Dear Colleagues:
The difficult economic situation in our state is being felt in many aspects of our daily lives, and nowhere is that more evident than here at Mississippi State University. The reality is that we can expect lower levels of funding to all of our institutions of higher learning in the coming days. The impact on our campus has the potential to be significant.
In a proactive effort to position MSU to meet its budgetary challenges head on, President Mark Keenum met with the campus leadership last fall and stated his intent on following university governance to address these issues. He established the President's Select Committee for Efficiencies and Innovations (SCEI) to facilitate this effort. The initiative ensured that all areas of the campus community would be represented and that the process would be transparent, with everything on the table for discussion. The SCEI numbered 33 people, and was comprised of members of the faculty, staff, administration and student body.
The Committee took this charge very seriously and spent hundreds of hours reviewing every function of our university. The process was conducted in a spirit of collegiality and objectivity.
After much deliberation, the SCEI report is now complete. While the recommendations are designed to produce efficiencies, our Committee also carefully considered the impact each recommendation would have on the mission of the university and the people involved. I had the honor of coordinating the Committee's efforts and wish to express appreciation to each of the Committee members for their hard work. Our expectation is that Mississippi State University will emerge from this process in a better position to advance higher education and continue to be the vehicle for positive change in Mississippi.
The SCEI report can be viewed and comments can be submitted at https://ssl3.msstate.edu/fs/scei/feedback/.
R. H. "Hart" Bailey
President
Faculty Senate