Governor's Conference on Economic Development

I had the opportunity to attend Governor Parson's Conference on Economic Development earlier this month. Sessions dealt with emerging technologies and the importance of partnerships. These are initiatives we are also focusing on locally. With the announcement in August that Dan Presson has been named the assistant vice president for economic and workforce development, we can now proceed with several initiatives in that division that will position Southeast for the future and support our region.

One such example is we are announcing a new partnership with Saint Francis Healthcare to tailor our Bachelor of Applied Science to support radiologic technology, diagnostic medical sonography and other medical imaging needs. This is a great example of our actions to prepare our local workforce while developing a partnership to answer the need with resources already available. We will continue to look for partnerships that benefit our students, support our region, and align SEMO with the marketplace.

CBHE Meeting

This month, I also represented SEMO at the Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) meeting in Jefferson City where one of the items discussed was a proposed 5% inflationary increase for higher education funding. I stress that this is just a recommendation and the decision is ultimately in the hands of the legislature and the Governor.

In last year’s State of the University, we updated the University on efforts at the state level to explore the creation of a new performance funding model for public higher education. In the 2022 legislative session, the Missouri Legislature appropriated money to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) to hire a consultant to provide recommendations on (1) public higher education performance funding models; and (2) higher education efficiency and possible reforms. In August 2022, the MDHEWD awarded a contract to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) for this work. NCHEMS submitted a final report to the MDHEWD this summer, which includes recommendations for a new funding model for Missouri’s public institutions. We believe the department has since shared this report with the Governor and the Legislature. Prior to the submission of the final report, SEMO submitted comments to the MDHEWD expressing concerns.



We anticipate that conversations regarding potential funding models and other considerations related to funding Missouri’s public colleges and universities will continue in the 2024 legislative session. Additional information on this can be found on the MDHEWD’s website. We will continue to engage in these discussions and will keep you updated of any significant developments.

CBHE also formally approved several academic actions that had been previously approved by our Board of Governors.

MLK Celebration Dinner

We also announced today that our speaker for the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner will be Missouri Senator Brian Williams, a 1996 SEMO graduate. Sen. Williams represents the 14th Senatorial District in St. Louis County and will speak on this year's theme: Building Community through Service. We look forward to hearing his message. Please visit semo.edu/mlk for more information.

University Policy Register

Across the institution, it is not uncommon to find that “policies” exist in many places, and that there is no differentiation for example between Faculty Handbook policies versus other University policies or statements that are listed on Administrative or Departmental webpages as “policy” that are not codified as official University Business Policy. In some instances the material that does exist is overbroad, and at times duplicative of or contradictory with other documents. Additionally, it seems that some of the proposal, approval, and updating processes across the various documents, be it the Board of Governors By-Laws, University Business Policies and Procedures, the Faculty Handbook, the Student Code of Conduct, or other documents, is cumbersome and potentially prone to mistakes.

As such, at the May 12 Board of Governors meeting, the Board expressed interest in creating a Policy Register that would help the institution consolidate all the policies it has, and allow for everything to be placed under one umbrella. The existence of a Policy Register is common in higher education and can be found throughout some institutions in Missouri and many throughout the country. In response to the Board’s interest in this topic, the University is initiating a process to review the various documents that exist to create one repository, a Policy Register, where they can reside. Discussions with Faculty Senate executives on this topic began this summer, and the full Senate had an opportunity to have a larger discussion on this last week. I am grateful for Faculty Senate’s leadership and engagement in this process. Discussions are also being held with other divisions. We will be engaging an outside consultant, that has extensive experience working with other institutions in-and-outside of Missouri, to help us with this work. I will keep you updated as this initiative progresses.

September SEMO Board Meeting

The Board of Governors will hold its first meeting of the new academic year this coming Friday. A few highlights of things to expect:

• We will swear in our new Governor, Mr. Kerry Robinson.
• We will hear an enrollment report for fall 2023.
• We will also hear an update on our facilities, including a new partnership to expand our cybersecurity education capabilities.

Visit semo.edu/news following the Board meetings for the latest news, updates, and announcements.