Quick hits

Items discussed during the Missouri Southern Aug. 15 Board of Governors meeting.

Renamed -Webster auditorium will be renamed the W. Robert Corley Auditorium in honor of an undisclosed seven-figure donation by Dr. W. Robert Corley.

Proposed -A medical school at Missouri Southern was proposed by Dr. Larry McIntire. The proposed school would begin accepting students as early as 2010 or 2011 and offer a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree. Rough estimates put the cost at $30 million. McIntire, Dr. John Messick and Dr. Tia Strait will be sketching out costs, donors and the feasibility of such a plan.

Visitor -John Berrey, representing the Quapaw Tribe and Downstream Casino, discussed Quapaw community commitment. He raised the possibility of partnering with Southern in a degree program fitting with Downstream’s employment needs.

“Our doors are open,” Berrey said.

Budget -Dr. Bruce Speck presented the information from the economic summit announcing $2,630,389 as the projected loss and the justification behind the 10 percent budget cuts. Enrollment figures, tuition, state allocations, scholarships, spending and the price of gas figure into Southern’s bottom line which he hopes to bring up over the next few years.

“People are willing to work with us on this and go through this with us,” Speck said. Online budget cut suggestions can be submitted at [email protected].

Salary -Compensation plans for professional and hourly staff will undergo review by an outside firm. Evergreen Solutions won the review contract with a bid of $36,500.

Human Resources Director Debbie Dutch Kelly recommended phase one adjustments be made to professional staff – not subject to the most recent salary adjustments. $150,000 was set aside for adjustment to these salaries this year. Phase two would re-evaluate hourly wages. The project should be done in time for the Fiscal Year 2010 budget.

Discussion -Board members debated the effect of tuition increases and required depreciation policies over the past several years.

Construction -The Beimdick Recreation Center is proceeding on schedule. All offices in Billingsly Student Center have been relocated and contractors are replacing ceilings and floors. The Lions’ Den is scheduled to reopen mid-fall semester.

The Health Sciences building is on schedule for its 2010 completion. The parking lot behind Hearnes Hall – bid as part of the construction project – was completed last week.

Physical Plant was lauded for its efforts in moving the various offices and Dr. Bruce Speck into his new home.

Faculty Senate -Dr. Carla Huntington was introduced as this year’s liaison between the Board and the faculty. Huntington in president-elect of the Faculty Senate. Faculty Senate will kick off the semester by discussing implementation of SB389 and strategic planning for Southern.

Student Senate -Ben Hinkle represented student concerns to the Board. Hinkle listed payment schedules -particularly the reimbursement policy -as a top concern among students. The new Student Senate Web site is: http://www.mssu.edu/stuorg/senate.