(July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004)

Academics

• SMSU was awarded continued accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the professional accrediting body for schools, departments and colleges of education.
• SMSU-West Plains was reaccredited for a full 10 years by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
• During the year, the Missouri Virtual School (MVS) at SMSU more than doubled the number of students it teaches, from 108 students at 13 schools last year to 273 students at 30 schools in 2003-04. MVS classes in mathematics, science and foreign language supplement the local school district's normal course offerings.
• SMSU's physical therapy program received full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). Accreditation also allows SMSU graduates to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination, which they must pass to become a licensed physical therapist.
• Forty-five students graduated from SMSU-West Plains during commencement ceremonies in June 2003 at the SMSU Branch Campus in Dalian, People's Republic of China. It was the first graduating class of the branch campus. The students received the Associate of Arts in General Studies degree, with an emphasis in Business. The program began in fall 2000 after SMSU and LNU officials signed an agreement of educational cooperation.
• SMSU-West Plains leased a 10,000-square-foot facility in Mountain Grove and a 1,400-square- foot facility in Houston in which to offer courses. SMSU-West Plains began offering classes in Mountain Grove in the spring of 1995. SMSU-West Plains began offering evening classes at Houston High School in the fall of 2002. The additional space was needed to accommodate the growing number of students in both locations.

Faculty and Staff

• During the year, several faculty members received national recognition. Dr. Dan Wilson, associate professor of health, physical education and recreation, was selected for the 2004 Who's Who in Medicine; Dr. Tommy Burnett, professor of health, physical education and recreation, was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Missouri State Handball Hall of Fame; Dr. Tim Passmore, assistant professor of health, physical education and recreation, received the American Therapeutic Recreation Association's Presidential Award for Outstanding Professional Contribution; Dr. David Brown, director of student services for the College of Education, and a group of Teaching Academy Supervisors -- Mary Lou Toth, Myrna Walker, Candace Fairbairn and Joretta Wilcox -- were collectively recognized as a Distinguished Program in Teacher Education by the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE); J.D. Crouch, associate professor of defense and strategic studies, resigned his faculty position to become the U.S. Ambassador to Romania; Dr. Jack Llewellyn, professor of religious studies, received a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship to study in India; Dr. Mike Carlie, professor of sociology and anthropology, received the 2004 Outstanding Faculty Academic Advising Award from the National Academic Advising Association; Dr. Victor Matthews, associate dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, received the Membership Service Award from the American Schools of Oriental Research in recognition of his exceptional service contributions on behalf of the ASOR membership and its programs; Drs. John Bowdidge and George Swales, both from the finance and general business department, received the Best Paper Award from the Business and Health Administration Association for their manuscript "The World Press Massages the SARS Phenomenon"; Drs. James Scott and Janis Prewitt, along with Juan Meraz, all in the College of Business, were recognized as Sam Walton Fellows at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Regional Competition; Dr. John Prescott, head of the music department, and Chuck Facer, music teacher and choir director at Greenwood Laboratory School, both received the Standard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); and for the eighth year in a row, the SMSU Master Advisor Program received national recognition from the National Academic Advisory Association, with Harry Cook, advisor in the Academic Advising Center, receiving the Outstanding Professional Advisor Award, and Kathy Davis, director of the Academic Advising Center, receiving the Outstanding Advisement Administrator Award.
• Dr. John Schmalzbauer was hired as SMSU's first Religious Studies and Blanche Gorman Strong Endowed Chair in Protestant Studies. Schmalzbauer has master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from Princeton University and has been an assistant professor at the College of the Holy Cross since 1998. The Strong family pledged $3 million to endow two faculty chairs in religious studies and public affairs and to fund graduate scholarships.
• Again in 2003-04, two faculty members and two staff members were presented with Excellence in Community Service Awards. The two faculty members honored were Dr. Mary Ann Jennings, associate professor in the School of Social Work, and Dr. Ken Rutherford, assistant professor of political science. The two staff members were Cynthia Fiedler, transfer advisor in the Academic Advisement Center, and Dr. Jay Dee Martin, coordinator of institutional research on the SMSU-West Plains Campus.
• Dr. John H. Fohn II, assistant professor of geography and geology at SMSU-West Plains, and Dr. Mark Richter, associate professor of chemistry at SMSU-Springfield, were awarded the 2003 Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
• Missouri Governor Bob Holden appointed two SMSU staff members to statewide boards. David E. Richard, SMSU archivist, was appointed to the State Historical Records Advisory Board; and Dr. Jim Baker, assistant to the president and chancellor of SMSU- Mountain Grove, was appointed to the Missouri Technology Corporation.

Students

• SMSU's student-organized American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life raised $181,538 for cancer research. That ranked SMSU among the top colleges and universities in the nation. In 2003, SMSU teams and individuals raised $138,000 for the ACS.
• A panel of judges named the SMSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team regional champions at the 2004 SIFE Regional Competition and Career Opportunity Fair in Dallas.
• For the fifth time in 12 years, SMSU's Ad Team was one of the nation's Top 10 student advertising teams, placing 10th at the American Advertising Federation's 2004 National Student Advertising Competition held in Dallas.
• SMSU celebrated its first Public Affairs Week (PAW), featuring the university's statewide mission in public affairs. Students conceived the idea of Public Affairs Week to increase awareness and understanding of the public affairs mission.
• For the eighth consecutive year, students at SMSU- West Plains scored above the national average in all categories of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency examination.

Special Activities

• A large crowd of area dignitaries, residents and friends gathered September 16, 2003, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the SMSU- West Plains campus. The celebration included speeches, presentation of proclamations, and concluded with an anniversary party on the Looney Hall front lawn.
• During 2003-04, SMSU faculty, staff and students volunteered a total of 151,102 hours to service organizations, public schools, religious organizations, health organizations, environmental organizations, arts/cultural organizations, and other community groups, as well as through service-learning. The 151,102 hours amount to 75½ full-time positions working for one year.
• The Ozarks Jewish Archives was established at the Duane G. Meyer Library at SMSU. Also, the personal papers and library of the late poet Robert Wallace were acquired by Meyer Library. The donation will join the library's current Robert Wallace Collection.
• SMSU, along with the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, hosted Landmine Awareness Day. The event was coordinated by Dr. Ken Rutherford, assistant professor of political science and co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network. Rutherford lost both legs to a landmine in Somalia.
• SMSU granted its second honorary doctorate to Harold Bengsch during spring commencement ceremonies on May 14. Bengsch, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SMSU and a Master of Science degree in public health from the University of Missouri, has 44 years of continuous experience in the field of public health.
• Springfieldians William H. "Bill" Darr and his wife, Virginia, were the recipients of the Bronze Bear Award, honoring their extraordinary achievement and outstanding support for SMSU. The Darrs are both graduates of SMSU.
• SMSU celebrated three special months: National Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, and African American Heritage Month.
• The TRIO Upward Bound program at SMSU hosted a Summer Academy for its participants. TRIO Upward Bound is a federally funded program that assists high school students in developing the skills and motivation necessary to be successful in high school and to enroll in and complete a program of postsecondary study.
• Southwest Missouri State and Drury universities hosted "Opening the Horizon: Strengthening Science Education for Middle School Girls in Rural Southwest Missouri." The program, now in its third year, is funded by an $876,583 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
• Thanks to a $65,000 grant agreement from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), low-income taxpayers received help from SMSU's School of Accountancy Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.
• For the ninth year, SMSU hosted the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, a three-week residential program for approximately 200 of Missouri's artistically talented high school juniors and seniors. MFAA, which began in 1996, is funded by the Missouri State Legislature and is co-sponsored by the SMSU College of Arts and Letters and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
• During the year, a wide variety of speakers visited campus, including Dr. Elaine Fantham, one of the most well-known experts on Greek and Roman culture; Edward Slater, commander of the Missouri Department of Former Prisoners of War, and Dr. Hyung K. Shin, a veteran of the Republic of Korea Army and distinguished research professor in chemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno; award-winning author and political activist Howard Zinn; Dr. Bernard Franklin, community activist and director of the Kauffman Scholars Program at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City; and Dr. Ian H. Witten, professor of computer science at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
• SMSU-West Plains paid special tribute to three during the year. Dr. Doug Green, a neurosurgeon from West Plains, was named the year's Distinguished Alumnus at SMSU- West Plains. Local businessman, civic leader and long-time supporter Jim McFarland was presented with the prestigious Founder's Award. And the Grizzly Booster Club presented the Grizzly Track Award to the Smith Family -- Allison, her husband Bruce (in memoriam), and sons Travis and Chase and their extended families.
• SMSU's academic honor code continued to make a difference and to draw national attention. SMSU implemented the code in the fall of 2000 as a natural extension of its public affairs mission. One essential ingredient in the honor code's success is the active partici- pation of both students and faculty.

Athletics

• In February, SMSU's intercollegiate athletics program received full 10-year certification from the NCAA.
• The 2003-04 year was another successful one for SMSU intercollegiate athletics. SMSU finished second in the all-sports competition, winning Valley championships in volleyball, women's cross country, women's basketball (regular season and tournament), women's swimming and women's indoor track. SMSU junior Casey Owens became the first-ever SMSU participant in the NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country championship, and SMSU teams qualified for their respective NCAA tournaments in volleyball and women's basketball. The women's basketball team advanced to the NCAA tourney for the 12th time in the past 14 years, led the nation in three-point shooting percentage and three-point field goals, and turned in a spectacular 28-4 record. In men's basketball, freshman guard Blake Ahearn hit 117 of 120 free throws for a .975 percentage, which is the best individual single season free throw percentage in NCAA Division I history. A notable highlight of the year was the opening on April 2 of Hammons Field, a new 8,000- seat baseball stadium four blocks north of the SMSU campus. The $30 million ballpark, financed and built by John Q. Hammons, is the new home for the baseball Bears.
• SMSU had three student-athletes receive CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition in 2003-04, including soccer player Mary Litvan, third team; track and cross country runner Erin Sutton, third team; and baseball player Brooks Colvin, second team.
• For the second year in a row, the SMSU-West Plains Lady Grizzlies finished second in the 2003 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Grizzlies advanced to the national tournament by winning the Region 16 championship for the fifth consecutive year. The team also was named one of the 2003-04 Fall Academic Teams of the Year by the NJCAA for the second straight year. The award is given to NJCAA fall sports teams for achieving academic excellence by maintaining a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The compiled grade point average for the team was 3.17. In addition, for the first time in the history of SMSU-West Plains Grizzly athletics, three volleyball players were selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Women's Volleyball All-American teams. Sophomore middle attacker Roselidah Obunaga was selected to the first team, and sophomore outside attacker Anna Dmowska and freshman outside attacker Felicia Jones were chosen for the second team.
• Two students at SMSU-West Plains were selected for the 2004 All-Missouri Two-Year College Academic Team. Rogers Taylor was named to the second team, and Morgan Akers was named to the third team.
• SMSU Director of Athletics Bill Rowe received two significant honors early in 2004. Rowe was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and he became the first person to have his jersey number retired by the SMSU baseball program.

Sponsored Programs

During 2003-04, SMSU received $15,475,123 for sponsored programs from a total of 252 contracts/grants awarded to faculty and staff for the year. This represents a 39 percent increase in funds awarded, and a 17 percent increase in the number of awards over 2002-03. Funding for sponsored programs came from government sponsors: federal ($9,806,220), state ($3,936,867), and county/city ($287,261); non-profit organizations ($1,420,590); companies ($5,945); and international sources ($18,240). Of the total awarded in 2003-04, the following amounts were awarded for research ($8,554,811), education ($3,058,873), and service ($2,885,344) projects and for equipment purchases ($976,094). Some of the highlights follow.

• Dr. Ryan Giedd, director of the Center for Applied Science and Engineering (CASE) and his research team and corporate partners were awarded $5,850,000 from the Office of Naval Research to continue their work on the development of micro-electromechanical systems for the detection of biological agents. This is the second award for this program.
• Dr. Paul Durham, assistant professor of biology, was awarded a research grant in the amount of $209,400 from the National Institutes of Health to study the cellular mechanisms involved in the generation of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, an affliction affecting more than 11 percent of the United States population.
• Greg Burris, vice president for administration and finance, along with the computer services staff, received a five-year grant award from the U.S. Department of Education's Strengthening Institutions Program (Title III) with first year funding of $363,750. The project focuses on migrating administrative and service functions to web-based "self-service" models.
• Dr. Marc Cooper, professor of history and department head, received a $545,956 award from the U.S. Department of Education in support of a collaborative education project with Republic School District. This grant enables the project team to expand the existing American History Education Enhancement Project to include teachers in rural and urban school districts.
• Drs. Kandiah Manivannan, associate professor of physics; Georgianna Saunders, associate professor of biology; Brian Breyfogle, assistant professor of chemistry; and Cheryl Schaefer, assistant professor of physics were awarded a $145,732 grant from the Missouri Department of Higher Education for a two-year project titled "Using Inquiry and Technology- Based Instruction to Improve Teacher Quality in Physical Science."
• Drs. Shawn Strong, associate professor; Neal Callahan, assistant professor; and Scott Amos, professor and department head, all in the industrial management department, received a $120,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a computer integrated manufacturing outreach laboratory for use in the Manufacturing Systems Management education program.
• Dr. Janice Windborne, assistant professor of communications, received a $25,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support the OURMediaIV Conference that was held in Brazil in July 2004. OURMedia is an international network of academics, activists, and policy advocates supporting alternative media, citizens' communication, and media reform movements.
• Dr. Susan Dollar, associate professor of social work; Dr. Helen Reid, associate dean of the College of Health and Human Services; and Dr. Susan Hinck, associate professor of nursing, received a $305,013 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to conduct a three-year project titled "Salud Para La Vida" (Health for Life). The university is partnering with Hispanic advocacy groups, health care organizations, and social service organizations to conduct this project. The goal is to reduce health disparities among Hispanics by providing culturally competent health care in five rural, medically underserved southwest Missouri counties.
• Suzanne Teghtmeyer, assistant professor of library administration, received a $69,923 award from the Missouri State Library to enable the digitization and preservation of the Ozark horticulture heritage that now resides on photographic glass plates.

Federal Funding

Facing decreasing funding from the State of Missouri, SMSU turned more to other sources, including federal direct appropriations. The U.S. Congress approved an omnibus budget bill that included nearly $10 million for SMSU. The funding included: $6.5 million in Homeland Security research funds; $2.5 million for the second multi-level parking facility; $180,000 for the Missouri Farm Bureau and SMSU to collaborate on offering distance learning courses for Missouri agriculture teachers; $360,000 to support the vitis gene discovery program at SMSU-Mountain Grove; and $340,000 for the Big Eddy archaeological dig, located near the dam at Stockton Lake. Most of these projects resulted in grants being awarded to SMSU, as identified in the "Sponsored Programs" section.

Private Fund-Raising

Thanks to a significant increase in support for student scholarships, the SMSU Foundation set a record in 2003-04 with $9,285,422 in private contributions. In addition, SMSU's $50 million comprehensive fund-raising campaign, The Campaign for SMS: Imagine the Possibilities, remained on schedule.

Here are some highlights:

• The $9,285,422 raised from July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, is $2 million more than last year's $7,061,031 and almost $1 million more than the previous high of $8,365,498 in 2001-02.
• Of the $2 million increase, a significant portion was designated for student scholarships. Two of the major scholarship funds established during the year were the Hutchens/SGA Centennial Leaders Scholarship Program and the W. L. "Les" and Jennie McQueary Athletics Scholarship Fund.
• Additional monies were received in major gifts for the William H. Darr Agricultural Center and Hammons Field, as well as a nearly 50 percent increase in contributions for SMSU-West Plains -- $346,541 from 889 gifts last year to $507,996 from 1,165 gifts this year.
• Meanwhile, support for The Campaign for SMS continued to grow. During 2003-04, $11,568,971 was raised or committed, bringing the total to $35,788,912 by June 30, 2004. The $50 million campaign, the first comprehensive campaign in SMSU's history, runs through 2005 in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration.  In its 23 years of existence, the Foundation has received more than $103 million in outright gifts and pledges, and another $26.5 million in deferred commitments.
• The Foundation's endowment pool earned 18.3 percent for 2003-04. Over the past 10 years, the compound annual return for the endowment pool has been 10.2 percent.
• The market value of the endowment pool as of June 30, 2004, was $35,288,588, a 21 percent increase