Dear Colleagues:

The Truman State University Board of Governors met this past Saturday for their annual June meeting and retreat under the leadership of Board Chair Karen Haber. 

During the meeting, the Board approved the Operating Budgets and Salary Policies for Fiscal Year 2014.  The FY 2014 Operating Budgets were approved based on projected state support for FY 2014 which is up 2.5% from the FY 2013 appropriation.  The budget was developed with the General Assembly recommendation as the appropriation, with reserves to cover potential withholding.  Tuition for 2013-2014 was increased and enrollment for FY 2014 is projected to be level.  The overall result is a 1.7% projected increase in revenue and expenditures compared to the FY 2013 budget.  Given the above, I am pleased to report that the Board also approved the Salary Policies for Fiscal Year 2014 which will allow salary increases for both faculty and staff.  Faculty and staff salaries (both exempt and non-exempt) for FY 2014 will be increased by 2 percent.  Faculty promotion adjustment amounts remain the same as given in past years. 

Other action items approved during the open session of the June meeting included:
–approval of a revised academic calendar for the 2014 Fall Semester which adjusted the timing of Midterm Break to allow Homecoming 2014 to occur on Saturday, October 11, in conjunction with a scheduled home football game;
–approval of a change in audit scope, necessary under the provisions of the Office of Management and Budget, which will allow the University to enter into an agreement with RubinBrown LLP for additional federal funds audits, as deemed necessary, for the period ending June 30, 2013;
–approval of the Small Gym Wood Floor Replacement Project, a project funded by the Student Athletic Fee which will remove and replace the wood floor system and wall base in the small gym of Pershing Building;
–approval of the Campbell Apartment Sewer Replacement Project, a project which will replace the sanitary sewer line on the west side of Campbell Apartments; and
–approval of the Fiscal Year 2015 State Capital Improvement and Maintenance Request which includes requested funds for the top three priorities of Pershing Phase 2 Renovation, Baldwin/McClain Hall Project Renovation and an Emergency Electrical Backup System which would provide electrical power to campus in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist act or other emergency.

Throughout the day, the Board also received a number of reports, including a report on the Joint Student Government and Faculty Senate Resolution respectfully encouraging Truman State University and the Board of Governors to include equal benefits for domestic partners of University employees in the 2014 employee benefits package.  Katherine Scheidt and Aaron Malin spoke on behalf of the Student Government.  John Bohac spoke on behalf of Faculty Senate, and Ted Frushour spoke on behalf of Staff Council.  The Academic and Student Affairs Committee heard reports on the vision initiative projects and the recent Degree Qualifications Profile forum with guest speaker Dr. Peter Ewell.  Administrative reports were provided from the areas of the Business Office and Campus Planning, and I provided my usual President’s Report.

During the closed session of the June meeting, the Board reviewed recommendations from the President and the Provost for promotion and tenure.  A listing of faculty members who will be promoted and/or receive academic tenure effective at the beginning of the 2013-14 Academic Year are as follows:

Promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor:

School of Arts and Letters
Brian Kubin, Music

School of Business
Datha Damron-Martinez, Business Administration

School of Health Sciences and Education
Ilene Elmlinger, Communication Disorders

School of Science and Mathematics
Chad Montgomery, Biology
Jason Shaw, Mathematics

School of Social and Cultural Studies
Curtis Blakely, Justice Systems
Donald Krause, Communication
Kristi Scholten, Communication

Promoted from Associate Professor to Professor:

School of Arts and Letters
Wynne Wilbur, Art

School of Health Sciences and Education
James Padfield, Exercise Science

Granted Academic Tenure: 

School of Arts and Letters
James D’Agostino, English
Brian Kubin, Music

School of Business
Datha Damron-Martinez, Business Administration

School of Health Sciences and Education
Ilene Elmlinger, Communication Disorders
Beverly Perrachione, Elementary Education
Carla Smith, Exercise Science

School of Social and Cultural Studies
Curtis Blakely, Justice Systems
Donald Krause, Communication
Kristi Scholten, Communication
Marilyn Yaquinto, Communication

I congratulate each of these dedicated individuals and thank them for all that they do on behalf of the University and our students.

A copy of the complete agenda from the June 15^th meeting can be found on the Board of Governors website located at http://governors.truman.edu/agendamaterials.asp.  The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Saturday, August 3.

Sincerely,

Troy

Dear Colleagues: 

On Sunday, we were informed of the death of Dr. Martin Erickson, Professor of Mathematics.  Marty will be missed on the Truman campus, and our hearts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.  Funeral arrangements are pending.  We will inform the campus community when more information on services becomes available. 

Sincerely,

Troy

Dear Colleagues,
 
Happy end of the semester!  It is hard to believe that another academic year is almost in the books.  Next Saturday approximately 1,200 students will graduate on what I hope is a beautiful sun-splashed day.  
 
Amid the hectic pace associated with this time of year, I hope you have time to reflect on the meaning of your work and how it impacts the lives of our students and strengthens our democracy.  I just wanted to take a moment to update you on a few matters of importance.  
 
About 15 months ago, we embarked upon a process of organizational change aimed at preparing the University to thrive amid a rapidly changing world.  To help us through this process, we turned to Professor John Kotter’s research about successful organizational adaptation.  Last academic year, I spent a lot of time explaining the need for change (shrinking state appropriations, changing demographics, disruptive technological innovation, increased competition, etc.), pulling together a guiding coalition, developing a vision that clarifies how the future will be different from the past, and how we can make that future a reality.  We began this academic year with a University-wide discussion of that vision to achieve understanding and buy-in.  Over the course of this academic year, we have embarked upon several initiatives to adapt Truman’s mission and core values to the world we are here to serve.  On April 10^th and 11^th, faculty from several disciplines presented ongoing projects aimed at preparing citizens and leaders, developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, educating a more diverse student population, creating clearer pathways to graduation, building greater collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and expanding applied learning experiences.  I listened to several of these presentations and left excited by their potential.  In the next few weeks, a summary of this work will be posted on the Provost’s website.   
 
At an all-university meeting about three months ago, I suggested that we turn to an institutional core value, continuous improvement through assessment, to drive some of the change we seek.  Truman gained national attention for its leadership in the accountability movement in the 1970s and ’80s, and it is time to reassert our role as a national leader in learning assessment.  While we still employ many best practices, it is time to explore whether our current assessment program accurately reflects our expectations.  As a result of a chance meeting with Dr. Peter Ewell in Atlanta in January, I began to examine the possibility of aligning Lumina’s Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) with our mission and curriculum.  The DQP offers a theoretical framework by which an institution can evaluate and assess a student’s specialized and broad/integrative knowledge, development of well-defined cognitive capacities, and civic and applied learning.  At the core of this approach is to put students’ authentic work, assigned and evaluated by faculty, at the heart of both individual and institutional assessment.  Standardized examinations should not be completely eliminated as evidence of globally competitive graduates, but under this approach the actual work students do for their courses, both inside and outside the classroom, becomes more central to the assessment of individual student learning and institutional effectiveness.
 
Peter, a co-author of the DQP, is returning to campus on May 14^th to engage faculty in conversation about Truman’s assessment program and how the DQP could be used as a tool to demonstrate that our students truly are prepared to compete with the best and brightest from around the world.   I hope as many of you as possible can attend this session with Peter on the 14^th.  As a reminder, please send in your RSVP to http://eventmanager.truman.edu/generallist.asp by the end of the day on Monday, May 6^th.  It should also be noted that Dr. Paul Gaston, also a DQP co-author, is speaking at this year’s Spring Commencement and will be meeting with members of the Assessment Committee prior to the ceremony.
 
At the all-university meeting, I also announced the contract with Stamats to help us more effectively communicate with external audiences by helping us with our messaging and web design.  The last two days, representatives from Stamats were back on campus to present the findings of their research and offer some preliminary concepts.  Because of the urgency of their work, this project has been put on the fast track.  From what I have seen, I am excited by how they are going to help distinguish Truman from other universities.  It should not be long before they start testing these concepts with a broader internal and external audience.
 
Finally, I know that many people are interested in an update on the higher education funding formula bill introduced by Senator David Pearce.  Senate Bill 437 creates a comprehensive funding formula based on a variety of things including cost-per-credit hour, student headcount and institutional performance.  Each institution’s targeted appropriation is based on a multi-state comparison group.  Without going into great detail, Truman and the other public universities have opposed this bill for a variety of reasons.  From Truman’s perspective, the formula did little to recognize our unique mission.  Last week Senator Eric Schmitt introduced an amendment that created a separate peer group for Truman based on mission, program mix and admission standards.  That amendment passed by a 16-11 vote in the Senate.  We are all very appreciative for Senator Schmitt’s amendment and the Senate’s recognition that Truman’s mission is distinctive.  Although we have several other issues with this proposed formula, this amendment does address one of our central concerns.  With two weeks left in the legislative session, it is still questionable whether or not this bill will make it out of the Senate.  On Thursday it came up for a final vote, but under the threat of a filibuster, it was removed from the calendar and put on hold until next week.  Because there are so many concerns still unaddressed, the presidents of the public universities agree that it is best to slow down the process and allow more time to fully explore the best way to incentivize performance and reach the state’s goal of a more educated citizenry.  Even if the bill gets out of the Senate, it still needs to pass the House before going to the Governor.  In other words, to quote the famous song from Smokey and the Bandit, “There is a long way to go and a short time to get there.”
 
We are making progress on other items related to our strategic plan, including exciting sustainability initiatives such as the prospect of piloting the use of solar energy on campus, but I will report on this and other issues later this summer.
 
Good luck to all of you as we wind down another academic year.  I want to once again thank you for serving Truman and our students so well.  I am proud to call all of you my colleagues.
 
Sincerely,
 
Troy

Dear Colleagues:

I write today to provide an update on the University’s examination of the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) as a tool we might use to reform our learning outcomes and to provide a report on the April Board of Governors meeting.

I am pleased to report that Dr. Paul L. Gaston, III, trustees professor at Kent State University and one of four authors of The Degree Qualifications Profile (2001), published by the Lumina Foundation, has agreed to be our May 2013 Commencement speaker.  While on campus, Dr. Gaston hopes to meet with representatives of the Assessment Committee. 

In addition, Dr. Peter T. Ewell, vice president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), another co-author of The Degree Qualifications Profile and a former member of the Truman Board of Governors, has agreed to visit campus on Tuesday, May 14, for a daylong session in regard to the DQP.  The final schedule for Dr. Ewell’s visit is yet to be confirmed, but the initial draft schedule includes meetings with the Assessment Committee, Faculty Senate, deans, department chairs and breakout sessions for faculty and/or staff.  Please watch for further updates from Academic Affairs.

On Saturday, the Truman Board of Governors held their annual April meeting under the leadership of Karen Haber, Board chair.  John W. Bohac, president of the Faculty Senate, and Torbjorn Wandel, president pro tempore, provided the annual Faculty Senate Report.  Mark Gambaiana, vice president for University Advancement, provided an update on Advancement activities and a report on the Foundation Board meeting held earlier that morning.  I provided my regular President’s Report, which included an update on recent campus activities, enrollment projections, an update on the proposed funding formula and other legislative issues that may impact our FY14 budget, an update on our work with Stamats in regard to marketing and a redesign of our website and a report on the University’s efforts to once again focus on outcomes rather than inputs through such initiatives as the DQP.  During my report, I also extended congratulations to Governor Sarah Burkemper on being named one of the “50 Missourians You Need to Know” in Ingram’s (March 2013) and toGovernor Susan Plassmeyer for being named Alumna of the Year by our School of Business.  All 10 members of the Board provide superior guidance and leadership and always have the best interests of the University and its students as their first priority.  In addition, reports were shared from the three Board Committee meetings held earlier in the week, which included a review of financial reports and updates on various on-campus construction projects. 

The Board took action on the following items.
–The Board approved the Kirk Memorial Exterior Repairs Project, a project that will address several issues at Kirk Memorial.  Tuck pointing of bricks and replacement of damaged stonework will occur on the exterior.  All windows, which are original from 1940, will be replaced with new windows that will maintain the historic appearance of the building.  Work on the dome will include the addition of insulation to control water vapor, repair of the outer dome structure and underlayment.  The existing clay tile roof will be reinstalled, and the cupola replaced.
–The Board approved the Student Union Building Elevator Repairs Project.  This project will replace the mechanical and electronic components on the Student Union service elevator, that serves the food service areas and is utilized by the staff for deliveries as well as movement of large items in the three-story building.  The elevator was installed in 1993 and has had several mechanical issues in recent months.
–The Board approved the Summer 2013 Concrete Project, a project which includes repair of sidewalks in numerous locations, driveways and parking lots needing repair or replacement due to extreme hot weather last summer followed by heavy snows this past winter. 
–The Board approved the Baseball/Softball Fields Improvement Project, a project funded by the Student Athletic Fee.  This project will provide a drainage system to remove water from the fields and an irrigation system to water the field at appropriate times.  In addition, this project will include installation of a warning track along the fence at the softball field, which is highly recommended by the NCAA for safety purposes.  There will also be a new backstop at the baseball field, similar to the net system at the softball field, replacing the current chain link backstop system.
–The Board approved the purchase of an Integrated Hardware/Software Digital Recording System for the Truman Speech and Hearing Clinic, to be funded by a HUD grant.  The new system will provide recording of high-quality digital audio and video in eight therapy rooms simultaneously, as well as delivery of the digital audio and video simultaneously to several remote clinical supervisor locations, such as faculty offices.
–And, finally, the Board approved enrollment fees for the 2013-14 academic year.  This includes a new iTech fee supported by the student body which results in a 2.1% increase in tuition and fees for a Missouri undergraduate, a 2.2% increase for a non-resident undergraduate, a 2.2% increase for a Missouri graduate and a 2.1% increase for a non-resident graduate. 

A copy of the complete open session agenda can be found on the Board of Governors website located at http://governors.truman.edu/agendamaterials.asp.  The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Saturday, June 15. 

Troy

Dear Friends:

Dave West, a dear colleague and carpenter-mason, passed away on Friday. Dave will certainly be missed on the Truman campus, and our hearts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 27, at 11:00 a.m. at Travis-Noe Funeral Home, with visitation scheduled on Tuesday, March 26, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. 

Expressions of sympathy in memory of Dave may be made to Hospice of Northeast Missouri. Memorials may be left at or mailed to Travis-Noe Funeral Home, P.O. Box 306, Kirksville, Missouri 63501.

Sincerely,

Troy