Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday! Happy 4^th of July!

Needless to say, the most important function at a university is that of a faculty member! The teacher. The professor. A professor, as direct, face-to-face, day-to-day, interactor with a university’s most important constituency — the students — is both the sage on the stage and the guide on the side. It is at the professor-student interface that learning germinates, the light comes on and the magic happens. To be clear, as I used to declare at the start of each semester in my teaching years, teachers teach but they can’t “learn” you! They can inspire but cannot motivate. As a two-way learning process, effective teaching is effective learning by students from their teachers and by teachers from their students.

I vividly remember my own many years of teaching where I deliberately would face the students more than the board, merely because I wanted to see if the message was getting across, or if I needed to persist before moving on to the next topic. I would move forward only if there were more lit “lightbulbs” than inquisitive faces. I remember how I used to insist on students asking questions rather than feeling uncomfortable about raising their hands and risking revealing their “ignorance” about a topic. And I remember how proud I would become when soon after the start of the semester, the class, encouraged to actively participate in the learning process, would come to life with questions and discussions. The class was “alive,” I used to claim.

In this regard, nothing has really changed in the dynamic of knowledge transformation and development of the next generations of knowledge workers. Except the topics due to advancement of every subject matter. In our world of science, engineering and technology, what new programs must be conceived, planned and implemented? In the rapidly advancing world of AI, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, critical minerals, nanoelectronics and semiconductors, quantum computing, and geospatial, just to name a few, what new undergraduate, graduate and research programs must be created to ensure sustained academic success and to ensure that our graduates continue to command the highest starting salaries in a rapidly evolving technological world? What new laboratories, experiential learning facilities, faculty and research staff hires, and curriculum evolution must take place for S&T to continue to attract many of the most brilliant students, faculty and staff?

Like all organizational functions, university academic functions need coordination, configuration and consistency. As professors teach and turn research ideas into impactful realities, and as they do so with academic freedom to tinker, experiment and prototype, the provost – our university’s chief academic officer – leads, administers and manages all the thousands of parameters that interplay to ensure successful student outcomes.

Well, I am delighted to report that today, this July 4, just as we celebrate the nation’s birthday, we celebrate the arrival of our new provost, Dr. John Harris, who brings a wealth of leadership experience, both as a leading academic and as an academic leader. As a campus, we are excited and know that Dr. Harris will guide, encourage and even embody the progress that we need to remain relevant as we have for over 150 years. John’s arrival brings the promise of a vision larger than our present world as it aims at a horizon beyond our immediate needs and through a prism of achieving our North Star goals. Please join me and our university in welcoming Dr. Harris and to wish him success in his new, exciting journey.

A final and important note: As we look to the future and focus ahead as we must, we also reflect on the past and remember the success of our remarkable faculty – our sages on stage and guides on the side – and wish all a safe and happy 4^th of July weekend.

Warmly,

-Mo.

Share your thoughts!

Read previous Friday morning messages.

Check out the latest news from S&T:

• Minteer awarded NSF grant to develop sustainable fuel technology
• Missouri S&T symposium in Morocco focuses on sustainable energy for Africa
• Remington R. Williams Award recipient announced

Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu