tied to an academic year and it is already almost mid-March, I believe it is in the best interest of our university to do an internal search for provost.  We have a number of bright and talented colleagues who could very successfully serve as the chief academic officer of our institution.  Qualifications of the position, application requirements, and the finalized list of the members of the search committee will be provided next week.  Applications will be due by April 10 and on-campus interviews/meetings will begin the week of April 24.

If for some reason the internal search is not successful, we can launch an external search in August.  We would not lose any time by doing an internal search, as August would be the earliest we could conduct an external search given we are so close to the end of the current academic year.

• Vice President for Student Affairs.  Given our collective desire to bring stability to the senior administration positions as soon as possible, it is in the best interest of the university to launch an external search (internal applicants are most welcome to apply) this semester in the hope of not needing to name a year-long interim in August.  Qualifications of the position, application requirements, and the finalized list of the members of the search committee will be provided within the next two weeks.

• Vice President for University Advancement.  This position has been in interim status the longest, as the previous search was terminated when President Paino announced his departure.  As this position is not directly connected to the academic year and the Foundation Board plays a significant role in the search process, an external search (internal applicants are most welcome to apply) will be launched this summer.  Qualifications of the position, application requirements, and the finalized list of the members of the search committee will be provided by the end of the semester.

Organizational Excellence Advisory Group

As I discussed in the All University Address, we are establishing an Organizational Excellence Advisory Group to answer core questions designed to guide budget decision making into the future.  This group will have broad representation of faculty, staff, students and administrators including:

• Academic Department Chairs
• Faculty Senate and Executive Committee
• Staff Council and Selected Mid-Management Staff
• President’s Administrative Council
• Student Senate Executive Committee

There will be three core questions and a 2.5-hour working session for each question.  In each working session, there will be a presentation of relevant data, followed by structured discussions.  At the end of each session, recommendations will be developed.  We will discuss these recommendations and how they will guide resource allocation discussions into the future at the Strategic Planning and Assessment Workshop (SPAW) this August.

Invitations to serve on the Organizational Excellence Advisory Group will be sent via email next week.  Participation will require a time commitment from those serving in this role, and we anticipate holding three 2.5-hour afternoon meetings prior to finals week.  If invited individuals have conflicts that prevent participation, we will extend invitations to others who will provide a similar mix of ideas and perspectives.

We have exciting and demanding times ahead that require we truly work together to develop a bold and confident future for our beloved institution.  I am confident we are up to the challenge.

Whether you are able to take time off during spring break or not, I wish all of you a rejuvenating week.

Best regards,

Sue

The audio recording of the All-University Meeting held on February 15 is now available and has been posted at http://wp-internal.truman.edu/presoffice/.  In order to view the recording, users will need to log into TruView.

We are Truman!

Dear Colleagues:

Following is an email we sent to the students today.  I will be discussing the withholding, as well as the 9% reduction to our FY 2018 budget, and our plans to address them at the All-University Meeting on Wednesday, February 15.  I hope to see you there.

Best regards,

Sue

 

SUBJECT:  Spring 2017 Surcharge

Dear Students:

As you may know, we learned recently that tax revenues for 2016-2017 in the state of Missouri did not meet the projected level needed to support the state’s many publicly funded programs, including higher education.  Missouri’s Constitution mandates a balanced budget, so the Governor was required to reduce spending.  On January 16^th, Governor Greitens announced that 8% will be withheld in core funding from every 4-year public higher education institution.  For Truman, this means over a $3.1 million reduction in our current budget.

In a campus-wide effort, all entities across Truman’s campus have been asked to relinquish already tight funds from their respective budgets to help meet the demands of this unexpected financial challenge.  Given the timing and the significant size of the budget reduction, Truman’s Board of Governors voted at their February 4^th meeting to establish a $50 surcharge for all full-time students (12 or more undergraduate credit hours; 9 or more graduate credit hours) for the Spring 2017 semester.  The revenue from this surcharge will cover approximately 8% of the $3.1 million budget reduction.

The surcharge is in addition to tuition and fees and will be required of all full-time students.  We understand this is an unexpected development and that the surcharge may pose a significant hardship for some.  A Student Surcharge Grant has been established to provide a limited number of $50 grants to assist students who can demonstrate payment of the surcharge will cause extraordinary financial hardship.  These Foundation-funded grants are made available through the generosity of Truman alumni and friends and are reserved for those who demonstrate extreme need.  The application for the Student Surcharge Grant can be found at http://wp-internal.truman.edu/financialaid/spring-2017-student-surcharge-grant/.  Questions about the surcharge and the student surcharge grant should be directed to Regina Morin, Vice President for Enrollment Management, at rmorin@truman.edu.

Thank you for your understanding.  We are in challenging times, but by working together and taking control of our own destiny, we can emerge with an even stronger Truman experience.

We are Truman!

Sue Thomas

As a reminder, President Sue Thomas will hold an All-University Meeting on Wednesday, February 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Georgian Room of the Student Union followed by a reception in the Hub.  The annual State of the University address will focus on the state budget for next year as well as the processes that are being developed to not only address the current withholdings but also budget challenges in the next fiscal year and beyond.  A webcast of the remarks will be made available to campus shortly thereafter.

We look forward to seeing you there.

We are Truman!

Dear Colleagues:

The Truman State University Board of Governors held their first regularly scheduled meeting of the 2017 calendar year this past Saturday under the leadership of newly elected Chair Mike LaBeth.  Other officers for the 2017 calendar year include Vice Chair Cheryl J. Cozette and Secretary Laura A. Crandall.  The Board took the opportunity to officially express their sincere appreciation to Sarah Burkemper for her exemplary service as the 2016 Chair of the Board of Governors.

Within the President’s Report, I reported on our current withholding from the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, Missouri Governor Greitens’ Fiscal Year 2018 budget, and the processes that are being developed to not only address the current withholdings but also budget challenges in the next fiscal year and beyond.  As I noted previously, 8% has been withheld from core funding for the remainder of the current fiscal year (a $3,114,832 reduction).  Within the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, Truman’s core funding has been reduced by 9% thus resulting in a reduction of $4,010,551.  The budget, and how we can address its challenges, will be the focus of the All-University Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Georgian Room of the Student Union.

At the Board meeting and within their committee meetings, the Board received on-campus construction project updates, reviewed financial reports, and reviewed program evaluation data in Student Affairs.  They also reviewed and ultimately approved an Academic Calendar for August Interim 2018 through Summer Session 2020.

A copy of the open session agenda can be found on the Board of Governors website located at http://www.truman.edu/about/our-people/board-of-governors/.  The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board will take place on Saturday, April 8.

I hope you will join me at the All-University Meeting on February 15.  Together we can assure that Truman thrives into the future!

Best regards,

Sue

Dear Colleagues:

The first Coffee (and Chocolates) of the semester is scheduled for Thursday, February 16, at 3:30 p.m. in the SUB Conference Room (SUB 3000).

This coffee will focus on the recommendations of two Next Steps teams that made reports to faculty governance last fall:  a bill calling for the reform of the LSP; and the development of a sequence of two common seminars aimed at first-year students.  A third team charged with creating a centralized system of support for high-impact experiences also submitted a report to governance and was discussed at one of my coffees last fall.  All three of these initiatives are currently under review in Undergraduate Council.  I am pleased to announce that Bridget Thomas and Chad Mohler, who chaired the two Next Steps teams, and Paul Parker, Chair of Undergraduate Council, will be joining me to facilitate discussion.

The work of these teams has grown out of the efforts of the Action Teams and Blue Print Teams over the past two years.  Background information and reports of all these teams can be found on TruView.

I hope you will be able to join us.  I look forward to an informative and engaging discussion as we make progress implementing many of the great ideas generated by faculty and staff over the past two years.

Best regards,

Sue

Interim President Sue Thomas will hold an All-University Meeting on Wednesday, February 15, at 3:30 p.m. in the Georgian Room of the Student Union.

The annual State of the University address will focus on the state budget for next year as well as the processes that are being developed to not only address the current withholdings but also budget challenges in the next fiscal year and beyond.

We are Truman!

Dear Colleagues:

As I shared in my last email, the President’s Administrative Council and I have begun to develop processes to address the current withholdings, as well as anticipated budget challenges in the next fiscal year and beyond. Because the current withholdings represent one-time money and future budget challenges will most likely involve permanent cuts, we are separating the two processes.

I have met with the vice presidents and we all agree that the $3,114,832 withholding affects the entire University and as such, the entire University must pull together and contribute to covering the shortfall. In addition to using money that is held centrally, your vice president will be reaching out to determine what funds are available in your area to meet this immediate budget challenge.

While we determine how we will meet the decrease in state appropriations for this fiscal year, we are also working on developing a synergistic, strategic, and inclusive process to inform fiscal decisions in the future. I will keep you updated as we formulate an approach.

We have hard choices to make, but by keeping our focus on the success of our students and the future needs of our beloved institution, I am confident we will realize our vision that “…Truman graduates will be citizen-leaders committed to service; globally competitive; able to thrive in the complexities of an advanced, technical and multicultural world; and inspired to live healthy and meaningful lives.”

We are Truman!

Sue

Dear Truman Community:

Welcome back!  I am so happy to have the campus full of our students, faculty and staff again, and I look forward to all of the terrific things we will accomplish together this semester.

While it is a wonderful time for us to be back together, unfortunately, it is not a wonderful time for the budget.  The state budget situation is very difficult and the Governor of Missouri has a constitutional duty to balance the budget.  Yesterday, Governor Eric Greitens announced $146 million in withholdings, with higher education shouldering a large share of that amount.  Every 4-year public higher education institution will have 8% withheld from core funding for the remainder of the fiscal year (for Truman, this means a $3,114,832 reduction in our current budget).  I met this morning with the President’s Administrative Council to begin developing processes not only to address the current withholdings, but also to address anticipated budget challenges in the next fiscal year and beyond.

In addition to withholding 8% of our core funding, the Governor also restricted more of the Greenwood Center funding, leaving us with only $595,831 of the original $5.5 million appropriated for the project.  This amount can fund the planning and design phase of the project.  Given the bipartisan support the Center has generated from the community and so many state leaders, I have already been in touch with our governmental relations liaisons as well as our local legislators to begin developing a course of action to try to get the funding restored.  We cannot give up on making the clinic happen as it means so much to our region and to our community.

While Governor Greitens announced the withholdings yesterday and will hold his State of the State address tonight, he has said he will not be making any announcements about his proposed budget for next year until February.  As such, the All-University Meeting that normally takes place early each spring semester will be postponed until after he has released budget information for next year.

We are in challenging times, but by working together and taking control of our own destiny, we can emerge as an even stronger educational force.  Now is the time to be bold and innovative within our mission.  While we must look for immediate and future savings, it is imperative that we have an even greater focus on revenue generation.  We are an enormously bright and talented community, and I have no doubts that we can do what it takes to ensure that Truman thrives well into the future.

We are Truman!

Sue