Summer Activities

This summer, I have been meeting with alumni and donors from New York to Georgia, from Texas to Florida, as well as representing our University at state meetings in Jefferson City, St. Louis, and St. Joseph. We have held a good number of alumni events across the country to engage our graduates. We have also started an alumni coffee event in St. Louis that we will be hosting periodically to stay connected to our alumni.

Enrollment Planning

This summer, Dr. Debbie Below, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success, presented our strategic enrollment plan to the Board of Governors. This summer and through the new academic year, campus groups were engaged in the planning process. Please contact Dr. Below if you would like her to visit with your office or department about the plan.

The plan includes goals, strategies, and priorities to guide Southeast in managing its enrollment for the financial health of the University that are aligned with our Strategic Action Plan. While it is a comprehensive and integrated approach, there are two partnership opportunities as a result that I want to share updates on:

• Online Education - Southeast released a request for proposals related to Online Program Management (OPM) last fall. We then entered into an agreement with Wiley, not as an OPM, but as a consultant to assess and make recommendations on steps necessary to make our online programs and marketing ready for growth. Wiley presented its findings to the Online Program work group (consisting of employees across the University) and members of the administration last month. The work group is evaluating the findings and will consult with the administration on recommendations for next steps.
• Financial Aid Optimization - We will be working with Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) for financial aid optimization. RNL will assist us as we award our financial aid to align our resources with institutional goals and student needs.

Accounting & Budget Offices

I think most of you are aware that the staffing levels in our accounting and budget offices have been a challenge. The nation is facing an accountant shortage, and sadly we are not immune. I am pleased to report we have made progress and have plans in place so business continues.

• New Hires - We have hired a new controller, Diana Harley, who started August 1. We have also been successful in hiring another accountant with several additional active searches ongoing.
• Consultant - We have been working with a consultant, Protiviti, as staffing levels have been low to ensure work is completed and deadlines are met. We will continue to use our partner as needed while we work to bring our in-house staffing back to the appropriate level.

Flexible Work Pilot

This summer, we began a small pilot to test flexible work. The pilot is for a three-month period that is set to end in September.

Things have been going well.

• Participant and supervisor feedback has been positive.
• The pilot has also helped Human Resources and Information Technology identify some process enhancements to better support these types of work arrangements.
• We will take what we have learned and expand the pilot into the fall with a larger number of employees taking part.
• If this is something you are interested in, please express interest to your supervisor. Supervisors will be working with HR to discuss the expansion of the pilot.

New Board Members

Governor Parson named Kerry Robinson, of Ballwin, to SEMO's Board of Governors in July. Mr. Robinson has served as a professional baseball scout for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2010. He previously served as a professional baseball player for five Major League teams. In addition, he is a 2008 inductee to the Redhawks Athletic Hall of Fame (Baseball) and 2014 Southeast Salutes award winner. Mr. Robinson holds a Bachelor of Arts in general studies (sports management) from Southeast. We anticipate Mr. Robinson to be formally sworn in at the Board's September meeting.

In May, our new student representative to the Board of Governors, Clayton Eftink was sworn in. Mr. Eftink is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Bachelor of Science in business administration.

As a reminder, Southeast's Board of Governors is comprised of seven voting members, plus the student representative all appointed by the Governor of the State of Missouri. You can learn more about the Board by visiting semo.edu/board.