The Board of Governors is moving forward with the search for the university’s sixth president.
Meeting in closed session following the regular board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 19, the members discussed the next steps following Dr. Alan Marble’s recent announcement that he will retire as of June 30, 2020.
Alison Hershewe, current chair of the Board of Governors’ personnel committee, will also chair the presidential search committee.
“We fully understand the eagerness expressed by our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community as we prepare for the next chapter in our history,” she said.
Over the next 30 days, nominations for the search committee will be sought from members of the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Senate, Alumni Association, the Missouri Southern Foundation, the Lionbackers booster club, the city of Joplin, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri Southern administration. From those nominations, the board will decide who will be appointed to serve on the presidential search committee.
The board has authorized a request for proposal (RFP) process to hire a presidential search firm. The search committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Governors regarding a search firm.
“We all share the same high hopes for this institution, and finding the right leader to continue our forward momentum and campus culture that was established under Dr. Marble’s tenure is key to our success,” said Hershewe. “Our goal is to be as transparent as possible throughout this process. We want to hear from everyone as Missouri Southern continues to play a large role in the economic growth of the community.”
The Board of Governors also recognized two outgoing members during the Sept. 19 meeting. Tracy Flanigan, whose term ended on Aug. 30, will not be seeking reappointment. Michael Franks, whose term was to end in 2021, also announced his resignation.
Bill Gipson, chair of the Board of Governors, expressed his appreciation to both for their service to Missouri Southern. He said new appointments for the open seats would be made soon by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.