Dear Colleagues:

As we near the end of the Fall Semester, it gives me great pleasure to invite you to participate in three upcoming events:

Faculty and Staff Holiday Open House – Wednesday, December 13
Please come celebrate Truman and the holiday season at the  Faculty and Staff Holiday Open House scheduled for December 13 at the University Residence.  The open house will take place 2:30-5:00 p.m., and I hope to see you there!  An official invitation will be shared with campus later today.

Fall Commencement – Saturday, December 16
The 2017 Fall Commencement Ceremony is scheduled for December 16 at 11:00 a.m. in Pershing Arena.  Zac Burden, Director of Missouri Hall, Truman alumnus, and Truman Historian/story teller extraordinaire, will be our Commencement speaker.

Casual Dress and Departmental Food Exchange Days
Thursday and Friday, December 21 and 22, are designated as Casual Dress and Departmental Food Exchange Days.  Those offices not celebrating the departmental food exchange days are more than welcome to join the President’s Office celebration!

While writing, I also wanted to report on the Truman State University Board of Governors meeting held on campus on Saturday under the leadership of Board Chair Mike LaBeth.  The Board elected officers and assigned committee membership for the 2018 calendar year.  New officers who will take office for a term of one year commencing at the first regular meeting of the calendar year are Chair, Cheryl J. Cozette; Vice Chair, Laura A. Crandall; and Secretary, Jennifer Kopp Dameron.

The Board received a number of reports.  Dr. Janet Gooch, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, was joined by David Charles Goyette, Assistant Professor of Theatre, and several students involved in Truman’s production of “Falsettos” who reported on this spectacular high-impact academic and co-curricular experience and shared an inspiring brief performance.  I provided a President’s Report highlighting campus and community activities that have occurred since the last meeting of the Board.  Within the Board’s committee meetings, the members received reports within Academic Affairs on the Five-Year Program Review and within Students Affairs on assessment data.  They also reviewed financial reports and received updates on various on-campus construction projects and equipment purchases.

A one-time faculty early retirement incentive program for 2018 was approved with a separation/retirement date no later than May 31, 2018.  Eligible for the program are all full-time employees holding faculty rank currently employed at Truman, who are at least 60 years of age and meet one of the following conditions:  1) MOSERS Participant (MOSERS Retirement Eligible on or before May 31, 2018; 2) CURP Participant (age plus years of service must equal 70 on or before May 31, 2018).  The program is not available to employees who have already committed their written intent to retire from the University.  The program is limited to thirty (30) participants and provides a cash incentive payment of $25,000 which will be payable as a lump sum upon retirement.  The enrollment period runs from January 4 thru February 16, 2018.  The Human Resources Office will distribute additional information as well as directions on how to apply.

In addition, housing and food plan charges effective with the 2018 Fall Semester were approved.  On-campus room rates have not been raised since 2015-16.  For 2018-19, some operating costs are projected to increase including utilities and fringe benefits and the Board approved a 1% increase in room rates.  Meal plans will increase by 2.75% to cover projected food and labor costs; this will result in a $41 per semester increase in the most popular meal plan.  With the typical room rate and food plan combined, the overall increase for on-campus room and board is 1.7%.

Finally, the Board approved faculty sabbaticals for the 2018-19 Academic Year.  Congratulations to the following faculty members.  We look forward to the impactful outcomes of their sabbatical work.

2018-2019 Academic Year
Jennifer Jesse, Professor of Philosophy and Religion

2018 Fall Semester
Sally West, Professor of History

2019 Spring Semester
Roberta Donahue, Professor of Health Science
Pamela Ryan, Professor of Mathematics
Joaquin Maldonado-Class, Professor of Spanish

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/board-of-governors-agendas/.  The next regular meeting of the Board of Governors is scheduled for Saturday, February 3, 2017.

Wishing you a fantastic end to your semester,

Sue