Missouri S&T is making a name for itself as a hub for robotic activity. Tomorrow our campus will host the VEX Robotics competition for the second consecutive year. In March, we will again host the FIRST Tech Challenge championship for a region that includes Missouri and several surrounding states. Each event competition will bring hundreds of high school students, their families, their team coaches and advisors, and, of course, their robotic creations to campus. It’s always an exciting time. Many of these robot aficionados return to S&T as students.
I encourage you to drop by one or both of these events to find out what all the excitement is about. Better yet, get involved! It takes a small army of volunteers to help put on these competitions. To volunteer, please contact Linda Bright at brightlj@mst.edu.
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Thank you to all who attended our open forum on the budget earlier this month, and to all who have been working diligently to reduce costs and trim expenses in their own operations. The presentation from the Feb. 3 budget forum is now available from our finance and administration website, and I encourage you to download and review this presentation.
Our concerns include the withholding of $4.8 million in state funds from our budget for our current fiscal year, which Gov. Eric Greitens announced last month. But a projected decline in revenues for the coming fiscal year is the storm on the horizon. Based on projections for fiscal year 2018, Missouri S&T faces a general revenue deficit of $3.5 million, but that number could change based on the final state budget, our fall enrollment and a potential tuition increase. Working together, we will weather this storm. We are committed to protecting the vitality of our academic programs and achieving our strategic goals.
We soon will be sharing more information about the budget in multiple venues and with many groups. In conjunction with the budgetary affairs committee of the Faculty Senate, we created two fiscal sustainability task forces that are looking at our institution’s long-term needs. In the meantime, I welcome your continued input and ideas.
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Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform March 4
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I hope you secured your tickets for Yo-Yo Ma’s upcoming performance at Leach Theatre on Saturday, March 4. The world-renowned cellist is the latest performer to come to campus as part of the Remmers Special Artist/Lecturer Series. The series has been the talk of the town since alumnus Walter Remmers and his wife Miriam established it nearly 40 years ago. Thanks to the generosity of the Remmers family, our campus community has benefited from the wisdom and talents of some of the world’s great leaders and virtuosos. From Margaret Thatcher to Condoleezza Rice, Itzhak Perlman to Wynton Marsalis, Charles Kuralt to Cokie Roberts, a remarkable roster of eminent speakers and performers has provided our community with a front-row seat on history, headlines and creative genius. Read more about the Remmers Special Artist/Lecturer Series in the latest issue of our online newsletter Shillelagh.
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Celebrating African American heritage
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February is Black History Month across the nation, and at Missouri S&T we once again celebrate the heritage of African Americans and their contributions to our university. The month began with a wonderful kick-off event on Feb. 1 in the Havener Center atrium and culminates with a celebration Feb. 24. Also on that date, some of our most loyal and devoted supporters, members of the Chancellor’s Committee on African American Recruitment and Retention will be on campus to discuss ways we can continue to make Missouri S&T a more welcoming environment for all. I look forward to joining committee members for an engaging and fruitful discussion.
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Spring Career Fair: Our ROI on display
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If anyone needs proof of Missouri S&T’s value to the business world, one need only visit one of our career fairs. While the fall event draws more employers than the Spring Career Fair, we still have great participation from prospective employers every February. This year is no exception. At latest count, more than 200 employers are registered to take part in this event on Feb. 21 — proof that our students continue to be in high demand. Congratulations to our career opportunities and employer relations team for a job well done once again.
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Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Smith, the Wayne and Gayle Laufer Chair of Energy at Missouri S&T, for his recent appointment as treasurer of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Joseph’s appointment to the AIChE executive committee provides a wonderful opportunity for visibility for Missouri S&T in this organization, which has a combined membership of over 50,000 chemical engineers worldwide.
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Missouri S&T will receive $300,000 over three years through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking on Campus Program. The funding will allow us to strengthen and formalize education, policies and procedures, and messaging to prevent and respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Congratulations to the co-principal investigators for this grant, Dr. Shenethia Manuel, vice chancellor for Human Resources, Equity and Inclusion, and Neil Outar, director of Institutional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and deputy Title IX coordinator.
Warmest regards,
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Cheryl B. Schrader, Ph.D.
Chancellor
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