January '08 Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2008

Dr. Terri Agee
(417) 625-9501

 

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) – Dr. Bruce W. Speck, who will become the next President of Missouri Southern State University, was welcomed as a special guest to the meeting of the MSSU Board of Governors today. The formal announcement of Dr. Speck’s selection by the Board was made at a late morning news conference.

 

Dr. Speck was chosen from a field of 41 total applicants for the position following a nationwide search.

Mr. Dwight Douglas, chairman of the Board and of the Search Committee, thanked individuals on the 15-member Search Committee for their diligence and hard work in reviewing applications for the position.

Mr. Douglas also praised Dr. Terri Agee who has served as Acting President of Missouri Southern since the resignation of longtime MSSU President Dr. Julio León last fall.

“It turned out to be a win-win situation,” Mr. Douglas said. “We get Dr. Speck and Dr. Agee as a team.”

Dr. Speck will begin work at MSSU on or before March 1 of this year.

At that time Dr. Agee will assume the title of Senior Vice President. Dr. John Messick, currently Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, will become Vice President for Academic Affairs at Missouri Southern.

A major step in construction at MSSU moved forward today with the Board of Governors approving the awarding of a contract for construction of the new George Beimdiek Student Recreation and Wellness Center to the R.E. Smith Construction, contingent upon pending bond financing.

The Board approved naming the Edward Jones Company for Investment Banking Services for the project. A fall 2009 completion date is expected for the Beimdiek Center.

The 65, 000 sq. ft. facility will feature the Willcoxon Student Health Center, named in honor of Dr. Robert and Mrs. Robert Willcoxon of Joplin. The Beimdiek Center also will include a three-court gymnasium, elevated jogging track, two 4,000 sq. ft. fitness areas with cardiovascular weight machines and free weights, two fitness class studios, a fitness testing center, locker rooms, showers and a 150-seat auditorium.

Dr. Terri Agee, Acting President, told Governors that a special commemoration for Dr. Art Saltzman, a professor of English who died suddenly on Jan. 8, will be held on Sunday, Feb. 3 at the Spiva Art Gallery of MSSU. Dr. Saltzman, a former recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching was a widely published author of books and essays. He joined the Missouri Southern faculty in 1981.

In other action today, the Board of Governors approved one-semester sabbatical leaves for Dr. Phil Wise in the Music Department and Dr. William Edwards in Teacher Education in the fall 2008 semester.

Dr. Wise plans to research the development of the bossa nova and other forms of Latin American Music and compose a series of musical works to be performed on campus following his return.

Dr. Edwards plans to work with the International Reading Association and will attempt to build a bridge between Missouri Southern’s International Mission and the IRA with a focus on the region of Pakistan, an area of the world to which he has made three previous trips.

 

 

 

 

 

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