Lessons on leadership

As we wrap up leadership week at Missouri S&T, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about what it means to be a leader and what qualities I most admire in the leaders I’ve worked with.

If I had to boil it down to three things, I would say I appreciate those who can create a sense of urgency to create positive change within an organization; those who foster trust and creativity within their team; and those who understand that the success of an organization rests on the shoulders of all team members. As chancellor, I am honored to lead this university, but the many great strides we are making are due to the dedication and ingenuity of our talented faculty, staff, students and alumni.

In this month’s newsletter, I’ll focus on the accomplishments of our campus leaders and highlight an upcoming opportunity to hear from an extraordinary national leader as part of the Remmers Special Artist/Lecturer Series.

And the 2015 Woman of the Year is ...

Last week, I had the pleasure of announcing our 2015 Woman of the Year: Dr. Dan Lin, assistant professor of computer science. Dr. Lin joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 2008 and teaches courses on cloud computing, pervasive computing, database systems and file structure. Her research focuses on the fields of database systems and information security.

Dr. Lin is not only a rising star in her field, but she has also worked diligently in advocating for students and mentoring them.

The Woman of the Year award is given annually in recognition of efforts to improve the campus environment for women and minorities. As part of the award, Dr. Lin received a $2,000 stipend funded by Missouri S&T graduate Cynthia Tang, founder and former chair of Insight Industries Inc. Learn more about Dr. Lin and Woman of the Year.

Former U.S. Secretary of State plans visit to campus

In case you missed the news, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, will speak on campus May 14 as part of our Remmers Special Artist/Lecturer Series.

Dr. Rice teaches in the graduate business school at Stanford University and is a public policy fellow with the Hoover Institution. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Denver; a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame; and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

The Remmers Special Artist/Lecturer Series is supported through a fund established by the late Walter E. Remmers, a metallurgical engineering graduate of Missouri S&T, and his late wife, Miriam, to bring renowned speakers and performers to the campus. The first Remmers Lecture was held in 1979 and featured former President Gerald Ford. Read more to find out how to get free tickets.

New Mars rover unveiled

On Friday I had the honor of helping to unveil this year’s Mars rover, named Horizon.

The Mars Rover Design Team plans to compete at the Mars Society’s 2015 University Rover Challenge, held at the end of May in Hanksville, Utah. Last year, Missouri S&T earned second place in the international competition and was the highest-scoring team from the U.S. The competition requires students to design and build the potential next generation of Mars rovers, capable of working on the red planet.

This fall, the team hopes to travel to Krakow, Poland, to compete as the first American team in the European Rover Challenge, held Sept. 5-6. Individuals can help fund the Mars Rover Design Team’s travel expenses through our new crowd funding website – crowdfunding.mst.edu.

Supporters can donate now through the end of April.

Strategic plan update

Earlier this month, the University of Missouri System Board of Curators met on campus for the board’s spring meeting. During the meeting, I was asked to update curators on our progress in implementing “Rising to the Challenge: Missouri S&T’s Strategy for Success.”

Our plan was adopted by the curators in 2013 and is the underpinning of our campus as we adapt to a dynamic higher education landscape. It has enabled us to become more nimble and to ensure every resource we invest is done so in alignment with our strategy, vision and goals.

We have already made tremendous progress in implementing our plan, and I heard a lot of positive feedback from the curators about our growth. I am proud of this plan and even more proud of the investment our stakeholders are making in it. Please take some time to review highlights of our progress, which I shared with the board.

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