Vol 5, No 1

The Student Welcome Pack Controversy

On June 9, 2009, Dr. Drew Bennett, the Chancellor of Missouri State’s West Plains Campus, dropped a large packet on the conference table and said, “My daughter received this in the mail, and I am wondering why.”  Chancellor Bennett was disgusted, and his disgust was aimed at the Springfield campus, which he thought had developed and mailed the packet.  In fact, none of the Administrative Council or I had seen the packet, much less reviewed or approved it.

Before the end of the day, we had learned that a Gannett Corporation affiliate in Tallahassee, Florida, had mailed these “Student Welcome Packs” to about 8,000 prospective and current Missouri State students.  Within a few days, we also learned that some of the advertising in that packet had been sold by the Springfield News-Leader, which is a Gannett paper.  The Pack looked as if it had come from the University, and it included some ads that we found objectionable, including one flyer that had a condom attached to it.

Over the ensuing month, we gathered facts and talked to representatives from the Gannett Corporation and the News-Leader.  The result was that they did the following: 

1. Sent a letter of apology* to the entire mailing list on July 9 
2. Ran a story in the News-Leader on July 10 
3. Posted the apology and story on their web site

While we remain concerned about the long-term negative impact the Student Welcome Pack may have on Missouri State, we appreciate the steps both Gannett and the Springfield News-Leader took to correct the misperceptions of those who received the mailing.

As you can imagine, this packet with these ads caused the University much difficulty.   A number of University administrators received calls and emails about the packet, and all the callers/emailers attributed the pack to Missouri State University.  Many were irate, and some indicated that they did not want their children to attend an institution that would send out this kind of material.

In all we do, we must protect the good name and promote the quality of the University.  Our reputation – our “brand” – must always be foremost in our minds as we work with students, engage alumni, develop partnerships, seek support from outside agencies and businesses, recruit faculty nationwide, etc.  It was clear that this Student Welcome Pack had jeopardized the University’s reputation.

When we investigated, this is what we found:

1. Student Welcome Pack, or SWP, the Gannett affiliate in Florida, had asked the University to provide a mailing list of prospective students.  Properly, we refused.  SWP purchased a list of area college students from another entity and mailed the packet anyway.
2. The Springfield News-Leader sold ads for the mailing;  the advertisers supplied us with copies of their invoices. 
3. We immediately referred the matter to the Attorney General, and asked that office to investigate the legality of what had occurred. 
4. We sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Gannett Corporation on June 11, 2009, and Gannett indicated it was not sending out any more of the packets. In the letter, we informed Gannett’s attorney of our concerns.   
5. On June 10, the News-Leader ran a brief story about the incident after we posted a notice on our web page on June 9. 
6. After receiving scores of more objections from angry parents, the University sent a letter on June 22 to Gannett’s attorney indicating that we would file a lawsuit unless the situation was addressed and rectified.

Since Gannett’s attorney was not prepared to meet these terms before our original deadline, and given the continuing damage to the University’s reputation that the packet was causing, we decided it was essential to release this statement to our web site on June 26, 2009.

This takes me back to my major point: All of us must be diligent in protecting the name and reputation of the University on behalf of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, past, present and future. This affair gave Missouri State University an image problem it did not deserve, and that is why we did not let the problem go unaddressed.

Again, we appreciate Gannett and the News-Leader addressing this issue. If it comes up in any discussions or interactions you have, I hope you will help us correct any lingering misperceptions regarding the Student Welcome Pack.

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