The Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents approved the naming of the University’s next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the renaming of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) in honor of its ninth president during its regular meeting Friday, Dec. 13, as well as a series of curriculum proposals and partnerships.
Dr. Michael Steiner, who has served Northwest as the chair of its Department of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2008 and as a faculty member in the department since 1997, will serve as dean of the University’s College of Arts and Sciences, effective Jan. 1.
With the Board’s approval, the CIE will be renamed the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in recognition of the distinction with which he served as president of Northwest from 1984 until his retirement in 2009.
The CIE, which the University dedicated in September 2009, was Hubbard’s vision to provide unparalleled learning and research opportunities for Northwest students and faculty in a wide range of disciplines. The 46,679 square-foot combination research center and high-tech business incubator combines academic and entrepreneurial resources while providing assistance and encouraging development of new small businesses.
Additionally under Hubbard’s leadership, Northwest gained national recognition for its “Culture of Quality,” an initiative designed to foster continuous improvement in all aspects of University operations. Among many other distinctions in this area, Northwest became the first education institution in the state to win the award four consecutive times in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2008.
During the 1980s, Hubbard was instrumental in making Northwest the first comprehensive electronic campus in the United States. That effort continues today as the University provides all students with a fully loaded notebook computer.
“He elevated the quality of this institution, not only locally and in the state, but nationally and internationally, and it’s time that we honor him,” Jasinski told the Board.
The approved curriculum changes include the creation of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design, major and minor programs in liberal arts and sciences, and a multitude of updates to science majors as the result of a multiyear review of Northwest’s biology curriculum. Within the biology curriculum, the Board approved the creation of a comprehensive major in biology with three tracks – cellular and molecular biology, biomedical sciences and general biology. Northwest also will revise current programs in biology and psychology, marine biology, wildlife ecology and conservation, pre-professional zoology, clinical laboratory science, biology education and unified science.
“This is by far the single most robust curriculum package we have seen, and the work by our faculty, departments and Faculty Senate has been outstanding in moving these proposals through our system,” Jasinski told the Board, noting several of the proposals are a direct result of Northwest’s strategic enrollment initiative.
The Board approved the addition of a teaching position at Northwest’s Phyllis and Richard Leet Center for Children and Families, which serves children 3 years old through sixth grade through its various programs. Northwest Provost Dr. Doug Dunham said the new teaching position is the result of a successful grant application by Leet Center Director Cindy Scarborough that will fund an additional classroom of 20 students.
The Board also approved agreements with Tamwood International to assist Tamwood students with obtaining conditional acceptance to Northwest and with BIZ English, a cooperative initiative to offer a business English certificate program in Korea, as well as an amended agreement with Barrons-Auxier, which provides business services training at Northwest’s St. Joseph Center.
In other business, the Board heard the results of the University’s annual financial audit, conducted by accounting firm BKD, LLP. The audit provided Northwest with an unqualified opinion and identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the University’s financial reporting.
The Board of Regents is responsible for sound resource management of the University and determining general, educational and financial policies.