Missouri Southern will soon say goodbye to a highly respected member of the Missouri Southern family.

Dr. John Tiede, director of major gifts and planned giving, will retire March 17 after working in various jobs at Southern since 1968.

And nobody is happy to see him leave.

“John Tiede has been, for a long time, kind of the hidden jewel of Missouri Southern,” said Jim Gray, who has worked with closely with Tiede for several years. “He was the numbers guy … He always made decisions based on what was best for the student.”

Tiede has had many opportunities to do just that after spending 39 of the past 42 years working as a business instructor, assistant to the president, dean of the school of business, vice president of business affairs and senior vice president. For the past nine years, Tiede has worked in his current position in the Missouri Southern Foundation office.

“He loves Southern,” said University President Bruce Speck. “He has even committed, after term, to helping with any transition issues we need.”

Alumni Association Director Lee Elliff Pound is also glad Tiede will stay in touch.

“It’s very sad to say goodbye to John, but we know he’s just a phone call away,” she said.

Tiede said his retirement is something he’s been planning for a long time.

“I turn 65 this month,” he said.

Tiede will leave his mark on Southern. Two accomplishments he named from his time in the school of business were the creations of the Small Business Development Center and the Entrepreneurship Program. Tiede didn’t go into detail about the success of the programs, but Grey did.

“It’s been very, very successful,” Grey said. “Dr. Tiede knew that in order to be successful, we had to support the four-state area business community, and that’s what the SBDC does, and it does it very, very well.”

Several of Tiede’s colleagues agreed he was a great bridge between MSSU and the community.

“He knows everyone, in the university and outside the university,” said Sharon Fraser, secretary for the Foundation office. “He was a great person to work with…and I really hate to see him go.”