News that the Missouri State Senate approved a bill that would eliminate Missouri Southern’s international mission caused a stir on campus this week.     A news release from Southern’s University Relations and Marketing that came out on April 12 appears to be the source of some of the confusion and concern.

The news release said Missouri Senate Bill 67 could change the state statute designating the university as a statewide institution of international and global education. Removal of this designation is being questioned by some of the faculty, including Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies, and Dr. Linda Hand, Faculty Senate president and professor of mathematics.

“I am not in favor of it, of course, it is one of the ways the university is known,” Stebbins said.

Hand said the Faculty Senate was concerned as well and said she had more than 77 emails on the issue.

The bill in question, SB67, initially was a bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon (R – Springfield) dealing with public safety and campus police. Senate Education Committee Chair, Sen. David Pearce (R- Warrensburg) added the amendment including the statute designation to the existing bill as it moved through the State Senate.

According to University President Bruce Speck and Pearce, the senator was invited to the campus on Dec. 7 where the subject of removing the language from the statute was discussed with what Pearce called an “executive council” and one board member.

“I was asked how difficult it would be to remove this language, and I said it was very easy; it would just require an amendment,” Pearce said.

 Pearce said when the chance came in April to attach the proposed amendment to a bill that was already moving through the Senate, he took the opportunity to do so.

“We never really came to closure, but we all agreed it would be good to do that,” Speck said.

Speck said the university never as a whole said “let’s pull the trigger on removing the language” but when the State Senate did, it became a matter of whether it was a good or bad thing for the university.

“I thought it was a good thing. In fact, we all thought it was a good thing,” Speck said.

However, Stebbins said he knows quite a few of the faculty emailed and called Pearce as well as Sen. Ron Richard (R –Joplin).

“I don’t think it’s what the faculty wants,” Stebbins said.

Southern alumnus and form editor-in-chief of The Chart Jeff Billington who graduated in 1999 is  the senior media relations Manager for National Parks and Conservation Association, expressed is thoughts on the change of the statute.

“I grew up on a farm in McDonald County. The international mission created opportunities for students to actually go out and see the world. When I was there I went to Australia, France, Costa Rica,” Billington said.

Billington attributes the international mission at Southern for chances to met people of different cultures, colors and religions.

Hand said she sent an email to Dr. Patsy Lipira, vice president of academic affairs, with some of the faculty’s concerns. Among some of the concerns were the following: If the change has no effect on Southern, why change it? Why did someone other than Ron Richard, who is our senator, bring this to the State Senate? Why was this done before program prioritization and why was this not brought up at any of the at Board of Governors meetings?

Lipira’s reply to this email said while Pearce was here in the fall, “no decision had been made to move forward, however interest was expressed. We heard nothing until last week. We were actually surprised to hear it was being proposed.”

Lipira’s email said the discussion was more centered on the designation of “moderately selective” and that removing this language from the statute “provides colleges/universities with more flexibility.”

When asked specifically in a phone interview, Pearce said “moderately selective” would not be removed from the statute and that was not the purpose of this amendment.

“I think just as faculty we are just confused and feel out of the loop,” Hand said. “We know that the board makes the decision and we know that Dr. Speck is the president of the school and we know we don’t get to decide everything.

“We do think we should be informed before it happens.”

Speck said a conspiracy theory might be circulating in which this is the first step in destroying the university’s international approach, but that is not true.

“Here is the one thing a person could say, ‘yeah but you’re opening opportunity for changing our mission,’ Speck said.  “That’s possible, but I’m not going to change the mission. If we change the mission that’s going to be a campuswide strategic planned event.”

Speck said the change in statute language removes the legal obligation of the university.

“The reason the mission was important then was because there was money associated with it,” Speck said. “We got money for having a mission.”

Speck said the money incentive was a one-time increase to the university’s base fund and there is no longer a tie to that.  

During an initial call to Rep. Bill White (R – Joplin)  he was unaware of the bill and said “I not real excited about it.” However, during a second phone call, White said he had contacted Southern’s administration to find out more details and found that the administration wanted the change and therefore he would support it as well.

“If removing it has a decrease in international curriculum then I feel sorry for future students who will not have the opportunities I did, Billington said.

Speck said he well be speaking more about the bill in the Board of Governors meeting on April 19 at 1 p.m. in Billingsly Student Center, room 310.