Message from Chancellor Shirley Lawler to Faculty and Staff
Welcome to the fourth week of the semester. I hope everyone has had a great start to the month of February. According to Punxsutawney Phil, we will have an early spring—and we’ll take it!
Enrollment for the spring semester continues to show an increase in student headcount. The Feb. 3 enrollment report showed enrollment up 2 percent. We are up 11 percent in the new student category and 11 percent in our online course offerings. The official census day is the 20th day of classes, Feb. 10. Again, we are so appreciative of everyone’s commitment to the recruitment of new students and your dedication to the retention efforts for this campus.
Hopefully, you attended the employee recognition banquet held at the civic center on Jan. 24. It was wonderful to see everyone come together to celebrate milestones in our careers, as well as to honor our retirees. President Smart and several of his staff joined us, along with MSU Board of Governors member Carol Silvey. As always, Alyssa Collins did a great job in organizing this event for the campus.
MSU-WP was a 2020 Bellwether Award finalist by the Bellwether College Consortium for its participation in the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Technology (GOCAT) partnership. The university was one of 30 finalists selected for the highly coveted award. The finalists underwent a second and final round of rigorous peer review at the 2020 Community College Futures Assembly Feb. 2-4 in San Antonio, Texas. MSU-WP is proud to be one of only 10 colleges listed as a finalist in the Workforce Development category, which recognizes strategic alliances that promote community and economic development.
MSU-WP hosted a joint meeting on Jan. 24 with representatives from MSU, MSU-WP, the City of West Plains, Ozarks Medical Center, and West Plains R-7 School District. Topics included continuing the GOCAT partnership, West Plains R-7 and South-Central Career Center LPN and Surgical Tech programs, MSU-WP Allied Health programs and partnership with OMC, the police substation on the MSU-WP campus and the City of West Plains solar farm project. It was an informative session for all parties involved. We hope to make this an annual event.
As this semester quickly rolls along, don’t forget to join us at the many activities planned for the coming weeks…
Items of Note
- Feb. 1-13: Art Show in Hass-Darr Hall
- Feb. 21: Red Carpet Day for prospective high school students
- Feb. 22: Friends of the Garnett Library Chili Supper, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., civic center Magnolia Room
- Feb. 22: Grizzly Basketball vs. Moberly Area Community College in the annual Homecoming Game, 7 p.m., civic center arena
- Feb. 26: Black History Month film showing of “Harriet,” 7 to 9:30 p.m., M112
- Feb. 28: Red Carpet Day for prospective high school students
- Check out the Web Master Calendar for a full listing of upcoming events
Always remember, what you do each day for students does make a difference.
Shirley Lawler