Board of Governors Discuss Upcoming Changes
On Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, the Board of Governors met in Blum Student Union for their meeting regarding the Missouri Western State University’s financial status and other vital points. Starting with the Personnel, Finance & Operations Committee Meeting that began at 11 a.m. and was followed by the Public Session at 1:30 p.m.
Vital points that were discussed included enrollment, tuition and upcoming renovations. Having recovered from a financial crisis not too long ago, MWSU is still figuring out how to account for enrollment and decreasing student housing numbers.
The vice president for finance and administration, Darrell Morrison, is trying to be as transparent as possible regarding finances.
“The university financially, on a whole, we are still in good shape,” Morrison stated. “One of our issues is, we have been hit by, as so many universities have, a downturn in enrollment. Many factors go into that. We’ve also had a lot of unexpected expenses and things to incur. But overall, the university is in a strong position. We’re moving forward and we have a plan for things so that how do we like prevent going back down like in another financial crisis.”
Tuition is always the main concern for students. With inflation taking over everything from gas prices to eggs, MWSU tuition is another thing taking a hit.
“Tuition will go up,” Morrison said. “We are in the lower 25% in the state as we speak now, with the rising cost of just everything. We’re gonna have to go up as well. Not sure how much yet. We’re still looking at how we’ll try to hold it down as much as possible.”
One of the bigger shocks that came this school year was Vartibenian Hall had damage over winter break causing all the students living in it to relocate. Renovations have already begun and continue to progress.
“We are currently in rebuild mode,” Morrison stated. “All of the old stuff, the destruction, the tearing out of any wet materials, things like that has happened. They have started rebuilding some of the heating and air things that were damaged. We’re still waiting to hear back from the insurance company on a few things, but we are moving forward and we’re still anticipating being able to open them back up in May.”
Other renovation projects include new locker rooms for the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex (GISC) and a new office suite for the Department of Communication, which has experienced a few setbacks.
“It has pushed back a little bit out of our control, supply chain issues that you see on the news,” Morrison stated. “Really, the big issue we’re waiting on now is the storefront glass and the outside. That has been delayed and that’s really our hope. Right now most everything else is ready.”
The next Board of Governors meeting will take place on April 27, 2023. Meetings are open to the public and take place in Blum Student Union Room 220.
