Dear Colleagues:

The Truman State University Board of Governors met this past Saturday for their annual June retreat and meeting under the leadership of Board Chair Laura A. Crandall.  Due to the Student Union Building being off line during the month of June, the Board held their retreat and meeting in Baldwin Hall and dined in Missouri Hall.

In a very full and productive day, the Board welcomed new Board member, Nancy Gingrich, and acknowledged the reappointment of Governor Sarah Burkemper.  Governor Gingrich is a Truman alumna and her bio can be found on the Board of Governors website located at https://www.truman.edu/about/our-people/board-of-governors/.  The Board also passed a resolution recognizing Governor Mike LaBeth, the out-going member of the Board, who served from January 2013 through June 2019.

During the retreat on Saturday morning, the Board began a discussion related to the University’s next strategic plan as the current plan ends in FY2020.  Additional details on this process will be shared with campus in the Fall 2019 Semester.

At their regular Board meeting, the members approved Operating Budgets and Salary Policies for Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020).  The approved budget was developed using level funding recommended by the Governor in the Executive Budget and, at this time, salary policies were recommended to remain at the current level for FY2020.  Since the budget was developed, Governor Parson signed the appropriation bill providing an increase for next year; however, enrollment for the 2019-20 Academic Year has not been finalized.  If the appropriation continues to remain in place and if enrollment for the Fall 2019 semester remains relatively stable, a revised FY2020 budget will be submitted to the Board in August and salary recommendations will be readdressed with the Board in October and/or December.  Therefore, contracts and salary letters distributed at the end of June will reflect wages from FY2019.  Please be sure to read the letter enclosed with the contracts and salary letters for more information.

In addition, the Board approved enrollment fees for the 2019-20 Academic Year.  The Higher Education Student Funding Act (HESFA) allows a statutory maximum increase for 2019-20 of 6.9% for Missouri resident undergraduate students based on the most recent calendar year Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well as recent levels of state support.  However, it was recommended and the Board approved a 5% tuition increase rather than 6.9% with the difference waived.  Because non-resident and graduate tuition rates have been increased at or below CPI for recent years, it was recommended and the Board approved that all categories of tuition be increased at the same rate.

The Board members received reports from their three committees (Academic and Student Affairs, Finance and Auditing, and Budget and Capital Projects), and approved action items are noted below:

Finance and Auditing
*PFM Asset Management, LLC was selected to continue to provide investment management services to the University.  PFM is a recognized leader in fixed income portfolio management for various municipalities and public universities, and their conservative and consistent approach during recent periods of volatility have proved financially advantageous to the University.
*Based upon the recommendation of the Truman State University Foundation Board, the administrative fee for endowed funds to the Foundation was increased from 1% to 1.5%.
*In addition, an administrative fee of 5% was implemented on all non-endowed gifts to the Foundation.  Both fees will help generate the assets needed to meet the increasing demands for private support to the Foundation and to support the rising costs related to private fund raising.  They will also allow for the necessary expansion of fundraising initiatives and development efforts and permit the Foundation to move additional funds to the University.

Budget and Capital Projects
*The Information Technology Networking Equipment Update for Violette and Magruder Halls Project was approved.  This project, funded by a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant, will upgrade the campus network to support a ten-fold increase in data access rates for faculty in Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, Computer Science, and other STEM-related disciplines located in the buildings receiving the upgrades.
*The Presidential Reading Room in Pickler Memorial Library was renamed The Clayton B. and Odessa Ofstad Presidential Reading Room in recognition of a gift of $100,000.
*The FY2021 to FY2025 State Capital Improvement and Maintenance Request was approved which requests funds for the top priorities including Pershing Phase 2 renovation, the Greenwood Autism Center, a significant renovation of Kirk Building, and an Emergency Electrical Backup System.  Although it is not likely that these requests will be approved, the capital requests must be submitted each year to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Division of Design and Construction, Office of Administration.

Finally, I provided my regular President’s Report and, at the meeting and within their committee meetings, the Board members were provided with an audit preview and updates on enrollment management, summer orientation, searches for the Deans of the Schools of Arts and Letters and Business, financial reports, and on-campus construction projects.

During the closed session of the meeting, the Board approved recommendations for promotion and tenure effective at the beginning of the 2019-20 Academic Year.  I congratulate these dedicated faculty members and thank them for all they do for our students and our University.

Promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor:
Yung-hwal Park, Business Administration
John Jones, Education
Amy Teten, Communication Disorders

Promoted from Associate Professor to Professor:
Matthew Derezinski, Art
Brian Kubin, Music
Katherine Jackson, Business Administration
Lin Zhang, Business Administration
Paul Yoder, Education
Chad Montgomery, Biology
Don Krause, Communication

Granted Academic Tenure:
Yung-hwal Park, Business Administration
John Jones, Education
Amy Teten, Communication Disorders

A copy of the complete open session agenda can be found on the Board of Governors website under Agendas.  The next meeting of the Board is scheduled for Saturday, August 3.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer!

Best regards,

Sue