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1) Gilman Scholarship Awarded – A SEMO student at our Sikeston regional campus has been awarded a highly competitive scholarship that will allow her to study in Scotland this semester. Katy Moore, a sophomore elementary education major, began her 16-week studies in Scotland this month. Katy is a mother of four, and her children will share her international experience during their spring break. Only one in four applicants for the Gilman Scholarship are selected and Moore is SEMO’s first Gilman recipient in over a decade. When we think of international education, we often think first of students from other countries coming to SEMO. However, just as valuable are domestic students studying abroad and bringing those experiences back to Eastern Missouri. Not only are congratulations in order for Katy, but also the staff in International Education who helped her prepare the application. Well done, Redhawks!
2) Legislative Session Begins – The 2026 meeting of the Missouri General Assembly has begun, and Governor Kehoe gave his “State of the State” address earlier this week. There are several policy bills SEMO is watching and certainly the development of the FY27 budget will be top of mind throughout the coming five months. In his speech, the governor made recommendations that included a $500,000 cut to SEMO’s budget. However, the actual budget development process begins in the House of Representatives, and we began sharing with elected officials during a trip to Jefferson City this week how SEMO leverages every dollar of state investment to educate tomorrow’s workforce. We also shared that every $1 the state appropriates to SEMO yields $2.50 in economic impact – a great return on investment! During our trip, I met with six legislators including the House Budget Chair. I also had the opportunity to meet with Gov. Kehoe and State Treasurer Vivek Malek. As we move through the legislative session, we’ll keep you posted of milestones and how SEMO fares. To get the latest information, sign up for SEMO Now!, the University’s grassroots advocacy network.
3) 90-Credit Hour Program Proposed – SEMO hosted a site visit team from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) last week. The team was on campus to evaluate the University’s readiness to offer a 90-credit hour bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. While the final decision on whether we can officially offer the reduced credit bachelor’s degree won’t be received from HLC for several weeks, the team seemed very impressed with the work the University has done to prepare this new degree program. Thank you to the faculty in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology, under the leadership of department chair Dr. Brian Donavant; Dr. Michelle Brune, interim vice provost and HLC accreditation liaison officer; and Dr. Doug Koch, interim provost. The entire academic affairs team did tremendous work to prepare the application. If approved, this would be the first reduced credit hour bachelor’s degree in Missouri. SEMO leads the way!!
In closing, I’d like to extend my personal invitation for every member of the faculty and staff to attend the “brown bag lunch” town hall meeting scheduled for noon on Thursday, January 22, in the Academic Hall Auditorium. I hope to see you there.
As always, my gratitude for everything you do to serve and educate our students. We make amazing things happen here on the banks of the Mississippi River. Keep it up!
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